Panarea

LellaViola · CC BY-SA 2.0

Lipari, ME

Panarea is the smallest of the inhabited Aeolian Islands and one of the most elegant, with white houses covered in bougainvillea and little lanes where cars don't go. In summer it is a luxury holiday destination, but you only need to leave the village to find rocks and paths that are almost deserted.

At Punta Milazzese, on a headland high above the sea, you can see the remains of a Bronze Age village: oval huts that give their name to the Milazzese culture.

Off the island rise the islets of Basiluzzo, Lisca Bianca and Bottaro, remains of an ancient volcano. Among the rocks the seabed gives off hot gases, a sign that the volcano is not entirely extinct.

• Always accessible
• Half a day or 1 day
• Free entry
• June to September
• No private cars circulate on the island: people get around on foot or with small electric vehicles. The prehistoric village is reached on foot along a path.
• Walk to Punta Milazzese for the prehistoric village and the sunset over Stromboli. For swimming, the boat trip takes in the rocks of Basiluzzo and Lisca Bianca.