From Wikitravel

Palermo [1] [2] is the capital of the main Italian island of Sicily, located on the north coast of the island.

Contents 1 Get in 1.1 By plane 1.2 By ferry 1.3 By Train 2 Get around 2.1 Bus 2.2 Car 3 Eat 4 Drink 5 Buy 6 See 7 Sleep 7.1 Budget 7.2 Mid-range 7.3 Splurge 8 Cope 8.1 Internet 9 Stay safe 10 Get out 10.1 By train 10.2 By bus

Get in

By plane

Palermo International Airport is located some 32 km west of the city at Punta Raisi and has flights incoming from other Italian centres and major European cities on a regular basis. Half hourly shuttle buses provide inexpensive transport into the city centre (5 euros). There are 1-2 trains per hour, 50 minutes, €8 (destination Punta Raisi). The usual taxi and car rental services are also available at the airport.

By ferry

Ferries steam between the port of Palermo and the following Italian ports on a regular basis: Livorno, Genoa, Naples and Cagliari (Sardinia).

By Train

Through trains from Roma and Napoli via the train ferry across the Messina straits.

Get around

Bus

Get a 24 hour ticket for €4. Many busses run on Via Roma. To ge to Pl Indipenza take bus 109 from the station.

Car

Just don't do it.

Eat

• Il Proverbio, Via Discesa 24, tel: +39091 6173267. Close to station and Quattro Canti. Great sicilian food. most dishes are €4-6.
• Al Chioschetto. Pz. Indipendenza Di Fronte N. 31. Close to the new gate. Excellent fresh panini and salads. They keep all the ingredients in a cooled glass counter, makes the panini from scratch when you order, using only freshly cut peaces of meat.

Drink

Buy

• Isola Saporita [3], Corso Vittorio Emanuele 504. opposite the cathedral., tel: +390916527506. Good selection of wine, oil, marmelade, sauces, etc.
• The "Pizzo free" shops are a group of shopkeepeers that refuse to pay the racket to the Mafia. The palermitan consumers sustain them going shopping in their stores. You can find the list here: [4]

See

• the Cathedral - honey-coloured and Catalan influenced
• the Quattro Canti - the symbolic crossroads at the old centre of the city and the nearby small, but pretty La Martorana church with byzantine mosaics inside.
• the Museo Archeologico
• the Catacombe dei Cappuccini, open daily 9am-12 noon and 3pm-5pm, donation on entry - the catacombs of the Capuchin convent located on the Piazza Cappuccini, just west of the city centre, contain over 8000 mummified ex-residents from Palermo and its surrounding villages, some merely clothed skeletons, other remarkably well-preserved and lifelike. Well worth a visit, interesting, if slightly morbid.
• the Palazzo dei Normanni. Inside, don't miss the mosaics in the Cappella Palatina and the old Royal Apartments
• the 'street markets', especially near the Piazza del Carmine and Vucciria.
• Monreale - a village/suburb 8 km west of Palermo, sitting on the hill with a great view back towards the city and the sea. Be sure to visit the Duomo (Cathedral) and it's cloisters too.
• the Piazza Pretoria, including the Fontana Pretoria
• The Gesu Church is one of the most architecturally important highly decorated in Palermo. Constructed between 1564–1633, it's late date of completion resulted in an abundant use of polychrome marbles on both floors and walls. This form of decoration, which gradually evolved in Sicily from the beginning of the 17th century, was to mark the beginning of the Sicilian Baroque period, which was to give Sicily almost an architectural national identity.

• San Giovanni degli Eremiti. Via dei Bernadetti. Tel: +39 91 6515019. Old church ruin and nice garden. The €6 admission ensures that the lovely garden is quiet and peaceful. Open mo-sa 9am-7pm.

• Cappella Palatina, Piazza Indipendenza, Tel: +39 091 7054317. Chapel with mosaics. Open mo-fr 9-11. 45am and 3-4.45pm. Sa 9-11.45am. Su 9-9.45am, 12-12.45pm.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

• Hotel Gallery House, Via Mariano Stabile 136, 90139, Ph. +39.091.6124758 Fax +39.091.6124779. [5]. In the heart of Palermo, Hotel Gallery House offers elegant classy rooms, the ideal solution for business or pleasure travel.
• Hotel Italy. Via Roma 62, 4. floor, 100 meter from the train station. Tel: +39091 6230656, email: hotelitalia62@hotmail.com. Good clean rooms with new bathrooms, AC, TV, and balcony with clotheslines. €60, no breakfast.

Splurge

• Hotel Residenza D’Aragona, Via Ottavio D'Aragona, 25, 90139 Palermo Ph. +39 091.6622222, Fax: +39 091.6622273 [6]. Elegant and opulent, filled with modern comforts and impeccable services, the rooms at Hotel Residenza D'Aragona are the best for those who are traveling for business or pleasure to Palermo: in the historical center, near the grandiose Politeama and Massimo theaters. Single from 80€ Double from 120€.

Cope

Palermo's main APT Tourist Office is located at Piazza Castelnuovo 35, open Mo-Fr 8am-8pm and Sa 8 am-2pm. English spoken. A branch of the tourist office also exists at the airport. Get a free map from one of the blue infomation booths.

Internet

• Internet Shop. Via Napoli N, 32. Tel: +39 091 584146. 13 computers, E2.5/hour. Wireless internet.
• Mediapoint Via Maqueda 221, tel:+39 091 326651. 4c/min.

• Aboriginal Internet Cafe [7] Via S. Spinuzza 51, close to Teatro Massimo. Tel: +39 091 6622229. Also serves beer and drinks with obscene names.

Stay safe

Beware of pickpockets and motorcycle-riding snatch thieves targeting handbags, wallets and mobile phones.

Women should not walk alone at night in the historical centre of Palermo and travellers of both sexes should also avoid the area between Via Roma and the port after dark.

Vehicle theft is a major problem in Palermo, so the use of private, secure car parks is to be preferred.

Get out

Palermo is the main hub for buses and trains in Sicily. The main station - Stazione Centrale is near the centre. Most of the long-distance buses leave from just round the corner, as do those to the airport.

By train

Regular, quite fast trains to: Messina & Milazzo (for the Aeolian Islands)(more and quicker than the busses to these two), Catania, Trapani and Enna. Less frequent to other destinations.

By bus

Regular, fast buses to Catania, Taormina, Trapani, Enna, Agrigento, and Syracuse. Loads of other places served too.