Where Is White Lotus Season 2 Filmed Every Sicily Location in Sicily, Italy. The main hotel in the show is the real San Domenico Palace, a Four Seasons Hotel in Taormina. But the season also used beaches, villages, villas, and even a volcano across the whole island — plus a studio in Rome for indoor scenes.
If you watched Season 2 and thought, “I need to go there,” you are not alone. This travel trend even has a name now: set-jetting — when people travel to places specifically because they saw them on TV or in a film. White Lotus Season 2 made Sicily one of the most searched travel destinations in the world almost overnight.
This guide covers every single filming location from Season 2, tells you if you can visit, how much it costs, and what most other articles forget to mention.
The Main Hotel — San Domenico Palace, Taormina
The heart of White Lotus Season 2 is the hotel. In the show, it is called the White Lotus Resort Sicily. In real life, it is the San Domenico Palace, a Four Seasons Hotel, sitting high on a cliff on the northeast coast of Sicily.
This building has a remarkable history. It started as a 15th-century monastery built in 1430. Monks lived there for hundreds of years. Then it became a grand hotel. In 2021, the Four Seasons group took it over and gave it a full luxury makeover. Today it has 111 rooms, ancient courtyards, beautiful gardens, an infinity pool, a fine dining restaurant, and a spa.
From the hotel, you can see three incredible things at once: the Ionian Sea, Mount Etna, and a 2,000-year-old Greek amphitheatre. That view alone explains why the show’s creators chose this place.
Famous people who stayed here over the years include Oscar Wilde, Audrey Hepburn, and King Edward VII. And now, thanks to HBO, the whole world knows about it.
Is the Hotel Real? Can You Stay There?
Yes, the hotel is completely real and open to guests. You do not need to be a cast member or have any special connection. You can book a room, check in, walk the same corridors Jennifer Coolidge walked, sit by the same infinity pool, and eat at the same restaurant.
One important thing to know: the exterior scenes of the hotel were filmed right there at San Domenico Palace. But the hotel room scenes — the interiors, the bedrooms, the hallways — were actually filmed at Lumina Studios near Rome. Almost no other article mentions this. The production team built realistic replicas of the hotel rooms at the studio so they could control lighting and camera angles.
How Much Does It Cost to Stay?
This is the question everyone wants answered, and most travel blogs skip it. Here is the honest answer:
| Room Type | Price Per Night (Off-Season) | Price Per Night (Peak Summer) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Double Room | €1,300 – €1,600 | €2,200 – €3,000+ |
| Junior Suite | €2,000 – €2,800 | €3,500 – €5,000+ |
| Specialty Suite | €4,000+ | €6,000+ |
Yes, it is very expensive. But you do not have to stay there to visit. You can walk around the hotel grounds, have a drink at the bar, or eat at the restaurant — all without being an overnight guest. Many visitors do exactly this to experience the White Lotus feeling on a normal budget.
The Beach Scenes — Cefalù Beach
Here is something that surprises almost every fan: the beach you see at the start and end of Season 2 is NOT next to the hotel. It is not even close.
The beach used in the show is Cefalù Beach, located on the northern coast of Sicily. The hotel (San Domenico Palace) is on the northeastern coast. Between the two, there is a two-hour drive through the mountains and across the island.
In the very first episode, Daphne (Meghann Fahy) finds a body floating in the turquoise sea. That was filmed at Cefalù. In the background of many beach scenes, you can clearly see a large, beautiful cathedral. That is the Duomo di Cefalù, a Norman cathedral built in the 12th century by King Roger II of Sicily.
Episode 6 shows Portia (Haley Lu Richardson) and Jack (Leo Woodall) sitting on the pier at Cefalù, with colourful fishing boats in the background.
Where Exactly Is Cefalù?
Cefalù is a small coastal town about 70 kilometres east of Palermo on Sicily’s northern coast. It is known for its sandy beach, dramatic limestone cliffs, ancient temples, and that famous cathedral. It is a very popular beach town and gets busy in summer.
