Reggio Calabria is a city in Calabria on the toe of Italy. It's a ferry port for the short crossing to Messina in Sicily. Among the attractions of Reggio are the Riace Bronzes, a legacy of the city's Magna Graecia origins: together with the National Archaeological Museum that houses them, the two bronzes are one of the main tourist destinations of the city on the Strait.
Reggio is home to the particular and rare optical-mythological phenomenon of Fata Morgana, during which the Sicilian coast appears to be only a few metres away and it is possible to clearly distinguish houses, cars and people. Reggio is of great antiquity, being part of the Hellenistic region of Magna Grecia, but there's little of that to see nowadays. The city has suffered repeated earthquakes, and was pulverised by the terrible quake and tsunami of 1908. Then came heavy Allied bombing in the Second World War.
Local buses mostly all run to Piazza Garibaldi, in front of Stazione Centrale. The bus company is ATAM (Azienda Trasporti per l'Area Metropolitana di Reggio Calabria), toll-free: 800 43 33 10. Buy tickets in any newsagent or tabaccheria. A single ticket valid for 75 min costs €1.50, a daily ticket costs €4.50. (updated Nov 2022)
The elegant main promenade is Lungomare Italo Falcomatà, paralleling Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Midway along is the modern Amphitheatre (Arena dello Stretto/Anfiteatro Anassilaos) 2 . For city strolling, follow the mostly pedestrianised Corso Garibaldi, which crosses the main squares of piazza Garibaldi, piazza Duomo, piazza Camagna, piazza d'Italia, and piazza de Nava. 1 Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria), Piazza Giuseppe De Nava, 26 (100 m from Lido Station), ☏ +39 0965 898272. Tu-Su 09:00-20:00 (last admission 19:30). From the 8th century BCE, many Greeks fled their homeland to settle in south Italy and Sicily.
Ride the ferry across the Straits for the view, even if you don't intend to visit Sicily. You need a conventional car-ferry for this, where you can get out on deck: on the fast-cats you're closed in behind salt-crusted windows. Check also that your return ferry brings you back to your starting point (whether Reggio or Villa San Giovanni) and not to the other one 14 km away. The second Saturday in September sees the religious procession Festa della Madonna della Consolazione.
Cordon Bleu, Corso Garibaldi 205, ☏ +39 0965 814907. Daily 07:00-00:00. In a verandah-tent spilling across the street. Acts posh with waiters in black tie and white tuxedo, paper hats on draught beer, etc., but it's basically a glorified fast-food joint. Equally good for snacks and main meals. It's famous for crispellini, small balls of bread stuffed with fish and fried (€2 for a large bag). They may be the closest you'll get to fish doughnuts. (updated Oct 2019) La Dolce Vita (Pizzeria Braceria), Via Cardinale Tripepi 7, ☏ +39 0965 24874. Tu-Su 07:00-00:00. Handy choice near Parco Caserta. (updated Mar 2018) Gelateria Cesare, Piazza Indipendenza, 2. Daily 05:00-02:00.
Pepy's Beach, Lungomare Falcomata (mid-way along main promenade). open 24 / 7. Good place to have a quiet beer, limoncello, bergamotto or cocktail while looking across at Sicily and listening to the waves hitting the rocky beach. (updated Mar 2018)
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Aug, Reggio Calabria typically sees ~31°C daytime highs and 4 rainy days.
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