Palermo (Sicilian: Palermu) is on the northern coast of the Italian island of Sicily. It is a city with a thousand years of history, beautiful Arab-Norman architecture, amazing food, and lively neighbourhoods. It is a bit scruffy around the edges, but a visit of a few days will make you want to stay for weeks.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
It's the capital city of the autonomous region of Sicily and of its own province. The city's economy is based on local government institutions, port, shipbuilding industry and the mechanical industry. It is also seat to some important Sicilian wine-making companies (like Tasca d'Almerita, Duca di Salaparuta, Corvo, and Planeta) whose popularity in the world is growing. Capital of Sicily, founded by Phoenicians under the name of Ziz (= Flower, but the meaning is still doubtful), later renamed by Greeks Panormos, which means "all port".
Although Palermo is a fair-sized city, most of the interesting sites around the centre can easily be reached on foot. There are a large number of bicycles and e-scooters for hire across the city. These include Lime, RideMovi and others. Prices vary. Get a 24-hour ticket for €4. Many buses run on Via Roma. You can take the "Free Centro Storico" bus to move around the old town; it covers all the main touristic areas. To go to Piazzale Indipendenza, take bus 109 from the station. If you want to go to Mondello, take the bus 806. You can also use the mobile app Moovit to browse all the urban lines and plan your trips around the city.
Because of its variety of monuments, attesting to its long and rich history, and the number of other cultural and naturalistic attractions, Palermo can offer a very interesting experience to the visitor interested in exploring it. The Cathedral of Monreale, the Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, the Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, the Church of San Cataldo, the Palermo Cathedral, the Zisa Palace and the Admiral’s Bridge, comprise together with the cathedral in Cefalù the world heritage site “Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale”. 1 Palermo Cathedral, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, ☏ +39 091 334373.
Football: Palermo FC play soccer in Serie B, the second tier. Their home ground Stadio Renzo Barbera (capacity 36,300) is 5 km north of city centre.
Try specialties of Palermo like panino con la milza or panelle, in one of the many sandwich stands in the old city centre. 1 Stuzzicandoci, Via Vittorio Emanuele, 251. Best place to eat a delicious arancina in Palermo downtown. The owner is really kind and friendly. Quality ingredients and courteous staff. (updated May 2022) 2 Timilia, Via Maqueda, 221. Very good pizzeria, a real delight. Also Vegan options. For those intolerant to gluten and lactose, the pizzas are gluten-free and the mozzarella is lactose-free. (updated May 2022) 3 Maqueda Bistrot, Via Maqueda, 253. Great place, very delicious pasta and the bruschetta with the mozarella is tasty.
Enoteca Picone, Via Marconi 36, ☏ +39 091331300. The Bar Brothers, Via Vittorio Emanuele 118, ☏ +39 3285672487. W-Su 18:00-00:00. Great little bar for beers and cocktails. A small number of seats out on the street. Beers from €2.50 to 3.50. dal Barone, Via Alessandro Paternostro 87, ☏ +39 3495084347. M-Sa 18:00-00:00. Nice wine bar with a good selection of wines. Good cheeseboards.
Palermo is a quite safe city during the day but it can be an intimidating city at night, especially on week days in the winter, when there are not many students, visitors and locals around. Even if crimes against visitors are quite rare, just remember that: Use common sense all day but especially after dark, especially outside the main streets and if you are a woman You should book a hotel/B&B in the city centre (the areas around Piazza Ruggero Settimo, Fontana della Ninfa and Piazza Giuseppe Verdi are fine), both for security reasons and also because public transportation between the city centre and suburbs is not reliable at night.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Palermo typically sees ~32°C daytime highs and 3 rainy days.
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