How Far Is Cefalù From Taormina?
| Route | Distance | Travel Time |
|---|---|---|
| Cefalù to Taormina (by car) | Around 180 km | About 2 to 2.5 hours |
| Cefalù to Palermo (by car) | Around 70 km | About 1 hour |
| Cefalù to Palermo (by train) | Around 70 km | About 1 hour |
If you are planning a road trip through the White Lotus filming locations, the most logical order is: Palermo → Cefalù → Taormina → Noto. This way you travel across the island efficiently without doubling back.
Noto — Harper and Daphne’s Day Trip
In Episode 3, Harper (Aubrey Plaza) and Daphne (Meghann Fahy) take a day trip together. The destination is Noto, a small city in the southeast corner of Sicily. What starts as a fun girls’ trip slowly becomes one of the most tension-filled storylines of the season.
Noto is famous for its Baroque architecture — a style of grand, highly decorated buildings with curved walls, dramatic columns, and stone carvings. The city was completely rebuilt after a massive earthquake destroyed it in 1693, and the new buildings were so beautiful that the entire area is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What Did They Film in Noto?
- Harper and Daphne walk down the steps of Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi all’Immacolata, one of the most photographed stairways in Sicily
- They sit on the terrace of La Cattedrale Pizzeria, right next to the Palazzo Ducezio (the town hall), with the towering Cattedrale di San Nicolò in the background
- Daphne goes to an ATM on the same street — a very normal moment in a very dramatic episode
- Later, they stay overnight at what appears in the show to be a grand villa in Noto — but in real life, that villa is actually in Palermo (more on that below)
What to See in Noto Today
If you visit Noto, here is what you should not miss:
| Attraction | Why It Is Worth Visiting |
|---|---|
| Cattedrale di San Nicolò | The main cathedral, stunning Baroque façade |
| Palazzo Ducezio | The beautiful town hall, right on the main street |
| Via Corrado Nicolaci | A famous street with balconies decorated with stone carvings |
| Chiesa di San Francesco | The church with the steps from the show |
| Local pastry shops | Noto is famous for almond sweets and granita |
Noto is small and easy to walk around in half a day. It pairs well with a visit to Syracuse, which is only about 30 minutes away by car.
Palermo — Villa Tasca and the Opera House
Palermo is Sicily’s capital city, and it plays a big role in the second half of Season 2. This is where Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) accompanies the mysterious Quentin (Tom Hollander) and his friends to what she thinks is an innocent holiday — but which slowly turns dark.
Two key locations in Palermo:
Villa Tasca — In the show, this villa appears to be in Noto where Harper and Daphne spend the night. But it is actually Villa Tasca in Palermo, about a four-hour drive away. The production team simply filmed the interior and exterior in Palermo and edited it into the Noto storyline. Villa Tasca was built in the mid-1500s. The composer Richard Wagner worked on his opera Parsifal here in 1881. The villa sits in a large 8-hectare park filled with citrus trees and old stone paths. The interiors have 18th-century frescoed ceilings and hand-painted Majolica tiles.
Teatro Massimo — This is Palermo’s grand opera house, one of the largest in Europe. It appears in the show when Tanya and Quentin’s group go to see an opera performance. The scene is visually gorgeous and dripping with symbolism — Tanya watches a tragic opera while her own tragic fate closes in around her.
Is Villa Tasca Open to Visitors?
Yes. Villa Tasca welcomes groups and can be visited. A guided tour of the gardens and interior costs around €60 per person, and it includes a coffee break and a walk through the historic park. The villa does not take individual walk-in tourists — you need to arrange a visit in advance, usually as part of a group tour.
The Greek Theatre of Taormina
One of the most iconic images from Season 2 is the ancient Greek Theatre of Taormina, also called the Teatro Greco. In Episode 2, the Di Grasso family — Bert (F. Murray Abraham), Dominic (Michael Imperioli), and Albie (Adam DiMarco) — visit the theatre with Portia (Haley Lu Richardson).
