Cruise Port - Palermo (Sicily)
Sights and ideas for your own excursion along the north coast of Sicily
- Regular berth: Molo Vittorio
- Port shuttle: not available/not required
- Taxis: usually available on the quay
- Buses: The public transport buses operated by AMAT are often very full. Tickets are available from tobacconists and kiosks. They have to be validated on the bus at the start of the journey.
- Rental car: Sixt, Viale Francia 3
- Rental car: Hertz, Via Messina 7E
- Rental car: Avis, Via Francesco Crispi 250, Via Tiziano 9
- Post Office: in Via Roma 320 and Piazza Verdi 7 near Teatro Massimo
- Tourist Information: at Piazza Castelnuovo
- Banks and ATMs: in Via Roma, Via Ruggero Settimo and Piazza Castelnuovo
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- Berths of the Cruise Liners
The piers for cruise ships are located directly in the city centre and the harbour area may be crossed on foot. There is therefore no shuttle bus available in the port of Palermo. In the modern cruise terminal there is a tourist information stand where you can get city maps and other information. The main office is located in Piazza Castelnuovo.
- City Tours
To explore the city you can take a carriage ride. Carrozza (horse-drawn carriage) tours start from Piazza Centrale, Piazza
Marina, Piazza Castelnuovo and Villa Giulia. The price should be negotiated before the start of the ride. The start of a sightseeing tour by Hop On Hop Off bus can start
immediately at the bus stop at the port entrance. In Palermo the buses of the lines A and B run all year round. The new Palermo-Monreale line only runs from April to October.
- Palermo City-Sightseeing Map
- Shopping
The pedestrian zone Via Principe di Belmonte invites, like Via Roma, to stroll and shop. Here you will find numerous shops and boutiques, to which some bars and restaurants are added. Corso Vittorio Emanuele, or Via Vittorio Emanuele, which runs from north-east to south-west, crosses Via Roma and is one of the oldest streets in Palermo. It was built around 971. The streets and alleyways of the port city are always busy. Many a hustle and bustle is used by pickpockets for their plans. Take care of your personal belongings, especially handbags and wallets.
- Weekly Markets
The Vucciria is one of the most famous historical markets of Palermo and is located near the intersection of Via Vittorio Emanuele and Via Roma. Fresh goods are offered here daily, except Sundays, from 09:00-14:00. If you like it loud, the weekly market Mercato del Capo is the place to be. Here a wide variety of goods are advertised loudly. You can find it in Via Porta Carini.
- Gardens
Giardino Inglese, the English Garden invites you to relax. The park is located on the Via della Libertà. The Botanical Garden on Via Lincoln 2, opened in 1795, is also beautiful to look at, the red Hop On Hop Off bus stopping right in front of the entrance.
- Teatro Massimo
In the Piazza Verdi you will find the Teatro Massimo, opened in 1897. It is Italy's largest and Europe's third largest opera house, which can seat 3200 guests. From the jetty it is a good 1500 metres to the theatre.
- Archaeological Museum
In the Museo Archeologico, the regional archaeological museum, a regional collection of unique exhibits from the prehistory of Sicily to the late Roman period is exhibited. The museum is located in a former convent building at Via Bara All'Olivella 24.
- Norman Palace and Cappella Palatina
The Norman Palace, also called Palazzo Reale and Palazzo dei Normanni, was once for a long time the seat of the kings and viceroys of Sicily. The impressive building is located at the highest point of medieval Palermo and is now used by the Sicilian Parliament. In the immediate vicinity is the Cappella Palatina, which has been extensively decorated with bright, Byzantine mosaics in gold. The Cappella Palatina can be visited in contrast to the Norman Palace. A bus stop of the line 104 stops right in front of the building in Piazza Indipendenza 1, which is 2.8 km away on foot.
- Church of San Giovanni
In the immediate vicinity of the Norman Palace stands the Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti with its 5 bright red domes. It was built in the 12th century from the ruins of a
mosque. The cloister houses a very beautiful garden. It is located in Via dei Benedettini 16.
- Regional Gallery
The Regional Gallery (Galleria Regionale della Sicilia) in Palazzo Abatellis is Sicily's most extensive gallery. It exhibits paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages to the 18th century. It is located in Via Alloro 4, very close to the botanical garden. The bus line 225 stops not far from the gallery in Via Torremuzza.
