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, largely thanks to its architecture that combines Arab and Norman styles, but also for its fluid nightlife, for the number of attractions it offers and because it is an ideal city to use as a base on the island to get to know 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 visit some of the main sites such as the picturesque Cathedral, the Norman Palace and the Mercado del Capo, where you can have lunch.

In addition, you can also take a mafia tour, which is one of the best tours of 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 the Cathedral of Palermo

The Cathedral of Pal ermo is the most important Catholic temple in the city and also an architectural reference, as it combines the Byzantine style with the Aragonese influences of later reforms. Today, 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 can take part in the celebrations.

The ostentatious character of the building, which is what will attract your attention at first, came about because 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.
• Hours: Every day from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Tour the Palazzo dei Normanni and see Porta Nuova

The Norman Palace is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, not only for its cross between Byzantine, Arabic and Norman styles, but also because it is the only royal palace in Sicily and was the residence of the Norman sovereigns. 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 that the city lived in the past and currently retains one of the most interesting legends, according to which in the New Year you have to cross it to have good fortune.

• Price: The entrance to the catacombs has an approximate initial cost of 8.5 euros per person.
• Location: Piazza del Parlamento 1, Palermo.
• Hours: Every day from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.

Lunch at the Capo Market

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 food tours of Palermo. In this flea market you can find fruit, vegetable and street food stalls and you can consume the products on site.

In addition, it also has a historical relationship with the city, as a legend indicates that the Cosa Nostra began to take shape there in the Middle Ages, with the participation of a secret lodge that traveled the subway paths of the market. In any case, at the Capo you can enjoy a good lunch 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 line.

• Price: entrance to the market is free.
• Location: Via Capuccinele, Palermo.
• Hours: every day 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 organized crime gangs are formed.

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

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

Walk along Via Vittorio Emanuele and dine in some of the 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 a taste of the local spirit. There you will find some of the best bars and restaurants in town as well as stores selling different products.

If you plan to visit Palermo at Christmas, 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 colors, but in all cases the Via Vittorio Emanuele will cross your path.

To close the day you can dine in some of the Sicilian restaurants, among which I recommend Buatta Cucina Popolana and Osteria Ballaro.

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

In addition, you can also take a gastronomic tour and watch the sunset from the Mondello Beach, which stands out for its crystal clear waters, golden sand and the services offered around it, including some restaurants where you can dine to close the second day.

Tour the Catacombs of the Capuchins

The Catacombs of the Capuchins is one of the largest and most terrifying subway cemeteries in the world, with more than 8,000 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 that 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 minors, 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: the 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 stands out for its neat paths, colorful vegetation, especially if you plan to visit Palermo during the spring months, and also for its proximity to the Albergheria neighborhood, which stands out for its bohemian character and colorful houses.

Admission to the gardens is free and there you can also find 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 propose you to take a tour so you can discover the flavors of the city and its stories in a different route to know another profile of the capital of Sicily.

Among the tours available, you can take walking tours through the streets of the historic center, do tastings in the city's street markets, take a Sicilian cooking class with tasting, go on excursions that include visits to ice cream shops, bakeries and cafes, 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 plan 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 kilometers from the center of Palermo, stands out 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.

Regardless of the time of year you visit the city, 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 breeze of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the sunsets.

The beach can be reached by bus lines 101 and 107 and you can also use the services in the area to dine in local restaurants to close the visits of the second day.

For the third day I propose a tour of two of the most interesting public places in Palermo, which are the octagonal square of Quattro Canti and the Fontana Pretoria, which is located in the square of the same name and is characterized by its decorations.

You can also visit the International Puppet Museum to fulfill 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 know one of the most striking places in Palermo, you must visit Piazza Quattro Canti, which is characterized as an octagonal square that marks the confluence of two of the main arteries of the city, which are Via Maqueda and Via Vittorio Emanuele, the oldest Palermitan street.

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. In addition, if you travel to Palermo in February or in the winter months, you can take shelter from the cold in the nearby cafes.

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.

Tour the Fontana Pretoria

Located within the historic center 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, although it 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 that contains not only animal figures, but also gods and monsters, allowing you to take some of the best pictures of the city.

Pretoria is located across the street from Quattro Canti, so you can walk there and enjoy lunch afterward 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 dolls used in miniature plays are called.

This folklore is ideal for bringing generations together and for children to understand how older generations had fun, before video games, laptops and cell phones.

The International Marionette Museum also has a theater where daily puppet shows are organized 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 in a 15-minute walk along the 9 streets that separate the two points of Palermo.

• Price: the entrance to the museum has an initial cost of approximately 8 euros per person.
• Location: Piazza Antonio Pasqualino 5, Palermo.
• 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 all kinds of items are offered there and it 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 Puppet Museum in a 10-minute walk along Via Vittorio Emanuele.

• Price: entrance to the market is free.
• Location: Piazza Caracciolo, Palermo.
• Hours: Every day from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.

For the last day, after having fully 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.

In addition, the farewell to the city will be at the Teatro Massimo, which is the oldest theater in the city, one of the largest in Europe and also the scene of the best classical operas 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 in that case, because these shared tours in small groups will also serve 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 will also get to know the historic center, visit the Mafia Museum, have lunch in some of the typical local places and taste wines from Sicilian wineries. During the tour you will also marvel at the rural landscapes cloistered 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 of the Cosa Nostra in these movements.

Attend a concert at the Massimo Theater

The last destination of your 4-day tour of Palermo will be at the Teatro Massimo, which is one of the largest in Europe and where every year in February the season is inaugurated. There you will be able to enjoy the classical opera plays and also the architecture of the building.

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

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