Travel to Palermo with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Palermo with annual multi trip travel insurance from Essential Travel

Travel to Palermo

Palermo is cradled perfectly in its own bay at the foot of the mighty Monte Pellegrino, in Sicily. The city has gorgeous scenery, excellent architectural heritage, and a convenient location.

Getting there

Falcone-Borsellino Airport is Sicilys largest airport and is located 31kms from Palermo, in Punta Raisi. Ryanair offers direct flights from the UK to Palermo. From Falcone-Borsellino, theres a half-hourly bus service into the city, taking around 35 minutes. By car, the A19 comes in from Catania or you can take the A20 from Messina.

It is a three-hour train journey from Messina. Alternatively, there are seven trains a day from Rome and three trains a day from Naples. By bus from Rome, the journey time is about 12 hours; the trip is long and not recommended. National ferry companies provide services from Genoa, Naples, Livorno, Cagliari and the smaller islands; there are also ferries from Malta and Tunis.

Information on Palermos key attractions

The old town of Palermo is home to many historic buildings, including the Cathedral, the elaborate Royal Palace and Cappella Palatina chapel, and the Arabic-Norman churches of La Martorana and San Giovanni degli Eremeti. If you still want to see more churches, the baroque churches of San Giuseppe dei Teatini and Santa Caterina are also interesting. Detailed mosaic work decorates most of the buildings in the city and is well worth seeing. The city is home to many museums boasting fine art collections and displays of archaeology and ethnography.

Out and about

If you haven’t had your fill of architecture, you can take a daytrip to the medieval Norman cathedral of Monreale, 6.4kms from Palermo. Alternatively, the interesting volcanic island of Ustica is just a short ferry ride away and features charming grottoes and coastline.

Just 16kms to the east of Palermo is Solunto, a Phoenician village founded in 700 BC. The ruins here are fascinating, encompassing a main street, the Greek agora (marketplace), parts of columns and a small theatre. Several mosaics and wall paintings have also been unearthed.

Leisure options

There are plenty of ways to relax in Palermo, the most pleasant of which is a relaxing stroll through the tangle of narrow streets and lanes of the old town. You can also head to the stunning Mondello beach or hike to the summit of Monte Pellegrino. Palermo has excellent accommodation and many fine restaurants. The nightlife is energetic, with cafés, bars, pubs and clubs available.

Safety

While Palermo is not considered a dangerous city, travel to an unfamiliar environment can still put tourists at risk. Holidaymakers are more susceptible to pickpocketing and theft. Additionally, participation in outdoor activities and driving place may you at greater risk of having an accident. We strongly recommend you take out travel insurance for you or your family while visiting Palermo.

Weather in Palermo

The best time to visit Palermo is in May/June or September/October. The weather is then still warm enought to relax on the beach but it is not too hot to go sightseeing. The summer is very hot and humid with an average temperature of 28C in July. Palermo is characterised by the mild winters with the average temperature in Januray being 12C. November is the wettest month when you can expect about ten rainy days.

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