Best tours of Palermo

Palermo is the capital of the island of Sicily and also one of the most important destinations in southern Italy, mainly for its artistic and architectural heritage and for the city's influences, ranging from Arab and Norman styles to Baroque, Neoclassical and Art Nouveau, so on Palermo tours you will have many attractions to discover.

Among the best things to see and do in Palermo on city tours are a tour of the food markets, a tour of the Mafia and Godfather trilogy sites, a visit to the Norman Palace and the spooky Catacombs of the Capuchins, which is a striking vertical cemetery with mummies over 500 years old.

If you're a fan of The Godfather trilogy and the Mafia theme, you can't miss this tour that will take you around the corners that gave birth to organised crime gangs and the relationship they had with resistance movements and political scandals in Italy during the 20th century. These walking tours usually start in Piazza Giuseppe Verdi and continue to the Mercato del Capo.

The Mercado del Capo hides many of the secrets of the Sicilian Mafia and is surrounded by underground paths which, according to historiography, were used by a medieval sect that was known as the Beati Paoli and could be the origins of the Cosa Nostra. During the tour you can also visit Piazza della Memoria, Palermo Cathedral and the Town Hall.

The best mafia tours of Palermo are also the ideal excuse to get to know some of the main sites of the historical centre of the city in a fun way and also with a circuit and an alternative guided tour. These tours usually last about 3 hours and include a stop for lunch at a representative restaurant or bar.

Interesting details

• Price of these tours... They have an initial cost of approximately 32 euros per person. Children between 10 and 17 years old pay 16 euros.
• Duration of these excursions... Approximately 3 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions... It is an ideal excursion to get to know the main points of the city in an alternative way.
• Disadvantages of these excursions... They are usually walking tours throughout, so on hot days they can become very tiring.

One of the best things Palermo has to offer is its Sicilian gastronomy and you can discover it on a tour of the city's markets. From Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, which is the epicentre of Palermo's old town, you can explore the markets of Palermo's four historic neighbourhoods.

The Mercado del Capo is one of the best known in the city and, apart from having a history related to the Sicilian mafia, it also has one of the most beautiful structures, as it is the typical Latin market of fruit, vegetables and all kinds of food in street stalls. But you can also visit other similar places.

In Vucciria you can visit a flea market, which in addition to food, fruit and vegetables also offers stalls selling used artefacts of all kinds, in an age-old custom of the city of bartering during times of crisis. In addition, during the night it also becomes the epicentre of the city's entertainment.

The Ballaro Market is also one of the main centres of nightlife in Palermo and is also the market for young people, so it is full of students, music and street shows. Borgo Vecchio, on the other hand, is an evening market, but is the ideal choice for discovering the less touristy northern part of the city. On these tours you can visit them all and get to know the best of each one.

Interesting details

• Price of these excursions... They have an initial cost of approximately 45 euros per person.
• Duration of these excursions... Approximately 2 hours and a half.
• Advantages of these tours... You will be able to see the main neighbourhoods of the city and visit places that the locals visit every day.
• Disadvantages of these excursions... Generally the tours include tastings but sometimes there is not enough time to enjoy them at leisure.

The Norman Palace, located in the monumental part of Palermo, was the residence of the Norman rulers in the city, so it is considered a royal residence that is also the oldest in Europe and also one of the most beautiful, with an architecture that combines Arab, Norman and Byzantine styles. This is common in a city that has been influenced by many conquerors, but the palace is the best example.

During your tour of the palace, your local guide will take you on a historical tour of the cultural richness of the building, the kings who lived there and the civilisations that reigned there. It is also one of the most visited tourist sites in Palermo and is located in an easily accessible location, either by public transport buses or the city's hop-on-hop-off tourist bus.

Among the best sites to discover inside the Norman Palace are the royal gardens, the internal courtyards, the mosaics and the wooden ceiling inlaid with marble, but the main attraction is the Palatine Chapel, which is located on the ground floor of the palace and is considered one of the great architectural jewels of the city.

Note that the palace is open all year round but is closed on festive eves, so keep this in mind if you plan to visit Palermo over Christmas or New Year's Eve.

Interesting details

• Price of these tours... They have an initial cost of approximately 35 euros per person.
• Duration of these tours... Approximately 1 hour and a half.
• Advantages of these tours... You will see one of the main buildings of Palermo.
• Disadvantages of these excursions... The time may not be enough to see the whole building.

If you enjoy alternative tourism then you will love this tour which, as strange and spooky as it may seem, is also one of Palermo's main attractions. On the guided tour of the Catacombs of the Capuchins you will walk through one of the largest underground cemeteries in the world observing 16th century mummies.

The galleries of this cemetery contain more than 8000 mummies of friars, aristocrats, priests, bishops and other ecclesiastical personalities who during their lifetime occupied a position of prominence in Sicilian society and who for more than 5 centuries chose to be buried in the ceremonial Catacombs of the Capuchins.