The theatre was originally built by the ancient Greeks more than 2,000 years ago and later expanded by the Romans. It is one of the best-preserved ancient theatres in the world. It sits on a hillside above Taormina with a breathtaking backdrop: Mount Etna on one side and the Ionian Sea stretching out on the other.
Today you can visit the Greek Theatre as a tourist. It is one of the most visited attractions in Sicily. In summer, it hosts live concerts and open-air performances. Entry costs around €10 to €15 per person. It is a 10-minute walk uphill from the centre of Taormina.
Isola Bella — The Famous Island
Isola Bella (which means “Beautiful Island” in Italian) appears several times throughout Season 2. It is a tiny island just off the coast of Taormina, connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of sand that you can walk across when the tide is low.
The island has a recurring presence in the show. In Episode 4, Quentin tells Tanya a story about a Swedish woman who once lived there — and died at the hands of local criminals. Later, after Ethan (Will Sharpe) tells Daphne that he suspects their spouses may have been unfaithful, the two of them walk together across the sandbank toward the island in one of the season’s most ambiguous and talked-about scenes.
Isola Bella is a nature reserve today. You can take a boat trip from the Taormina beach area to get a close-up view of it. From the hillside of Taormina, you can look down and see the entire island — it is one of the most photographed views in all of Sicily.
Mount Etna — The Volcano Shots
Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano, and it looms in the background of Season 2 like a silent character. Early in the season, it appears as a smouldering, moody shape on the horizon. As the drama and tension of the show build up, Etna begins spitting fire into the night sky — a very deliberate visual choice by director Mike White to mirror what is happening to the characters.
In one memorable episode, the group visits an Etna winery, where Harper gets drunk after growing suspicious about what happened between her husband Ethan and their friend Cameron. The wines produced on Etna’s slopes are genuinely exceptional — the volcanic soil gives them a mineral quality you cannot find anywhere else. The wine region is called Etna DOC and is home to some of Sicily’s best-known vineyards.
You can visit Etna year-round. Tours take you up the slopes on foot, by jeep, or by cable car. On clear days, you can see the summit. On active days, you can watch lava flows safely from a distance. Etna winery tours are widely available from Taormina, which sits just 40 kilometres from the volcano.
Giardini Naxos — The Beach Club Scenes
In Episode 4, several scenes take place at what the show calls the White Lotus Beach Club. In real life, this location is the restaurant of UNA HOTELS Capotaormina, a hotel perched on a rocky headland just south of Taormina. The restaurant is called Le Grand Bleu.
The beach itself is a small, secluded spot accessed through a tunnel carved into the rock. Once you walk through the tunnel, you come out onto a private beach with direct views of Isola Bella. This is the exact spot you see on screen.
Nearby is Giardini Naxos, a lively seaside town at the base of the Taormina cliff. The seafront restaurant La Cambusa in Giardini Naxos also appeared in Season 2. This is a real, working restaurant where you can eat today.
The Godfather Location Connection
This is one of the most interesting content gaps in competitor articles — almost none of them cover this properly.
In Season 2, Bert Di Grasso (F. Murray Abraham) is obsessed with his Italian roots and wants to visit places connected to his heritage. The group visits Castello degli Schiavi, an old estate in the small town of Fiumefreddo di Sicilia, about 20 kilometres from Taormina.
What makes this special: Castello degli Schiavi was used in The Godfather films. It is the location where Michael Corleone hides after the famous restaurant shooting scene. If you are a fan of both The White Lotus and The Godfather, this single location connects both worlds.
The castle and its surrounding area are not a major tourist attraction, but fans of both shows visit regularly. Fiumefreddo is a small, quiet town and the drive to the castle takes you through beautiful Sicilian countryside.
Which Scenes Were Filmed in Rome?
This is the number one content gap that almost every competitor misses completely.
