Palermo is best understood arriving from the sea. The ship enters the gulf with Monte Pellegrino closing it on one side, the headland of pale rock that Goethe called the most beautiful in the world, and ahead lies the city spread out in the Conca d'oro, with the amphitheatre of mountains behind it. The port is not on the outskirts: it starts from via Francesco Crispi, next to the Cala, the inlet where the Phoenicians landed, and that is why the Greeks called it Panormos, all harbour. From the ferry terminal to the Quattro Canti it is little more than a kilometre. Inside is a city made of layers. Underneath, the capital of the Arab emirate and then of the Kingdom of Sicily, when the Norman kings brought together Arab architects, Byzantine mosaicists and Latin churches: from that time come the red domes of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Cappella Palatina, the Martorana. On top, the Spanish and Baroque city of the Quattro Canti and the Fontana Pretoria. And everywhere the markets, Ballarò, the Capo, the Vucciria, where street food is eaten standing up.
Sleeping
Stops and overnight stays
In the old town the motorhome has nowhere to stay. The stopovers are two equipped and guarded car parks in the city, less than three kilometres from the ferry terminal and open late in the evening too, when the ship docks, and a campsite by the sea at Isola delle Femmine, open until the end of October.
Green Car
Via Quarto dei Mille 11/B, 90129 Palermo
a car park for cars and motorhomes, guarded day and night, less than a kilometre from the Palazzo dei Normanni. You can drive in at any hour, and the operator suggests arriving by 23:00: it is the stopover you need on the evening you disembark, less than three kilometres from the ferry terminal. The cold shower is free, the hot one by token. Animals are welcome on a lead
25 euros a day, for 24 hours, with water filling, emptying, electricity and wifi; hot showers by token. The website does not say which year the price list is from · 091 6515010 · greencarpalermo.it
a stopover area guarded day and night, open all year, north of the centre, towards the Favorita, among the citrus groves. Inside there is a workshop for motorhomes and caravans, useful if at the end of the trip the vehicle needs a repair. The stop for bus 107 is a few steps away, there is also the metro, and tickets are sold at reception. Animals are welcome
ElectricityWaterGrey waterToiletsShowerWi-Fi
20 euros a night for the motorhome with its crew and the service point, 30 euros over 8.5 metres; electricity 5 euros a day, hot shower 1 euro, the service point alone 5 euros. It is the price list in force since 1 February 2023 · 091 542555 · ideavacanzepa.it
a campsite under the olive trees at Isola delle Femmine, eighteen kilometres from the port along the motorway to Trapani, with the sea a few hundred metres away. The station is eight hundred metres away, and the regional train to Palermo is the way to get into town without moving the motorhome. Check-in is from 9:00 to 14:30 and from 16:30 to 21:00: those who disembark late in the evening do not make it, and arrive the next day. The campsite has an agreement with Grimaldi Lines, which gives a discount on the ship from Livorno, Salerno and Naples to those who book here
The price list is not published and comes with the booking request; with the ACSI Camping Card 23 euros a night from 1 September to 31 October, for two people, pitch, electricity, two hot showers and a dog. The Camper Service & Stop, one night with water filling and emptying but without electricity or campsite facilities, costs 20 euros in September and October. The tourist tax is 1 euro per person · 091 8677001 · laplayacamping.it
You reach Palermo from the sea, and the ship docks little more than a kilometre from the Quattro Canti. But the motorhome is no use in the centre: you disembark, go to the stopover, and come back into town on foot or by bus.
