Sightseeing OverviewThe relics of the many successive invasions throughout the centuries (most notably by the Normans and Arabs) are still visible all over the city today, creating a place with great historical importance.
The most notable Norman remnants are the
Norman Palace and the beautiful
Palatine Chapel, but there are many other interesting buildings, including the
Cathedral and a number of churches, the most famous of which are St John of the Hermits, San Cataldo and La Martorana.
If you tire of the amazing architecture, explore the
labyrinthine streets of the
Vucciria market, or take refuge in one of several excellent museums, unless you prefer something a bit more frightening, in which case head for the
catacombs.
Tourist InformationPalermo Tourism Piazza Castelnuovo 34
Tel: (091) 605 8351.
Website:
www.palermotourism.com Other offices can be found at the airport (tel: (091) 591 698) and at Stazione Centrale (main train station) (tel: (091) 616 5914). There is also a toll-free phone line with English speaking operators for tourist information on the city (tel: 800 234 169).
Key Attractions:Palazzo dei Normanni e Cappella Palatina (Norman Palace and Palatine Chapel) The Palazzo, which used to be the royal residence in Norman times, is now the seat of the Regional Parliament. Founded by King Roger II in 1130, the Cappella Palatina is a jewel of Norman art with a splendid Arab honeycomb wooden ceiling and exquisite Byzantine mosaics in shades of gold and blue.
Palatine Chapel
Tel: (091) 705 4732/4317.
Website:
www.ars.sicilia.it Norman Palace
Tel: (091) 705 1111/7003.
Website:
www.ars.sicilia.it San Giovanni degli Eremiti (St John of the Hermits) Built in 1132, the site has undergone recent refurbishment. It is the most obviously Arabic of the city’s Norman relics, with five ochre domes topping a little church built on the remains of an earlier mosque. The beautiful cloister and luxuriant garden make a peaceful haven in the Albergheria.
Via dei Benedettini
Tel: (091) 651 5019.
La Cattedrale (The Cathedral) Originally a mosque, the cathedral has been altered and built on by most of Sicily’s invaders, explaining its not altogether coherent exterior. Roger II’s tomb is inside and the treasury contains religious artifacts such as a tiara belonging to Constance of Aragon.
Corso Vittorio Emanuele
Tel: (091) 334 373.
Mercato della Vucciria (Vucciria Market) Head to this very atmospheric place early in the morning to see the market at its busiest and most colorful. The local specialty is salted anchovies. The Vucciria, which spreads in a maze of side streets around Piazza San Domenico, is where the Mafia traditionally recruited its hitmen.
Piazza Caracciolo, Piazza Garraffello
Catacombe dei Cappuccini (Capuchin Catacombs) A darker option, these catacombs contain the bodies of some 8,000 ecclesiastics and distinguished citizens embalmed by Capuchin friars in the 17-19th centuries.
Via Cappuccini 1
Tel: (091) 212 117.
Orto Botanico (Botanical Gardens) The lush Orto Botanico is a tranquil oasis in the city that houses an enormous variety of exotic plants from all over the world.
Via Abramo Lincoln 2/A
Tel: (091) 623 8234
or 800 903 631, in Italy only.
Website:
www.ortobotanico.palermo.it Galleria Regionale della Sicilia (Sicilian Regional Gallery) Housed in the beautiful Abatellis Palazzo, this is a pictorial testimony to the island from the 11th-17th centuries. Don’t miss the
Triumph of Death (15th-century), an amazing fresco by an unknown artist, and the
Annunciation by Antonello da Messina.
Via Alloro 4
Tel: (091) 623 0011.
Website:
www.regione.sicilia.it Further Distractions:Museo Internazionale delle Marionette (International Puppet Museum) Over 3,000 exhibits, including Sicilian and foreign puppets and marionettes, are displayed here. The collection of puppets from Palermo, Catania and Naples is the widest and most complete in existence today.
Piazzetta Nisceni 5
Tel: (091) 328 060.
Website:
www.museomarionettepalermo.itMuseo Etnografico Giuseppe Pitre (Ethnographic Museum Giuseppe Pitre) The place to go for Sicilian handicrafts - lace, pottery, tools for hunting, fishing and agriculture and ornaments are all on show here.
Palazzina Cinese, Via Duca degli Abruzzi 1
Tel: (091) 740 4893.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related Italy Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
Italy Airport Guides:
|
Italy City Guides:
|
| Italy Attraction Guides: |
|
|
Available Tours to Italy:
-
iExplore Italy Active -
$3895,
6 days
-
iExplore Southern Italy Experience -
$2695,
9 days
-
iExplore Italy Experience -
$4550,
9 days
-
iExplore Italy Experience- Private -
$6795,
9 days
-
iExplore Italy: Luxury Wine Tour of Apulia -
$9095,
9 days
-
iExplore Luxury Wine Tour in Piedmont -
$8195,
7 days
-
iExplore Luxury Wine Tour of Umbria -
$9395,
9 days
-
iExplore Trekking Mt. Blanc -
$9995,
12 days
-
Amalfi Coast & Bay Of Naples -
$1512,
8 days
-
Chianti: Walking & Wine -
$1422,
8 days
-
Cilento & Amalfi Trek -
$2709,
15 days
-
Classic Dolomites -
$1575,
8 days
-
Cooking In Chianti -
$1872,
8 days
-
Cycle Through Siena & Chianti -
$1647,
8 days
-
Cycling In Sicily -
$1665,
8 days
-
Cycling Slovenia's Valleys & Vineyards -
$1512,
8 days
-
Cycling Venice And Veneto -
$1206,
8 days
-
Dolomites To Venice Ride Cycling Holiday -
$1458,
8 days
-
Dolomites Trek -
$1818,
8 days
-
Introduction To Via Ferrata -
$1800,
8 days
-
Italian Walk & Talk -
$1287,
8 days
-
Mont Blanc Circuit -
$1701,
15 days
-
Mont Blanc Highlights -
$1287,
8 days
-
Mont Blanc Hotel Trek -
$2763,
15 days
-
Mont Blanc Hotel Trek (Independent) -
$2079,
15 days
-
Mont Blanc Winter Activity Week -
$1755,
8 days
-
Puglia: Cycle The Heel Of Italy -
$1188,
8 days
-
Snowshoeing In The Dolomites -
$1485,
8 days
-
The Amalfi Coast -
$1359,
8 days
-
The Matterhorn Circuit -
$2178,
10 days
-
Tour Du Mont Blanc -
$1386,
8 days
-
Trekking The Gran Paradiso -
$1404,
8 days
-
Tuscany Singletrack Cycling Holiday -
$1440,
8 days
-
Vesuvius & Amalfi Coast Family Holiday -
$1575,
8 days
-
Via Ferrata In Cortina -
$1701,
8 days
-
Walking In Sardinia -
$1422,
8 days
-
Walking In The Western Dolomites -
$1098,
8 days
-
Walking In Tuscany -
$1323,
8 days
|
