Palermo in 4 Days: a guidebook for getting the most out of your visit

Palermo is one of the most important cities in Sicily and also in Italy, thanks in large part to its architecture that combines Arab and Norman styles, but also because of its lively nightlife, the number of attractions it offers and because it is an ideal city to use as a base on the island to explore the outlying towns.

Here are the best things to see and do in Palermo to discover the city in 4 days:

For the first day of your tour of Palermo I suggest you start in the old town to see some of the main sites such as the picturesque Cathedral, the Norman Palace and the Mercado del Capo, where you can have lunch.

You can also take a mafia tour, which is one of the best tours in Palermo, walk along Via Vittorio Emanuele, which is the main and oldest artery of the city, and dine in the restaurants in the area.

Visit Palermo Cathedral

Palermo Cathedral is the most important Catholic temple in the city and also an architectural landmark, combining Byzantine style with the Aragonese influences of later reforms. Nowadays, it is one of the most visited buildings in Sicily.

During your visit to the Cathedral, you can discover the Sacrament, which is decorated with precious stones and tiles, and the chapel of Santa Rosalia, who is the patron saint of the city and whose feast is celebrated in September, so if you plan to visit the city during that month, you will be able to take part in the celebrations.

The ostentatious character of the building, which is what will attract your attention at first, is due to the fact that the archbishop of Palermo had it built in the 12th century to compete with the Cathedral of Monreale.

• Price: Admission to the Cathedral is free.
• Location: Via Vittorio Emanuele, Palermo.
• Opening Hours: Every day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Tour the Norman Palace and get to know Porta Nuova

The Norman Palace is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, not only because of its blend of Byzantine, Arabic and Norman styles, but also because it is the only royal palace in Sicily and was the residence of the Norman rulers. Today it is one of the best museums in Palermo.

You can reach the Norman Palace from the Cathedral in a 5-minute walk through 5 streets, as it is located on the other side of Villa Bonanno. During your visit you can also visit the royal gardens and the main jewel of the residence which is the Palatine Chapel, considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On the right side of the palace, you can also find Porta Nuova, which is one of the most beautiful in Palermo and symbolizes the opulence of the city in the past and currently preserves one of the most interesting legends, according to which in the New Year you have to cross it for good fortune.

• Price: Entrance to the catacombs costs approximately 8.5 euros per person.
• Location: Piazza del Parlamento 1, Palermo.
• Opening hours: Every day from 8.30am to 4pm.

Lunch at the Mercato del Capo

Once you finish your visit to the Norman Palace, I suggest you visit the Mercado del Capo, which is one of the most traditional markets in the city and is usually included in the best gastronomic tours of Palermo. In this market you can find fruit, vegetables and street food stalls and you can eat the products on the spot.

It also has a historical connection to the city, as legend has it that this is where the Cosa Nostra began to take shape in the Middle Ages, with the participation of a secret lodge that roamed the underground paths of the market. In any case, you can enjoy a good lunch at the Capo before continuing your tour.

The market can be reached by a 10-minute walk along the 7 blocks that separate it from the palace or by using the N5 bus.

• Price: Entrance to the market is free.
• Location: Via Capuccinele, Palermo.
• Opening hours: daily from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Take a mafia tour

From the Mercado del Capo, you can join some of the mafia tours that are very common in Palermo and that you will love if you are a fan of The Godfather trilogy and the secrets of the Cosa Nostra. You can enjoy excursions that take you to the corners of the city where organised crime gangs are formed.

These tours usually take you on a walking tour of Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, Piazza della Memoria, Palermo Cathedral and the Town Hall and, in all cases, will tell you about the mafia's relationship with these sites and the importance of the Cosa Nostra in the city's past industrial development.

During the best mafia tours in Palermo, you will also get to know the historical centre of the city in tours that last approximately 3 hours and end after sunset.

Walk along Via Vittorio Emanuele and dine at some of the best Sicilian restaurants

Via Vittorio Emanuele is the main and oldest artery of the city, so you can't end your first day in Palermo without walking along it to get into the local spirit. Here you will find some of the city's best bars and restaurants as well as shops selling a variety of goods.