The ships: from Genoa comes GNV, with a crossing of a little over twenty hours, six departures a week that become seven in summer; GNV also arrives from Civitavecchia, in thirteen and a half hours, and from Naples, in eleven. From Naples there is also Tirrenia, all year, nine and a quarter hours by day and from ten and a half to twelve hours by night. Grimaldi arrives from Livorno, Salerno, Naples and Cagliari
Where you disembark: the port stretches north from via Francesco Crispi. GNV gives its terminal as Calata Marinai d'Italia and its ticket office as Calata Puntone; Grimaldi boards at the molo Quattro Venti or the molo Puntone, and the pier can change according to the needs of the port. The ferry terminal is on the molo Piave
Leaving the port: the vehicle gates are the varco Santa Lucia and the varco Amari, both on via Francesco Crispi, and the varco Cristoforo Colombo on via dell'Arsenale. Via Crispi is the seafront road that leads on one side to the Cala and the Foro Italico, on the other towards Monte Pellegrino
The evening you disembark: the ship from Genoa arrives in the evening, and the two stopovers in the city take arrivals at any hour; the campsite at Isola delle Femmine does check-in only until 21:00
Boarding: with a motorhome you show up at least two hours before departure, with both GNV and Grimaldi; for Palermo-Genoa GNV suggests three hours. Only the driver goes to the garage; the others board and disembark through the foot passenger entrances, and you meet up above
During the crossing: the garage stays closed, and you take to the cabin everything you need for the night and the next day. Gas bottles travel with the valves closed, and lighting stoves on board is forbidden. An LPG motorhome must be declared at boarding, and it is placed in a separate section of the garage
Camping on board, that is staying in your own motorhome during the crossing, is allowed by law only from 1 April to 31 October, on the open decks and in the dedicated areas: where the company offers it, you show up three hours before, and in rough seas the captain can forbid it
Animals on GNV ships travel in the dedicated cabins, at most two per cabin, or in the kennel or cattery; they cannot stay in the common areas, and there is an outdoor area to walk them, on a lead and with a muzzle
The ZTL: the centre is a limited traffic zone with electronic gates, Monday to Thursday from 8:00 to 20:00. From 1 May to 31 October on Friday from 8:00 to midnight, on Saturday from midnight to 6:00 and from 20:00 to midnight, on Sunday from midnight to 6:00; from 1 November to 30 April on Friday from 8:00 to 20:00 and from 23:00 to midnight, on Saturday from midnight to 6:00 and from 23:00 to midnight, on Sunday from midnight to 6:00. Non residents enter with the 5 euro day pass, bought from the PalerMobilità app, on the Comune's website or at AMAT outlets, but only with a petrol vehicle of at least Euro 3 or a diesel of at least Euro 4. The rules do not mention motorhomes, and in the streets of the old town a motorhome has nowhere to stop: leave it outside
The buses are run by AMAT: a ticket is valid for ninety minutes and costs 1.40 euros, 1.80 if bought on board from the driver; the day ticket 3.50 euros, the two day ticket 6, three days 8, seven days 16.50. From the port to the centre run lines 101, 102, 107 and 230; for Mondello there is the 806; the 812 climbs to the sanctuary of Santa Rosalia
The tram has four lines, which run from the outskirts to the Stazione Centrale and to Notarbartolo station, from 6:00 to 21:00: for visiting the centre it is of little use
On foot: the old town is a square cut into four by the Cassaro, today via Vittorio Emanuele, which runs down from the Palazzo dei Normanni to the sea, and by via Maqueda. They cross at the Quattro Canti, and almost everything worth seeing is within a quarter of an hour from there
Seeing
Sights
A walk that starts from the Quattro Canti, goes down into the Albergheria to the Palazzo dei Normanni, comes back along the Cassaro and ends at the Kalsa, by the sea. Monte Pellegrino, Mondello and Monreale are outside, and each is worth half a day. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.
