Palmi is famous for its spectacular sunset. It is approx 47 km from Reggio Calabria (40 mins by car) and about 27 km from Scilla (30 mins). There are two areas of Palmi; the seaside resort and the historic centre.
You go down a winding road to the seafront. There you will find beautiful beaches and sea.
There are a few restaurants, bars and lidos on the promenade and to reach the historic town there is a narrow road. This winds up to the old town with plenty of shops, bars, hotels and restaurants.
The breathtaking mountains
As you look up from the beach, the view will take your breath away. You will see verdant mountains high above the town.
There is a nice promenade which becomes very lively in the evenings with many events in the summer. There are not many shops here as they are located in the historic centre of Palmi.
The famous rock of Palmi is incredible at sunset
It was very hot and we had been driving for a while so it was nice to find a beautiful beach. . It was a little cloudy that day but very pleasant.
What makes Palmi famous is the rocks sticking out of the water but even more so, the olive tree which grows right in the middle of one of them.
It was incredible to see and many people would stop to capture it on their cameras or bathers would climb onto the rocks to get a closer look. It is even more spectacular to see at sunset.
The historic town
After swimming and having a wonderful lunch on the seafront. We met some local people who told us we could not leave until we had seen the spectacular sunset which Palmi is famous for.
We decided to wait and headed to the old town. We were very happy to have found many shops here and a beautiful public garden.
The public gardens is the best place to be at sunset
The gardens are open to the public and It was amazing to see so many nice flowers and ornamental pots laid out all around this beautiful garden.
There is also a nice bar inside the park with tables and chairs so we could relax there for a little while waiting for the sunset.
Many people arrived early evening and just before the sun started to set, the park was full of spectators.
The view point where you can watch this spectacular sunset
At the end of the park, there was a real surprise waiting, the park leads you onto a wonderful promenade with an incredible view of the Aeolian islands and Sicily in the background.
Everyone was waiting patiently for the sun to set.
The spectacular sunset
The name of Palmi’s coastline is the purple coast (Costa Viola). Even Plato was overwhelmed by the incredible colours they create when the sun sets. I had never seen a sunset like it.
There were many shades of purple lighting the sky and excited tourists, locals and their relatives were just as blown away as I was.
The spectacle lasted a while. This is one sunset I will never forget. The local people were right not to miss out on this magical moment. Make sure you get the timing right with this useful resource. The Cedro coast is also famous for its sunsets. Read more here.