island
Panarea
The smallest and the oldest: white houses, the islets off Cala Junco and the climb to Punta del Corvo.
- Punta del Corvo
- Cala Junco and Capo Milazzese
- The islets
The smallest, the oldest
Three and a half square kilometres, a few hundred residents in winter and thousands in August. Panarea is the smallest of the Aeolians and also the oldest: what you see today is the remnant of a far larger volcano, and the islets around it are the pieces that stayed above water.
No cars
No private cars circulate on the island: you move on foot or by electric golf cart, and you can cross the whole settlement in twenty minutes. The three hamlets — San Pietro, Ditella and Drautto — are a sequence of white houses, bougainvillea and stairways. In August the evenings turn fashionable; in June and September it's another island entirely.
Cala Junco and the prehistoric village
To the south, a twenty-minute walk from Zimmari beach, lies Capo Milazzese: on the promontory stand the remains of a Bronze Age village, oval huts facing the sea, inhabited 3,500 years ago. Below it, the rock amphitheatre of Cala Junco, the most photographed cove in the archipelago.
The islets
Basiluzzo, Dattilo, Lisca Bianca, Bottaro, Lisca Nera: an archipelago within the archipelago, minutes away by boat. Between Lisca Bianca and Bottaro the seabed releases gas bubbles — underwater fumaroles — and snorkelling above them is like nothing else. You get there by hiring a boat on the island, or by arriving in your own. On Basiluzzo, the largest, Christopher Nolan shot part of The Odyssey. The locations → · Our boat →
Trails on Panarea
Beaches
- Cala JuncoSnorkelling and photos
The rock amphitheatre below the prehistoric village of Capo Milazzese: the most photographed cove in the archipelago.
- ZimmariConvenience
Panarea's only true sandy beach, twenty minutes on foot from the port, on the way to Cala Junco.
From the guide
- Sleep on the Aeolians, or on the coast?Guide
It's the question that decides the holiday, and almost nobody asks it before booking. There is no right answer for everyone: there is a right answer for what you came to do.
- Is Capo d'Orlando worth it? The honest answerGuide
It isn't a town of art and it isn't a postcard. It's a base: you choose it for what you can do around it, not for the old centre. It suits some people very well and others not at all — better to know beforehand.
- Capo d'Orlando, Cefalù, Taormina or Milazzo: which baseGuide
Four places that resemble each other only on a map. Two are destinations to see, one is a port, and one is a base. The right question isn't which is finest, but which you'd rather set out from each morning.
- The films shot in the Aeolian IslandsGuide
In 1949 two crews filmed simultaneously in the same archipelago, over a love affair gone wrong. Then Antonioni, Troisi, Moretti and, last year, Christopher Nolan. Where they filmed, and what you can see.
- Nolan's Odyssey was filmed right out thereGuide
In spring 2025 Christopher Nolan brought Matt Damon to Lipari, Vulcano and Basiluzzo to film the return of Odysseus. It wasn't a convenient choice: for Homer, these islands were the kingdom of Aeolus. Where he filmed, and what you can see yourself.
- Which Aeolian island to chooseGuide
Seven islands, and they are not interchangeable. Choose badly and you'll end up on Alicudi looking for a restaurant, or on Panarea in August looking for silence. For each one: who it suits, how long you need, and what not to expect.
- The Aeolian Islands in a day from Capo d'OrlandoGuide
The Aeolians are the reason many people choose this coast. Day trips work — provided you pick the right island and the right timetable.
- A weekend in the Aeolians: making it all fitGuide
Two nights are enough for a real taste of the archipelago — if you pick one base and don't chase everything.
FAQ about Panarea
Are there cars on Panarea?
No: private cars do not circulate on the island. You get around on foot or by small electric golf carts, and the settlement can be crossed in about twenty minutes.
What can you see in Panarea in a day?
The village of San Pietro, Zimmari beach, the prehistoric village of Capo Milazzese and Cala Junco: all linked by a walk of around an hour. With a boat, add the tour of the islets and the underwater fumaroles between Lisca Bianca and Bottaro.
Stay in Capo d'Orlando
A base in the centre — and everything else becomes a day trip.
The port for the Aeolians is 45 minutes away, the Nebrodi right behind. Breakfast served early for dawn departures.
Direct booking, no intermediaries · See the rooftop →
