Exploring Palermo: Our Five-Day Adventure In Sicily’s Capital

Five days in Palermo (February 18-22, 2025)

We took the train from Agrigento to Palermo for the last leg of our Sicilian adventure. We would fly out of the Palermo airport in 5 days to return to Madrid.

Palermo is a fascinating city. It is the capital of Sicily and has a storied history. It wasn’t one of Sicily’s ancient Greek cities, but rather it experienced its growth during the Arab conquest from the 9th to the 11th century. The Normans invaded in the late 11th century. Later came the Holy Roman Empire, the French, and the Spanish, and finally, Italian Reunification in the 1860’s. All of these cultures have contributed to Palermo’s architecture, art, cuisine, and lively atmosphere.

We stayed at the Grand Hotel Wagner, a comfortable, welcoming, and well-situated location for enjoying the city on foot. We also took advantage of the friendly lobby bar to meet for a glass of wine and some cribbage.

It was a short walk to The Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in Europe. You can take a 30 minute tour, but we opted to buy tickets to a performance instead. We experienced a contemporary interpretive dance performance called Rossini Cards/ Le sacre du printemps. (Rite of Spring). We shared a box with three local women who were obviously regulars and maybe not so thrilled to have us join them. We won them over at intermission when Bill asked them how to make arrancini. Despite a little language barrier, we had a great conversation and came away with cooking advice and suggestions for places to visit.

There is a lot to see in Palermo. We contacted Elizabeth, our guide in Agrigento and asked for a guide contact in Palermo. She recommended a lovely young woman who gave us a great walking tour and valuable suggestions for the best restaurants and street food. I’m embarrassed to admit, I’ve forgotten her name.

After our guided walking tour, we spent the next few days walking on our own and visiting the interiors of the churches we saw on our tour. Rick Steve’s “Sicily” guidebook was a very helpful resource on this trip.

Below are photos of Palermo’s Magnificent Cathedral:

The other three important churches that you should visit all face Piazza Bellini. They are the Church of Santa Caterina, The Church of the Matorana, and the Church of San Cataldo. All three have distinct interiors and are well-worth your time and the price of admission. Be sure to visit The “Nuns’ Café” at Santa Caterina for a coffee and a delicious pastry.

If you have time to go to the harbor district (Kalsa), The Palazzo Butera and the Palazzo Chiaramonte Steri are worth a visit. We took a taxi to that area.

Palazzo Butera is an 18th century mansion built by the wealthy and powerful Branciforti family. It has a complex history of ownership and purpose. Most recently, it was purchased in 2016 by Massimo and Francesca Valsecchi who have had the building renovated and curated into a museum that houses an amazing collection of modern art in an antique setting. In February we were practically the only visitors. There is a nice café with outdoor tables and a great view.

Below are scenes from the rooftop of Palazzo Butera in the Kalsa district.

Palazzo Chiaramonte Steri was built around 1320 by nobleman Manfredi Chiaramonte. It was taken over by the Spanish conquerers in the late 1300’s and was the seat of the Inquisition from 1601-1782. We took the free guided tour with a graduate student from the University of Palermo and saw the cells of the Inquisition prison.

Below are photos of the palazzo and the prison.

Below are photos of Capo Market

Below are photos of street art in Palermo.

After touring Palazzo Chiaramonte Steri, we had a delicious lunch at Beati Paoli, recommended by the staff at Steri. It was so good, that we went back for dinner the next night. The crowd was mostly local and the staff was really welcoming.

Below are more photos..

It was hard to leave Palermo, but we did feel like we had done it justice. Don’t skip it!

Thank you for reading. My recommendations are my opinion based on my personal experience. I am independent and unpaid. I welcome your reaction in Comments.

Geri