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Italy · City break

Palermo City Guide

Nowhere in Europe do Arab domes, Norman gold mosaics and Baroque façades sit so close. At Ballarò the traders sing out their prices, street food comes straight from the fryer, and the old town shows splendour and decay side by side. Two ready-made day routes cover the Cappella Palatina, the catacombs and Mondello.

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Our walking tours of Palermo

Ready-made routes from the station guide you through Palermo – to the right spots from the very first step, with no planning needed.

Centre, cathedral & Ballarò

Day one starts at the Teatro Massimo, Italy's largest opera house, and carries on to the cathedral, where Norman, Arab, Gothic and Baroque layers sit on top of each other, and into the Palazzo dei Normanni with its golden Cappella Palatina. After street food at Ballarò the day ends at the Quattro Canti, the Fontana Pretoria and inside the gold-lined Martorana.

  1. Teatro Massimo – The day starts in front of Italy's largest opera house, a neoclassical colossus opened in 1897 after more than twenty years of building. You probably know the broad flight of steps with the two bronze lions from the finale of The Godfather Part III, filmed right here. During the day a guided tour takes you into the auditorium, the boxes and the royal salon, whose ceiling opens up for ventilation. If you have no time for the inside, the square in front works fine as an opening scene.
  2. Palermo Cathedral – No other building shows so clearly how many cultures built on top of each other here: a Norman church went up from 1185 on the site of a mosque, joined later by a Catalan-Gothic porch, a Baroque dome and a neoclassical makeover inside. On a column of the south portal a carved Koranic verse from the mosque era survives to this day. The nave itself is free, but the small extra charge for the roof terraces is well worth it: from up there you look across the old-town domes to Monte Pellegrino. Shoulders and knees must be covered or you won't get in.
  3. Norman Palace & Palatine Chapel – The Norman Palace was the seat of the Arab emirs, then of the Norman kings, and today houses the Sicilian regional parliament, making it Europe's oldest royal residence still in use. Inside, the target is the Cappella Palatina of 1140: Byzantine gold mosaics on the walls, a Christ Pantocrator in the dome and above it an Arab muqarnas ceiling of painted wood. Three cultures in one room, none of them pushing the others out - for many the finest interior in Europe. Allow enough time, as mornings get crowded. Honest tip: the royal apartments only open on certain days, and that isn't mentioned when you buy your ticket.
  4. Mercato Ballarò – Ballarò is the city's oldest and liveliest market, and the one where the Arab heritage comes through most clearly: the traders' cries, the abbanniata, are a singsong of their own that you have to hear once. This is where you eat standing up what made Palermo famous: panelle of chickpea flour, arancine, sfincione and, for the brave, the spleen sandwich pani ca meusa. Around the stalls the Albergheria quarter is poor and colourful at once, with murals between crumbling façades. Lunch here beats any restaurant in the old town.
  5. Quattro Canti – The Quattro Canti are not a sight in the classic sense but a street crossing turned into stage scenery in the 17th century. Four identical concave Baroque façades form an octagon, each standing for a season, a Spanish viceroy and a patron saint of the city. Because the sun travels across the four sides through the day, the square is also called the theatre of the sun. Stand in the middle for a moment and turn once on the spot - that is all it takes.
  6. Fontana Pretoria – The fountain was originally built for a garden in Florence and then sold to Palermo, where it was reassembled on Piazza Pretoria in 1574. A whole block of houses had to go, and the naked marble figures of gods, nymphs and sea creatures caused instant outrage: the nuns of the convent opposite are said to have complained so loudly that the square is still called the fountain of shame. A few steps further on, Piazza Bellini opens up.
  7. La Martorana – On Piazza Bellini, a few steps from the Fontana Pretoria, stands one of the city's oldest churches, founded in 1143 by an admiral of King Roger II. Inside, 12th-century Byzantine gold mosaics pull your eyes upwards, among them one of the earliest images of Roger being crowned by Christ himself. Baroque splendour was added later, and it is exactly that clash that gives the room its character. Next door sits the red-domed San Cataldo - it hardly gets more Arab-looking in Europe.

Catacombs, Monreale & Mondello

Day two leaves the old town behind. It starts in the Capuchin catacombs with their 8,000 mummified dead, then takes the bus up to Monreale, where 6,000 square metres of gold mosaic line the entire cathedral. It winds down by the sea at Mondello, in the bay with turquoise water, its Liberty-style bathing house and a view of Monte Pellegrino.

  1. Capuchin Catacombs – Beneath the Capuchin monastery lies probably the most unsettling place in Sicily: some 8,000 dead stand and hang in long corridors, many still in their clothes. It began in 1599 with the monks themselves; later citizens, priests and whole families had themselves buried here too, neatly sorted by rank and profession. The best known is little Rosalia Lombardo from 1920, who thanks to a special embalming method still looks almost untouched. Photography is strictly forbidden and fined. Honest warning: this is not for the squeamish or for small children - if you'd rather skip it, head straight on to Monreale.
  2. Monreale Cathedral – Monreale cathedral is the real reason to come to Palermo. King William II had it built from 1174, according to legend mainly to spite the powerful archbishop of Palermo, and at astonishing speed. Inside, some 6,000 square metres of gold mosaic cover the walls and tell the whole Bible from Genesis to the Acts of the Apostles, crowned by the enormous Christ Pantocrator in the apse whose hand alone measures two metres. Don't skip the cloister: 228 twin columns, every capital carved differently, and an Arab fountain in one corner. If you still have the energy, climb to the roof terrace and look out over the Conca d'Oro to the sea.
  3. Mondello – The finale is by the sea: Mondello lies between Monte Pellegrino and Monte Gallo in a bay of turquoise water and pale sand. Until the early 20th century this was marshland, then a Belgian company drained it and built the resort along with the stilted Liberty-style bathing house that is still its landmark. At the private stabilimenti you rent a sunbed and parasol, while the free stretch of beach is further west. In the late afternoon half of Palermo sits here over an ice cream or fried fish, and that beats the midday heat.

Getting there & around

Palermo's old town is best walked - the distances between the quarters are short. For Monreale, the catacombs and Mondello you need the AMAT buses: buy the ticket beforehand at a kiosk or in the app, on board it costs more. You pay in euros, and in the markets and small trattorias often only in cash. High summer gets seriously hot, so save the indoor sights for the afternoon. And honestly: in the narrow alleys and the crush of the markets keep a hand on your bag, then nothing will happen to you here.

Going out & nightlife

Nightlife quarters

Food & restaurants

Stage & concerts

See all stops for Palermo in the app →

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