Cefalu overview

This former fishing village on the Tyrrhenian coast has become a major tourist destination, though it still lags behind neighbouring Taormina in appeal. Downtown Cefalu can be explored in half a day at best, leaving plenty of time for the main pastime – the beach. Unfortunately, with every great Mediterranean sand patch come overcrowding and towel wars, with an appalling lack of parking creating a daily anger-management workshop for holiday drivers. The historic old town with its grandiose Romanesque cathedral and meandering medieval alleyways is an attractive alternative to the popular beachfront, which is impossibly busy during summer. La Rocca, the most photographed rocky crag in Sicily, towers over the limestone promontory, leading ancient Greeks to name the town Kephalos or big head.