Not all of Season 2 was filmed in Sicily. The interior hotel room scenes — the bedrooms, corridors, bathrooms, and close-up indoor moments — were filmed at Lumina Studios, a large film production facility located near Rome on the Italian mainland.
The production team built incredibly detailed replicas of the San Domenico Palace’s interiors at the studio. This is very common in TV production. Filming in a real hotel with guests, natural lighting, and narrow corridors is difficult. A studio allows the crew to control everything — lights, cameras, sound, and set design.
So when you watch a scene where a character is lying in bed or walking through a hotel corridor, you are watching something filmed 800 kilometres away from Sicily, in a studio outside Rome.
This also explains something fans have noticed: the hotel rooms on screen look slightly different from the actual rooms at San Domenico Palace. That is because they are not the real rooms — they are very good copies.
Where Was White Lotus Season 1 Filmed?
Season 1 of The White Lotus was filmed entirely at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea in Hawaii, USA. Unlike Season 2, where the production travelled across Sicily, Season 1 stayed in one place the whole time.
The reason was Covid-19. Filming took place from October to December 2020, during the pandemic. To keep the cast and crew safe, everyone lived and worked in the same hotel for the entire shoot. No one left. No other locations were used.
| Season | Location | Hotel | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | Maui, Hawaii | Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea | USA |
| Season 2 | Sicily | San Domenico Palace, Four Seasons Taormina | Italy |
| Season 3 | Thailand | Four Seasons Koh Samui + others | Thailand |
One famous scene from Season 1 was not filmed at the hotel: the guests’ arrival scene was shot at Olowalu Landing, a different beach about 40 minutes away. And one early scene was filmed at Kahului Airport, Maui’s main airport.
The beach next to the hotel in Season 1 is called Wailea Beach in real life. It is a public beach and anyone can visit.
Where Is White Lotus Season 3 Filmed?
Season 3 of The White Lotus takes the show east — to Thailand. Filming took place in 2024 across multiple locations:
| Location | What Was Filmed There |
|---|---|
| Koh Samui | Main hotel — Four Seasons Koh Samui |
| Phuket | Anantara Mai Khao Phuket resort |
| Bangkok | City scenes |
| Villa Jacinta, Koh Samui | Villa scenes |
Unlike Season 1 (one hotel) and Season 2 (multiple Sicily locations), Season 3 used several different luxury properties. All of them are real, bookable hotels surrounded by Thai beaches, jungle, and traditional temples.
Season 3 premiered in 2025 and continued the same format: a new destination, a mostly new cast, a new mystery, and the same sharp, darkly funny writing by Mike White.
All White Lotus Season 2 Filming Locations — Quick Reference Table
| Filming Location | Real Place Name | Where in Sicily | Can You Visit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| The White Lotus hotel | San Domenico Palace, Four Seasons | Taormina, NE coast | Yes — book a room or visit the bar |
| Beach scenes | Cefalù Beach | Cefalù, N coast | Yes — free public beach |
| Day trip village | Noto historic centre | Noto, SE corner | Yes — UNESCO site, free to walk |
| The villa (overnight) | Villa Tasca | Palermo | Yes — group tours, ~€60 |
| Opera house | Teatro Massimo | Palermo | Yes — guided tours available |
| Ancient theatre | Greek Theatre of Taormina | Taormina | Yes — ~€10 to €15 entry |
| The island | Isola Bella | Off Taormina coast | Yes — boat trips available |
| The volcano | Mount Etna | Eastern Sicily | Yes — guided hikes and jeep tours |
| Beach club | Le Grand Bleu / UNA Capotaormina | Near Taormina | Yes — restaurant open to public |
| Godfather estate | Castello degli Schiavi | Fiumefreddo | Informal visits possible |
| Hotel room interiors | Lumina Studios | Near Rome | No — private studio |
Best Time to Visit Sicily’s White Lotus Locations
Most articles do not give you this information. Here is the honest breakdown:
| Time of Year | What It Is Like | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| April to June | Warm, not crowded, good prices | Best overall time to visit |
| July to August | Very hot, very crowded, expensive | Avoid if you can — peak tourist season |
| September to October | Warm, quieter, great food season | Second best time to visit |
| November to March | Cool, quiet, some places closed | Budget travel but limited experience |
The sweet spot is May or early October. The weather is warm, the sea is swimmable, the crowds are manageable, and hotel prices are much lower than peak summer.