1
Quattro Canti
Square · free entry · 38.11568, 13.36146
Piazza Villena, incrocio fra via Maqueda e via Vittorio Emanuele, Palermo
the octagonal square at the crossing of the two streets of the centre, the Cassaro, which is the Phoenician road from the Palazzo dei Normanni to the sea, and via Maqueda. Its real name is piazza Villena, after the viceroy who in 1608 entrusted its design to Giulio Lasso; the four curved façades were built between 1609 and 1620. They read from bottom to top: the fountains with the four rivers of the ancient city, the four seasons, the four Spanish kings, and at the top the four patron saints from before Rosalia, Agata, Ninfa, Oliva and Cristina. It was also called the Theatre of the Sun, because at every hour of the day at least one of the four façades is in the sun.
a few steps from the Quattro Canti, in front of the Palazzo delle Aquile, which is the town hall. The fountain was not made for Palermo: Francesco Camilliani carved it in Florence from 1554 for the garden of don Luigi di Toledo, who, in debt, sold it to the Senate of Palermo. It arrived in port in May 1574, dismantled into 644 pieces, and houses were demolished to make room for it. The people of Palermo call it the fountain of shame, for the sums the Senate spent to buy it and set it up.
two Norman churches side by side, above piazza Bellini. The Martorana, Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio, was founded in 1143 by George of Antioch, the Syrian admiral of King Roger II; it took its name from the nearby convent founded by Eloisa Martorana, the one whose nuns are credited with the almond paste fruit. Inside are the Byzantine mosaics, and today it is the co-cathedral of the Italo-Albanians of the Byzantine rite. San Cataldo was built by Maione di Bari between 1154 and 1160, with three domes in a row on the roof. The red of the domes, which has become the colour of Norman Palermo, was an idea of the late nineteenth century restoration. The hours and prices are those of the Comune's list updated to November 2025: San Cataldo answers on 091 2713837.
Opening hours the Martorana Monday to Saturday 10:00-13:00, on Sundays only the 11:00 mass; San Cataldo every day 9:00-13:30 and 14:00-17:00, last entry at 16:40 · the Martorana 2 euros, San Cataldo 2.50 euros; with the Circuito del Sacro 1 euro and 1.50 · 345 8288231
the oldest and largest market in the city, in the heart of the Albergheria, running from piazza Casa Professa to the bastions of corso Tukory. Fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, spices, and the abbanniate, the sung cries of the vendors. You eat inside it: panelle, croquettes, boiled vegetables, octopus, bread with spleen. There are several theories about the name, and one derives it from Bahlara, a village near Monreale from which the goods came. The other historic markets are the Capo, behind the Teatro Massimo, and the Vucciria, between via Roma and the Cala.
Opening hours Monday to Saturday 7:30-20:00, on Sundays almost only in the morning
the church of the five red domes, rebuilt by King Roger in 1132 on an older monastery. Outside it recalls the East, inside it is cross shaped, with small domes over each bay. The red, here too, comes from the restoration by Giuseppe Patricolo, who based it on traces of old plaster. The cloister, with its paired columns and pointed arches, stands in the middle of a garden, and there is still an Arab cistern. The hours and price come from the Comune's list updated to November 2025.
Opening hours Monday to Saturday 9:00-19:00, last entry at 18:30; Sundays and holidays 9:00-13:30, last entry at 13:00 · 8 euros, free on the first Sunday of the month · 091 6515019
the residence of the kings of Sicily, then of Frederick II, and today the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly: it is considered the oldest royal residence in Europe, built on top of Phoenician and Punic fortifications. On the first floor is the Cappella Palatina, which Roger II had consecrated in 1140: the gold Byzantine mosaics, the wooden ceiling carved and painted by Arab craftsmen, and outside an inscription in Latin, Greek and Arabic. It is the place where the Arab-Norman route can be seen all together. The Fondazione Federico II warns that because of scheduled restoration work in the Cappella the hours may change: check the website before going. Tickets can also be bought online.
