How to See All of Palermo’s Highlights on a One-Day Walking Tour

10.12.2024 - 21:45 / matadornetwork.com

The capital of the Italian island of Sicily isn’t very spread out and is packed with great sights, making it an ideal location for an independent walking tour. For travelers arriving by cruise ship and wanting to make the most of their day, it’s relatively easy to see all the highlights in three or four hours, with enough time for a typically Sicilian snack at one of the city’s historical markets, so don’t bother booking an expensive tour via the cruise line. The cruise ship terminal is very close to the historic center so you can walk everywhere, and even come back to the ship for a quick break — there’s no need for a shuttle or a taxi.

Unlike walking tour of Rome, where time is of the essence and you can’t afford to linger for too long at each location, in Palermo, you can relax. There’s plenty of time to sit in churches to admire their artful architecture, stop for a glass of juice at the market, and wander around the narrow residential streets, where you’ll notice that the locals’ balconies are all covered in white-and-green-striped curtains to keep the year-round heat out of their homes. This is especially important for cruisers who need to make the all-aboard time if they don’t want to be left behind.

The map and walking tour below offer suggestions made from my personal experience in Palermo; but you can tailor it to your schedule, preferences, budget, and walking abilities.

For the purpose of this walking tour, meant to help those with very little time in Palermo to see as much as possible, which include a lot of cruisers, the starting point is the cruise ship terminal, very close to the center of town. You may, of course, start from any other points on the map and follow the circuit from there.

Less than one mile (20 minutes on foot) from the cruise terminal, you’ll walk by the 19th-century Teatro Politeama Garibaldi, a large circular Neoclassical opera house. Home to the Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra, the theatre, with its huge entry arch and colonnades, is as impressive from the outside as it is inside, but getting in very straightforward. I accidentally sneaked in for a few minutes as people were entering the hall for a performance — nobody asked me for a ticket — but your best bet is to ask people at reception if you can take a walk around.

From the Garibaldi Theatre to Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in Europe (after Paris’ Palais Garnier and Vienna’s K. K. Hof-Opernhaus), is only a 12-minute walk. You can admire the huge 19th-century edifice from the outside or take a guided tour for $12.70 (€12). Teatro Massimo is open daily from 9:30 AM to 7 PM.

On the rooftop of the Palermo Cathedral. Photo: ecstk22/Shutterstock

Half a mile from Teatro Massimo is the