Palermo is the capital of Sicily and the largest city on the island. As such, you may be wondering how many days you’re going to need to explore the city thoroughly. Can you get away with one day in Palermo? We’ll answer that today.
Palermo is not a small city by any means, with over 670k population and lots to see inside. Though you have a few notable attractions beyond the borders of the city centre, most of them are where you’d expect them to be. We’ll cater our plans to those of you who would prefer to see as much as possible within a relatively small amount of time. Simultaneously, we know that everyone’s preferred pace is different, so if you prefer a slower one, just cut a few attractions from the list or transfer some from one day to another.
How much can you see in one day in Palermo?
One day in Palermo
We certainly won’t see most of the stuff Palermo has to offer in one day, but we can still try to make the best of it. Here’s what we’d propose for an itinerary:
- Palermo’s Cathedral
- the Norman Palace
- Porta Nuova
- the Palatine Chapel
- Teatro Massimo
- Fontana Pretoria
- Mercato Vucciria
- Piazza Vigliena
To see these attractions and pass them by without visiting and with no breaks in-between will take you about 2 hours. As for the rest of the time, you can either spend it by visiting a couple of the places that we’ve just mentioned or drive up to Monreale.
You can get there by city bus or by taxi. On your way back from Monreale, you could visit the Catacombs. If you do add Monreale to your list, though, it’s going to get very hectic and we’d certainly not recommend it if you prefer a slower pace.
How much can you see in two days in Palermo?
Two days in Palermo
If you have an extra day, you can easily divide the aforementioned attractions into two days and add a beach trip on top (we recommend Mondello Beach). We’d say that you should certainly visit the Norman Palace, the Palazzo Reale and the Palatine Chapel with the time that you have. You can also visit the Orto Botanico botanical garden by the University of Palermo and/or the Piersanti Mattarella Park.
What can you see in three days in Palermo?
Three days in Palermo
For three days, alongside all the main stuff in Palermo, we’d also recommend seeing the surrounding area around the city. What can you see there? We’d recommend you visit the popular seaside town, Cefalu (45 minutes away by train).
There’s also Trapani, about an hour and 20 minutes away, along with the lovely town of Erice. We also recommend the beautiful Segesta, one of the best-preserved temples. The plus side is that these 3 places are located more or less in the same direction from Palermo, so you can combine them into one day trip if you’re speedy enough.
How many days do you need in Palermo?
Optimal quick holidays
Naturally, this is a tough question, as we’d like to preferably visit the main chunk that a place has to offer – thing is, Palermo and its surrounding area has simply too much to offer. Still, for a relatively short overview, we’d say that three days is the optimal amount of time for Palermo and a few surrounding areas.
Of course, if you actually want to properly explore Sicily, we’d say that two weeks is what we’d recommend. Then again, that amount of active sightseeing can be tiring, so consider breaking it up and just take a few days to Palermo and its area for now. Of course, if you only have one day, don’t worry. You can still see the centre of Palermo and the most notable places.
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