Essentials

There is no luggage storage at Palermo Airport. If you need to leave your bags somewhere, the main option is Palermo Centrale, the city’s central train station. You can also find plenty of luggage storage places around the city, and most of them are listed in apps.

The trip from Palermo Airport to Palermo Centrale takes up to an hour. You can get there by train, bus, or taxi. Train and bus tickets cost up to €10, while a taxi costs around €50.

The trip to Monreale on bus 389 takes around 30 minutes. It’s better to buy tickets for both directions in advance, either at any tabaccheria or at the AMAT kiosk near the bus stop. Make sure to validate your ticket on the bus.

Palermo is closer to Africa than to Rome, so of course summers here are very hot. You’ll want the lightest clothes and shoes you have. In winter, a light autumn jacket is usually enough, although it can be rainy. In spring and autumn, you’ll often find yourself choosing between a T-shirt and a jumper.

For a night at the theatre, smart casual is perfectly fine if you didn’t bring anything more formal. But if you’re buying tickets online, it’s worth checking the process in advance. And if you’re buying them at the theatre box office, make sure to check the opening hours first.

In tourist cities, big supermarkets often seem to be deliberately hidden away from the main streets, and Palermo is no exception. Near most tourist areas, the main ones to look for are Lidl and Famila. Close to Teatro Massimo, there’s Prezzemolo & Vitale, while Conad can be useful if you’re staying near Piazza Indipendenza.

You get used to Palermo’s rhythm pretty quickly: I try to get anything important done in the morning or after 4 pm, because in the afternoon, we rest. Banks, small shops, museums, churches and restaurants follow much the same rhythm, and on Sundays many places may be closed.

The phrase “there are no beaches in Palermo” surprises many of my guests. Palermo is right on the coast, but it’s a port city, so there really is no city beach. Most tourist guides send you to Mondello, but it’s definitely not my choice: the sea is beautiful, but for me it’s too noisy and there are too many bars around. So over time, I started looking for my own place to spend a couple of hours by the sea, not too far from the city.