During this visit you will also learn about the embalming methods used to preserve the bodies, the conditions that the personalities had to fulfil to be buried in the catacombs and the history of the most famous tombs, such as that of Rosalia Lombardo or Giovanni Pateriniti.

Please note that in order to preserve the heritage the catacombs are closed during some seasons of the year or with reduced visiting times, so if you plan to visit Palermo in summer you may encounter some limitations in these excursions, as the heat affects the preservation of the mummies.

Details of interest

• Price of these tours... They have an initial cost of approximately 15 euros per person.
• Duration of these tours... Approximately 40 minutes.
• Advantages of these tours... You will visit one of the strangest attractions in Italy.
• Disadvantages of these tours... Not suitable for children.

The best way to get to know Palermo is with a guided walking tour of the main sites. Although it is a very large city, in a 2 or 3 hour walking tour you will be able to see the most important tourist attractions while learning about the architecture of the city's buildings, which is characterised by a mixture of styles.

On these excursions you will see the Teatro Massimo, which is the largest theatre in Italy, the Mercado del Capo, the Cathedral of Palermo, the baroque Church Del Gesu, the octagonal square of Quattro Canti and the Martorana, which is one of the most beautiful Sicilian-Norman temples in Palermo, together with the Monastery of Santa Caterina.

During the walk, you can also stop for lunch and the tour will end in Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, which is the epicentre of most of the excursions, so you can combine this guided tour with a food tour in Palermo or other activities.

These excursions are also ideal if you are planning a short stay in the city, since in a short time you will be able to visit several places in the historic centre that define the identity of the Sicilian capital. If this is your case, here is a list of activities you can do to get to know Palermo in 3 days.

Details of interest

• Price of these excursions... They have an initial cost of approximately 25 euros per person.
• Duration of these excursions... Approximately 2 to 3 hours.
• Advantages of these tours... You will see the main sites of Palermo in a quick tour.
• Disadvantages of these tours... This is a fast-paced walking tour, so it is not recommended for older adults and small children.

One of the best ways to get to know Palermo is through its food, and on a nighttime food tour you can combine the best flavours of Palermo's cuisine with the city's festivities. These tours will take you from the Teatro Massimo to Piazza Fondeira, with a stop at the Vucciria Market for tastings.

The Vucciria Market is, along with the Ballaro Market, the liveliest market in the city at night and the one with the best street bars in Palermo. Here you can sample stall food, pizza, beer and other local specialities before continuing along Via Vittorio Emanuele, one of the city's main thoroughfares.

If you plan to visit Palermo in winter, these tours will include a stop at the Vucciria flea market, as well as closed restaurants and bars so you can take shelter from the cold before continuing the tour, and during the summer you can enjoy the pleasant local weather at night. Although this is an alcoholic tour, it is suitable for children so if you plan to visit Palermo with children you can include them in the tour.

Interesting details

• Price of these tours... They have an initial cost of approximately 49 euros per person including tastings and the assistance of an expert local guide.
• Duration of these excursions... Approximately 3 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions... You will get to know the dynamic nightlife of Palermo.
• Disadvantages of these excursions... The tour is focused only on the main city centre.

You can book tours in advance online or book a tour once you are in the city, although if you plan to visit Palermo in August or during the summer months, which is the high season, I advise you to book before you arrive.

Also, if you book in advance online, you can take advantage of the discounts that many tour operators offer for online bookings and also organise an itinerary for your trip that combines with the excursions you have booked. This could help you get the most out of your visit as most tours start and end in the historic city centre.

The answer will depend on the tour chosen but on any of these tours you will be able to discover the main sites of Palermo and also discover through them the spirit of the city, which is festive and closely related to the different cultures that inhabited the city throughout its history.

On the walking tours of the city you can see the most visited attractions such as the Teatro Massimo or the octagonal square of Quattro Canti, while on the tours of the Catacombs of the Capuchins and the Norman Palace you can visit two of the most representative buildings of the city.

The palace also has an art exhibition with frescoes and paintings by local artists, making it one of the best museums in Palermo.

Palermo is a very large city but most of its main attractions are focused in the historic centre, so the best alternative is to walk around it or use the hop-on-hop-off tourist bus to travel between the different neighbourhoods and then walk around each one.

The city also has some alternative tours, such as the Catacombs of the Capuchins or the Mafia tours, which I recommend you to do, as they will help you understand the idiosyncrasy of Palermo and the different stages of its rich and long history.

While you can tour the city on your own, Palermo has many mysteries and rich architecture that you might miss if you don't take the guided tours with the help of a local, so to get the most out of your visit I recommend you opt for excursions and tours.

Most excursions last, on average, between two and three hours, so you'll save time and see more sites during your visit, even if you're planning a short tour of the city.