- Diocesan Museum
The Diocesan Museum (Museo Diocesano) in the Archbishop's Palace is located next to the Cathedral in Via Matteo Bonello 2 and displays religious art and sacred works from the
12th to the 19th century. In the basement there are excavation exhibits and representations of the urban development.
- Museum of Ethnology
The Museo Etnografico in the Viale Duca degli Abruzzi 1 is the biggest ethnological museum of Sicily. It is located in the Parco della Favorita in an outbuilding of the Palazzina Cinese. The museum documents Sicilian life with over 4000 exhibits.
- Art Gallery
The Gallery of Modern Art (Galleria d'Arte Moderna) was reopened in December 2006 and is located in Via Sant'Anna 21. The art gallery was previously housed in the Teatro Politeama for 99 years. The premises were too small from the beginning. Therefore, the gallery moved to the convent buildings of the former Franciscan convent Sant'Anna.
- Cathedral Maria Santissima Assunta
The mighty Cathedral Maria Santissima Assunta with important royal tombs from the 12th century stands on Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Already in the 6th century, a church stood on this site, which has undergone many changes over the years.
- Mondello Beach
Mondello with its fine sandy beach has been Palermo's top bathing destination for over 100 years. The bus line 806 runs every 20 minutes to Mondello and takes 30 minutes. The bus stop at Piazza Sturzo Don Luigi is about 700m (15 minutes walk) from the mooring. Tickets can be bought in tabacchi shops, among others. Deckchairs and umbrellas are located in separate, guarded areas and can be rented there directly. On weekends and holidays the beach is also very popular with the locals.
- Monreale
The mountain village of Monreale lies 8 km southwest of Palermo. The Duomo Santa Maria is one of the most famous churches of the Middle Ages. The austere façade conceals an interior worth seeing. All interior walls are decorated with gold mosaics and show illustrated Old and New Testament. The church tower is accessible but there is also a charge. On the other hand, from above, one has an excellent view of Palermo. Travel time to Monreale should be at least half an hour.
- Capuchin Tomb
A visit to the Capuchin Crypt (Catacombe dei Cappuccini) in Via Cipressi 1 takes some getting used to: in the dark corridors of the vast catacombs there are long rows of natural mummies. Currently still around 2000, the sight is both fascinating and disturbing. It is not recommended for children. The bus line 327 has the stop Pitre - Pindemonte nearby.
- Excursion Portals and Excursion Providers
Through the tour and excursion providers GetYourGuide, Meine Landausflüge and Viator, you can book various excursions, activities, tours, tickets and admission tickets in Palermo, which are often offered at much lower prices than comparable excursions offered by the shipping companies. Thus, if you book well in advance, you can realize a large number of excursions on your own.
A small preselection of independent tour operators
for, in and around Palermo,
we have compiled for you here.
- Cruises and Special Offers
If you have not yet booked a Mediterranean cruise, but would like to get to know Palermo personally and make excursions on your own, you will find great offers from the major cruise operators in the German-speaking world. Aida, Costa and Tui Cruises - Mein Schiff offer attractive routes with their modern cruise ships, together with other interesting destinations. Book your next dream holiday directly with your favourite shipping company at fair conditions.
All ocean and river cruises can also be booked conveniently and inexpensively online with the sea travel specialist Kreuzfahrten-Zentrale Astoria. This means that you can choose from a large number of up-to-date offers from various shipping companies. These include AIDA Cruises, Carnival, Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and TUI Cruises. Also attractive are the popular special offers, with which one can travel at a particularly low price and possibly also get a great bargain.
- Opening hours of museums: Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00-12:00 and from 15:00-18:00
- Opening hours of the churches: daily from 08:00-12:00 and 17:00-20:00
- Opening hours of the banks: Monday to Friday 08:30-13:30 and from 14:45-16:00
- Opening hours of the tourist information office: Monday to Saturday from 08:00-14:00 and from 15:00-18:00
- General emergency call: Tel. 112
- Police: Tel. 113
- Emergency doctor: Tel. 118
- Fire department: Tel. 115
- Vaccination recommendation: Tropical Institute Italy
- City map: Palermo Map
- Climate table: Palermo climate
- Port occupancy: Cruise ships in Palermo
- National currency: Euro, 1 Euro = 100 Cent
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