Cultural site in Palermo

Beaches, temples, waterfalls, viewpoints and markets — the things worth building days around. Nothing here is booked on this page: each one says what it is and how long people spend there, then points at the stays and tours in the same area.

3 places

Area

Palermo3

Kind of place

Cultural site3

PalermoCultural site

Palazzo dei Normanni

The Norman kings' palace, and inside it the Cappella Palatina — a chapel where Byzantine mosaic, Arab woodwork and Norman building meet in one room, which is the whole argument for Sicily in a single space. Still the seat of the regional assembly, so parts close without notice. Book ahead.

About 2 hours

PalermoCultural site

Catacombe dei Cappuccini

Corridors of some eight thousand mummified bodies, clothed and displayed upright, from the sixteenth century to the 1920s. Genuinely unsettling and not suitable for everyone or for young children — worth deciding before you are standing in it. An hour, and a short bus ride from the centre.

About 1 hour

PalermoCultural site

Quattro Canti

The baroque crossroads where the two main streets meet, each of the four curved corners carved in tiers with a season, a king and a patron saint. Traffic runs through it constantly. Five minutes of looking up, and the point from which the old quarters are easiest to navigate.

About 15 minutes

Place data from OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under ODbL.

Keep planning

The rest of the guides, and the catalogue behind them.

Where to stay in ItalyTwenty-two areas, who each suits, and how many to fit in.Best time to visitMonth by month — heat, crowds, prices and what closes.Knowing the formCoffee, churches, tipping and the small courtesies.Trip ideasReady-made routes you can hand straight to the planner.

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