Opening hours Monday to Saturday 8:30-16:30, Sundays and holidays 8:30-12:30, and that is the time of last entry; on Tuesday and Wednesday only the Cappella and the gardens can be visited; closed on 25 December and 1 January · on the Fondazione's website 14.50 euros with the Cappella, the Royal Apartments and the gardens, reduced 12.50 between 18 and 25 years, 11 over 65, 9 between 14 and 17; on Tuesday and Wednesday 10 euros; free up to 13 years. The Comune's list of November 2025 says 19 euros instead: check when you buy · 091 7055611 · federicosecondo.org · fondazione@federicosecondo.org
the cathedral of the Assunta, on the Cassaro, halfway between the Palazzo dei Normanni and the Quattro Canti, with the centuries of the city inside it one on top of the other. In the chapel of Santa Rosalia is the silver urn, made between 1631 and 1637, which comes out in procession on 15 July. With the ticket for the monumental area you see the royal tombs, the crypt, the treasury, and you climb onto the panoramic roofs. The Cathedral sells tickets only from its own website and its own ticket offices, and warns against the others. It also has an app with an audio guide in four languages.
Opening hours the church Monday to Saturday 7:00-19:00, Sunday 8:00-19:00; the monumental area Monday to Saturday 9:30-18:00, Sunday 10:00-18:00 · the church is free; the monumental area with the roofs, the Maddalena well, the crypt, the apses and the treasury from 6 to 13 euros depending on reductions, the roofs alone from 4 to 7 · 328 8752441 · cattedrale.palermo.it
the largest opera house in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe. It was designed by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile, finished by his son Ernesto, and opened on 16 May 1897 with Verdi's Falstaff. A church and a convent were demolished to build it. The guided tour lasts about forty minutes, and is also accessible to those who walk with difficulty. Behind the theatre the Capo market begins.
Opening hours guided tours every day 9:30-19:00, the last at 18:20 · 14 euros, 7 under 26, free under 6; two adults and two young people under 26 36 euros · 091 6053267 · teatromassimo.it · visiteguidate@teatromassimo.it
a Catalan Gothic palace of 1495, the work of Matteo Carnilivari, in the Kalsa, the district by the sea. Since 1954 it has housed the Galleria regionale della Sicilia, in the layout by Carlo Scarpa. The two works you go in for are the Triumph of Death, the great fresco with Death on horseback shooting arrows, and the Annunciata by Antonello da Messina. Hours and price come from the Comune's list updated to November 2025, and are confirmed by phone.
Opening hours Tuesday to Saturday 9:00-19:00, Sundays and holidays 9:00-13:30; closed on Monday · 10 euros, free on the first Sunday of the month · 331 6581788
the seafront of the Kalsa, from the Cala to Villa Giulia. The seaside promenade was ordered by the viceroy Colonna in 1582, together with Porta Felice, where the Cassaro reaches the sea. After the war the stretch of sea in front was filled with the rubble of the 1943 bombings, and for fifty years it was home to circuses and fairground rides; in 2000 it became a pedestrian garden, with four hectares of lawn. At the end is the Cala, the U-shaped little harbour that was the city's first port, of the Phoenicians and then of the Middle Ages: from the Cala to the ferry terminal it is seven hundred metres.
the sanctuary of the patron saint, at 429 metres on Monte Pellegrino, inside the cave where in July 1624, during the plague, the saint's bones were found. The water that drips from the rock is collected and channelled outside. Next to it is the viewpoint over the city, and since 2018 the treasury rooms. You go up by bus 812 to the terminus, or on foot by the old stairway, in an hour from largo Sellerio. By car you go up from via Pietro Bonanno: the sanctuary warns that some satnavs send you along via Ercta, which has been closed since 2011. The hours come from the Comune's list updated to November 2025.
Opening hours every day 8:00-18:00, until 19:00 in summer time · 091 540326 · santuariosantarosalia.it · santuariosantarosalia@gmail.com
Palermo's beach, a bay a kilometre and a half long between Monte Pellegrino and Monte Gallo, beyond the Favorita park. The sand is white and fine because it is made of fragments of shells, and in spring it takes on pinkish tints. Around it are the Art Nouveau villas of the early twentieth century, of the school of Ernesto Basile. On either side there are two nature reserves, Capo Gallo and Monte Pellegrino. From the centre you get there by bus 806.
outside the city, on the hill of Monreale, to the south-west. It was wanted by William II of Hauteville, who began it in 1172, and inside it is a single covering of gold ground Byzantine mosaics, with Christ Pantocrator in the apse. Next to it is the Benedictine cloister, with a separate charge. It is one of the nine monuments of the UNESCO site. For the terraces and the diocesan museum, which have their own ticket, ask the price on the spot: the sources do not agree.