If you plan to visit Palermo at Christmas time, you will see that the avenue is completely illuminated with Christmas decorations and during the spring the flowers of the trees become the protagonists of the landscape with their colours, but in all cases the Via Vittorio Emanuele will cross your path.

To end the day you can dine in one of the many Sicilian restaurants, among which I recommend Buatta Cucina Popolana and Osteria Ballaró.

For the second day I suggest you continue with the tour of the historic centre, but this time to visit the unmissable Catacombs of the Capuchins and enjoy Villa Bonanno, which is one of the most famous parks in the city.

You can also go on a gastronomic tour and watch the sunset from Mondello Beach, which stands out for its crystal-clear waters, golden sand and the services it offers around it, including some restaurants where you can have dinner to end the second day.

Visit the Capuchin Catacombs

The Catacombs of the Capuchins is one of the largest and most terrifying underground cemeteries in the world, with over 8000 mummies of friars, priests, bishops and aristocrats from the last 500 years. If you are a fan of alternative tourism, you can walk along the corridors that will take you through the walls covered with mummified bodies.

In this attraction, you can also visit some of the most famous tombs in the world, such as the tomb of the girl Rosalia Lombardo, who is usually noted for her beauty and the calm gesture of her face.

Please note that this tour is not recommended for children, so if you are planning to visit Palermo with children, I advise you to take this into account. The total tour of the catacombs will take approximately 2 to 3 hours.

• Price: Entrance to the catacombs has an initial cost of approximately 15 euros per person.
• Location: Piazza Cappuccini 1, Palermo.
• Hours: daily from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm and from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

Lose yourself in the gardens of Villa Bonanno

From the Catacombs of the Capuchins you can reach Villa Bonanno in a 15-minute walk or by bus on lines 309, 389P and N4 to discover one of the most famous and beautiful parks in the city, where you can rest before continuing your tour.

This park is noted for its neat paths, colourful vegetation, especially if you plan to visit Palermo during the spring months, and also for its proximity to the Albergheria neighbourhood, which is noted for its bohemian character and colourful houses.

Admission to the gardens is free and there is also a stop for Palermo's hop-on-hop-off tour buses.

Take a gastronomic tour

One of the best activities you can do in Palermo is to enjoy its gastronomy, so during the second day I suggest you to take a tour so you can discover the flavours of the city and its stories in a different route to get to know another profile of the capital of Sicily.

Among the tours available, you can take a walking tour through the streets of the historic centre, do tastings in the city's street markets, take a Sicilian cooking class with tasting, go on excursions that include visits to ice cream parlours, bakeries and cafés, and even stroll through the city's street stalls.

Whichever option you choose, you can either book it in advance or book it during your visit to the city. If you are planning to visit Palermo in winter, I advise you to opt for an indoor alternative.

Watch the sunset on Mondello Beach

Mondello beach, located just 10 kilometres from the centre of Palermo, is known for its crystal clear water and golden sand and is the ideal place to rent pedal boats and explore the small gulf in which it is located, especially if you plan to visit Palermo in summer.

No matter what time of year you visit, Mondello offers one of the best sunsets in the city, making it an alternative to the Byzantine buildings and Norman architecture where you can enjoy the Tyrrhenian Sea breeze and sunsets.

The beach can be reached by buses 101 and 107 and you can also use the local services to dine in the local restaurants to round off the second day's sightseeing.

For the third day I suggest a tour of two of Palermo's most interesting public places, namely the octagonal square of Quattro Canti and the Pretoria Fountain, which is located in the square of the same name and is characterised by its decorations.

You can also visit the International Puppet Museum to fulfil one of the local traditions and enjoy Palermo's nightlife at the picturesque Vucciria flea market.

Discover the octagonal Quattro Canti Square

If you want to discover one of the most striking places in Palermo, you must visit Piazza Quattro Canti, which is characterised by an octagonal square that marks the confluence of two of the main arteries of the city, namely Via Maqueda and Via Vittorio Emanuele, the oldest street in Palermo.