How to Plan Your White Lotus Sicily Road Trip
Here is a simple 5-day plan to visit all the main filming locations:
Day 1 — Palermo Arrive in Palermo. Visit Teatro Massimo (the opera house). Book a tour of Villa Tasca. Walk the old city centre.
Day 2 — Cefalù Drive one hour east to Cefalù. Walk the beach. See the Norman Cathedral. Have lunch by the sea.
Day 3 — Taormina Drive two hours east to Taormina. Check into your hotel. Walk to the Greek Theatre. Watch the sunset over Isola Bella.
Day 4 — Etna and Surroundings Morning jeep or walking tour on Mount Etna. Afternoon at an Etna winery. Visit Fiumefreddo and Castello degli Schiavi (The Godfather estate).
Day 5 — Noto Drive two hours south to Noto. Walk the Baroque streets. Have a pastry at a local café. Fly home from Catania airport, about one hour away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hotel was used in White Lotus Season 2?
The hotel is the San Domenico Palace, a Four Seasons Hotel in Taormina, Sicily. In the show it is called the White Lotus Resort Sicily.
Can you stay at the White Lotus hotel in Sicily?
Yes. The San Domenico Palace is a real, working hotel. Rooms start at around €1,300 per night in the off-season. You can also visit the bar or restaurant without staying overnight.
Is the White Lotus resort a real place?
The White Lotus is a fictional brand in the show. But the actual hotel used for filming — San Domenico Palace — is completely real and you can book a stay there today.
What beach was used in White Lotus Season 2?
The beach scenes were filmed at Cefalù Beach on the northern coast of Sicily, about two hours by car from the main hotel in Taormina.
Is the White Lotus hotel beach next to the hotel? No. This surprises many fans. The beach in the show and the hotel are actually about two hours apart by car. The production filmed them separately and edited them to look connected.
Where did they film the Palermo scenes in White Lotus?
The Palermo scenes were filmed at Villa Tasca (a historic 16th-century villa) and at Teatro Massimo, Palermo’s grand opera house.
Which scenes were filmed in Rome, not Sicily?
All the interior hotel room scenes were filmed at Lumina Studios near Rome. The outdoor and hotel exterior scenes were filmed at the real San Domenico Palace in Taormina.
How expensive is the San Domenico Palace?
Standard rooms start at around €1,300 per night in the off-season and can go above €3,000 per night in peak summer. Suites cost significantly more.
Where was White Lotus Season 3 filmed?
Season 3 was filmed in Thailand — mainly on the island of Koh Samui, with scenes also filmed in Phuket and Bangkok.
What is set-jetting?
Set-jetting is when travellers visit real places because they saw them on a TV show or film. White Lotus Season 2 caused a huge increase in tourists visiting Sicily specifically to see filming locations.
Conclusion
White Lotus Season 2 turned Sicily into one of the most talked-about travel destinations in the world. From the cliff-top luxury of San Domenico Palace in Taormina to the golden Baroque streets of Noto, from the turquoise waters of Cefalù Beach to the fire-spitting slopes of Mount Etna — every corner of this island is genuinely as beautiful on screen as it is in real life.
The good news is that almost everything you see in the show is real and visitable. You do not need a White Lotus budget to experience Sicily. The beaches are free, the streets are open, and the ancient theatres cost just a few euros to enter. Even a coffee at a café in Noto where Harper and Daphne sat is completely possible — and probably very enjoyable.
Whether you are a fan of the show, a lover of Italian history, or just someone looking for an unforgettable holiday, Sicily delivers. Book your flights, plan your road trip, and go see it for yourself — dramatically optional.