Opening hours the Duomo Monday to Saturday 9:00-12:45 and 14:00-16:45, Sundays and holidays 14:00-17:00; on Sunday mornings there are masses at 10:30 and 12:00. The cloister Monday to Saturday 9:00-19:00, Sundays and holidays 9:00-13:30, last entry half an hour before · the Duomo is free; the cloister 8 euros, reduced 4, free on the first Sunday of the month · 091 6404413
The city's two feasts are Santa Rosalia, in summer, and the Dead, in autumn. In between, in October and November, the festivals that open the closed city and fill piazza Verdi.
Next: Le Vie dei Tesori · 9 Oct - 15 Novin 3 days
9 Oct › 15Nov
Le Vie dei Tesori
from October to mid November
the festival that opens palaces, churches, oratories and gardens that are usually closed, with walks and experiences, born in Palermo twenty years ago. In 2026 it runs from 9 October to 15 November. You enter with a coupon of 3 euros for one visit, 10 for four or 18 for ten, valid at all the sites of the province; visits are booked on the festival website
in 3 days
1-2Nov
Day of the Dead
the night between 1 and 2 November
the night when, according to tradition, the dead come back to visit the living and bring presents to the children, who look for them around the house in the morning. The toys are bought at the fiera dei Morti, which changes square and dates every year, and next to the presents there is u cannistru, the basket with dried fruit, biscuits, frutta martorana and painted sugar puppets in the shape of paladins
13-16Nov
Sherbeth Festival
in November
the international festival of artisan gelato, in piazza Verdi in front of the Teatro Massimo. In 2026 it runs from 13 to 16 November
10-15Jul
Festino di Santa Rosalia
from 10 to 15 July, with the float on the 14th and the procession on the 15th
the feast of the patron saint, held every year since 1625, when the procession with the saint's relics stopped the plague. On the 14th the triumphal float parades, built new every year, with the statue of Rosalia at the top, along the Cassaro to Porta Felice, and the evening ends with fireworks over the sea; on the 15th the procession of the silver urn with the relics leaves the cathedral
3-4Sep
Acchianata al Monte Pellegrino
the night between 3 and 4 September
the climb on foot to the sanctuary for the saint's feast, on 4 September, along the old path of about four kilometres, from 38 metres to 455. People climb all through September, but on the night between the 3rd and the 4th the faithful and groups go up together; in September bus 812 to the sanctuary runs more often
Remember
Useful tips
When booking the ship, declare the overall dimensions of the motorhome, including bikes and luggage on the roof: if they do not match at boarding you pay the difference, and if there is no room in the garage the motorhome may be left ashore
On the ship the garage stays closed until arrival: take to the cabin the overnight bag, medicines, chargers and whatever the animals need, and close the gas bottles before boarding
The cat or the dog does not stay in the motorhome: on GNV ships it travels in a pet cabin, to be booked, or in the kennel and cattery on deck
Ballarò is open Monday to Saturday until the evening; on Sundays only in the morning
The Palazzo dei Normanni costs less on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the Royal Apartments are closed and you see only the Cappella Palatina and the gardens
On the first Sunday of the month San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Palazzo Abatellis, the Zisa and the Monreale cloister are free
With the Circuito del Sacro the Martorana, San Cataldo and the oratories cost one euro less. The Teatro Massimo and Palazzo Butera have a joint ticket for 17 euros, valid three days; the Palermo Culture Pass, 25.60 euros for seven days, covers Palazzo Steri, the Museo Salinas, the Orto botanico and Palazzo Riso
For the sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, leave the motorhome at the stopover and go up on the 812, or on foot by the old stairway
Pasta con le sarde is made with fresh sardines, not the ones in oil, and wild fennel can be found from spring to autumn
Palermo · part two
and then?
