Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) mediate the active transport of large substrates and allow the passive diffusion of small molecules into the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. The EMBO Workshop on the Mechanisms of Nuclear Transport focused on NPCs and on the soluble nucleocytoplasmic transport machinery. This meeting, organized by Valérie Doye (Institut Curie, Paris) and Ed Hurt (University of Heidelberg), was held within view of Mount Etna at Taormina, Sicily (November 1-5, 2003). Presentations emphasized the dynamic properties of the nuclear trafficking machinery, and demonstrated the continuity of nuclear transport with processes in the nucleus and cytoplasm.