Sights
Palazzo dei Normanni and Palatine Chapel
The royal palace of Sicily's Norman kings, now the regional parliament. Its 12th-century chapel is covered in golden mosaics under a carved wooden ceiling.
Sights in Palermo
Add your ship's times on the port page to see what fits.
Sights
San Giovanni degli Eremiti
A former monastery church known for its pink domes and a quiet cloister garden, a few minutes from the royal palace.
Sights
Teatro Massimo
One of Europe's largest opera houses. Guided tours run through the day and show the auditorium, the royal box and the grand foyers.
Sights
Capuchin Catacombs
Corridors lined with the preserved and clothed remains of past Palermo residents. Unusual and moving, but not for everyone. A short taxi ride west of the centre.
Sights
Quattro Canti
The baroque crossroads at the heart of the old city, where four curved façades with fountains and statues mark the meeting of the two main streets.
Sights
Fontana Pretoria
A large Renaissance fountain ringed with marble figures, a minute from Quattro Canti in front of the city hall.
SightsClosed Sundays
La Martorana (Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio)
A small church with some of the finest Byzantine-style mosaics in Sicily, on Piazza Bellini beside the red domes of San Cataldo.
Sights
Palermo Cathedral
A vast cathedral that layers Norman, Gothic and baroque styles. The church itself is free; a ticket adds the royal tombs, crypt, treasury and the rooftop walk.