Panarea Tourist Information

Panarea, with a surface of 3.3 Km2, is the smallest island of the Aeolian Archipelago, but its beauty is with no doubt unique. It was inhabited since prehistory and today during winter it has around 280 residents.

Its name derives from the characteristics of its soil (“Panaraia” means "rugged") that anyway allow some very nice walks among hibiscus, capers and Bouganville flowers, with a view of the wonderful small islands surrounding it: Basiluzzo, Lisca bianca, Lisca nera, Bottaro, Le Formiche, Dattilo, the Panarelli and, in the distance, the beautiful island of Stromboli.

The western side of the island is characterised by nearly vertical sea cliffs, while on the eastern side gentle slopes end with a high coast made of black volcanic rocks and with small pebble beaches. The small urban area is located on this side of the island, right behind the beaches.

In the south eastern side, close to Punta Milazzese, there are the relics of a  prehistoric village dominating the beautiful Cala Junco bay. All around the island, some small rocks called Formiche (ants) lay right below the surface of the sea and caused many shipwrecks in the past.

When you stay in Panarea, you will feel like in a big family, where you have the sensation of knowing everybody. This happens because when you walk along the streets, that are closed to automobile traffic, you meet the same persons many times.

Every time a ship or a hydrofoil gets to the pier of the small port of San Pietro, the same ritual takes place: hundreds of persons, both tourists and inhabitants, go to the pier to see who is arriving and to say goodbye to those who leave the island.

This island is the preferred destination for high-level tourism: many tourists in these years bought pieces of land and renovated old houses. The ancient Aeolian style was characterised by a great simplicity and by the use of local materials.

The white colour of houses is a recent element: in ancient times, walls had no plaster, both because it was expensive and to have a camouflage house not visible by pirates.

In fact, one of the areas of the island, the “contrada Drautto” took its name from the dreaded pirate Draugh, who used to come here with his ships.

Cars cannot be carried to Panarea, but you can rent here scooters or electric cars, and also fishing and inflatable boats.