What to taste, and where to go tomorrow.
Taste
In Palermo you eat in the street. The symbol is panelle, chickpea flour fritters eaten inside the sesame mafalda roll, pane e panelle, with potato croquettes, which here are also called cazzilli; then bread with spleen, octopus, the boiled vegetables of the Ballarò stalls. At the end of October the pastry shops fill with frutta martorana, the almond paste fruit of the Day of the Dead, which takes its name from the convent next to the church. The home dish is Pasta con le sarde, recognised by the Ministry as a traditional food product: originally it was made from March to September, when sardines are caught fresh and wild fennel is gathered in the fields.
clean the fresh sardines by removing the head, the tail and the backbone, then wash and dry them
soak the sultanas in warm water
cut the fennel, removing only the tough parts of the stalks, and boil it in plenty of salted water for about twenty minutes
lift it out with a slotted spoon and keep the water, because you will cook the pasta in it; then chop it finely
slice the onion into strips and fry it gently in a pan with plenty of oil
add the salted sardines, cleaned of salt and bones, and let them melt into the onion
add the fennel, half of the fresh sardines, the pine nuts and the squeezed sultanas, season with salt and pepper and cook over a low heat for a quarter of an hour, stirring
in another pan fry the remaining fresh sardines in a little oil and salt them
cook the bucatini in the fennel water, drain them al dente and mix them with the sauce
put the fried sardines on top, leave to rest for a few minutes and serve, with the toasted breadcrumbs if you like
the GNV ferries in the port of Palermo, with Monte Pellegrino behindPhoto: Balou46, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Palermo seen from the sea at dawn, with the port and the mountains of the Conca d'oro behindPhoto: Thomas Dahlstrøm Nielsen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the side of a GNV ferry moored in the port of PalermoPhoto: Sharon Hahn Darlin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0sunset over the Tyrrhenian Sea, from the deck of the ferrythe Quattro Canti, with the curved façades on the crossing of via Maqueda and the CassaroPhoto: Bengt Nyman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0the Fontana Pretoria and the dome of Santa Caterina, from piazza Pretoriathe Fontana Pretoria seen from above, with the statues on the balustrade and the Palazzo delle Aquile behindPhoto: HaguardDuNord, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0piazza Bellini with the Martorana and its bell tower, and next to it the red domes of San CataldoPhoto: Holger Uwe Schmitt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the gold mosaics on the vaults of the MartoranaPhoto: Andreavanzini, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the fruit stalls and the crowd at the Ballarò marketPhoto: Benjamín Núñez González, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0San Giovanni degli Eremiti, with its red domes and bell towerPhoto: Allie_Caulfield, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the Norman façade of the Palazzo dei Normanni, with the blind arches around the windowsPhoto: Risa_G_WiCo18, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the apse of the Cappella Palatina, with Christ Pantocrator in the gold mosaicsPhoto: Colsu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the mosaics above the arches of the Cappella Palatina, under the painted wooden ceilingPhoto: José Luiz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Palermo cathedral from the side, with the dome and the bell towerPhoto: Julian Lupyan, Wikimedia Commons, CC0the silver urn of Santa Rosalia on display in the cathedral for the FestinoPhoto: Effems, Wikimedia Commons, CC0the Teatro Massimo on piazza VerdiPhoto: Holger Uwe Schmitt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the façade of the sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, set against the rock of Monte PellegrinoPhoto: SilviaPen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the old stairway climbing Monte Pellegrino, with Palermo and the port belowPhoto: Radek Kucharski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the beach of Mondello and the Art Nouveau bathing establishment on the seaPhoto: Filippo Piazza, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0the Cassaro with the festive lights of the Festino di Santa Rosalia, towards Porta FelicePhoto: Effems, Wikimedia Commons, CC0babbaluci, the snails in sauce that Palermo eats for the FestinoPhoto: Effems, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