In Quattro Canti you can also enjoy the street performances, the giant Christmas tree, the open-air carol concerts and the decorations on the corners of the square. And if you're in Palermo in February or in the winter months, you can take shelter from the cold in the nearby cafés.

At Quattro Canti you can also take some of the best photographs of the city, especially if you focus on the concave facades of the buildings that mark Palermo's most famous corners.

Walk along the Fontana Pretoria

Located within the historic centre of the city, Pretoria is one of Palermo's main squares and is also famous for its nickname, 'the square of shame', as it contains several nude sculptures, but also houses some of the best animal statues in the city, so it's often a space that children marvel at.

The Fontana Pretoria is surrounded by a lower and upper ring containing not only animal figures, but also gods and monsters, allowing you to take some of the best photographs of the city.

Pretoria is located opposite Quattro Canti, so you can walk there and enjoy lunch afterwards at the restaurants in the area, including Malox, Ke Pale and Capocollo.

Visit the International Puppet Museum and marvel at the opera dei puppi

Puppets in Palermo are part of the popular culture and the International Puppet Museum reflects the links of the pupi, as the articulated puppets used in miniature plays are called.

This folklore is ideal for bringing generations together and for children to understand how the older generations used to have fun, before video games, laptops and mobile phones.

The International Marionette Museum also has a theatre where puppet shows are held every day and can be attended by the whole family at no extra cost, as they are included in the ticket price.

The museum can be reached from Pretoria by a 15-minute walk along the 9 streets that separate the two points in Palermo.

• Price: Entrance to the museum has an initial cost of approximately 8 euros per person.
• Location: Piazza Antonio Pasqualino 5, Palermo.
• Opening hours: Every day from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Experience Palermo's nightlife at the Vucciria flea market.

Although there are four large markets in Palermo, one in each of the four historic districts of the city, the Vucciria market stands out from the rest because it is not only a fruit, vegetable and food market, but it is also considered a flea market, since it offers all kinds of items and has always been an informal barter market, as well as being the place of reference for Palermitan teenagers.

Vucciria is the ideal place to discover Palermo's nightlife and to enjoy the open-air bars and restaurants with their music and cocktails. It is also the meeting place for the city's artists.

You can reach Vucciria from the International Marionette Museum in a 10-minute walk along Via Vittorio Emanuele.

• Price: entrance to the market is free.
• Location: Piazza Caracciolo, Palermo.
• Opening hours: Every day from 7.00 am to 8.00 pm.

For the last day, after you have completely explored the main sites of the city, I suggest a trip to the outskirts of the city to visit the villages of Corleone and Portella della Ginestra, which is one of the most picturesque places in Sicily.

The farewell to the city will be at the Teatro Massimo, which is the oldest theatre in the city, one of the largest in Europe and also the setting for some of the best classical opera in Italy.

Excursion to Corleone and Portella della Ginestra

An excursion to Corleone and Portella della Ginestra will interest you if you are still interested in the mafia theme, but not only, because these shared tours in small groups will also help you to learn about the history of the bandit Salvatore Giuliano and visit some of the most beautiful landscapes of the island.

In Corleone you can also visit the historic centre, visit the Mafia Museum, have lunch in some of the typical local places and taste wines from Sicilian cellars. During the tour you will also be amazed by the rural landscapes set in the middle of the hills.

In Portella della Ginestra you can learn about the history of the uprisings and independence revolts that sought for years, unsuccessfully, the independence of Sicily and the influence that the Cosa Nostra had on these movements.

Attend a concert at the Teatro Massimo

The last destination of your 4-day tour of Palermo will be the Teatro Massimo, one of the largest in Europe, where the season opens every year in February. There you can enjoy the classical opera performances as well as the architecture of the building.

You can book tickets for performances at the Teatro Mass imo on the official website in advance or buy them at the time of your visit. In any case, I recommend that you go to the theatre some time before the show, as the queue at the box office is usually very long.

The Teatro Massimo can be reached by public transport on bus lines 104, 108, 118 and N5. After seeing the city, you can dine in the restaurants in the area.