We will have a full day prior to our tour starting in mid September. I'm looking for the kind of advice on what "not to miss" Something or place that you really thought was extra special.
1) A day in Cefalu'
2) Walking tour Palermo with Rick Steve's rec guide Domenico Aronica
3) Capuchin Crypt (not sure about this one)
4) Monreale Cathedral
5) Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia
6) Mondello
Thank you
Is this the Rick Steves Sicily tour?
Monreale is included.
I vote for #2.
Thanks, its not a Rick Steve's tour , we were on the waitlist for several different dates since Jan and nothing ever opened up.
Suki have you used his recommended guide, Domenico?
Sorry, is this a list of options? Does your tour not include Palermo at all?
Yes it does, but was looking for something extra special for the extra day we have there
We loved Palermo. We walked around and found plenty to do. If you don’t have enough time, I would skip Cefalu. Unless you plan on going to the beach, the cathedral there was very, very similar to the one Monreale.
It’s difficult without knowing what your already scheduled tour includes. I would assume much would overlap with this potential walking tour. So, I’d vote Monreale. Palermo is a great place to explore, you can fill the rest of the day pretty easily.
We spent three days in Palermo as part of a two week trip to Sicily and the Monreale Cathedral was one of the highlights of the trip; the mosaics are absolutely beautiful. We had a guide for two hours and felt that we were able to better appreciate what we were seeing but even on your own, the mosaics are stunning.
Hello Monica - I was in Palermo a few weeks ago with a friend and our travel style for this trip (3 n Palermo, 3 n Ragusa, 3 n Ortigia) was to relax, explore, eat, and drink. So not heavy on learning about history, architecture, etc. More admiring the sights we were seeing. With that said, we took Domenico's tour and were joined by literally a United Nations group of travelers. Since we had a free day before the tour - we already had walked thru Quattro Canti, the Fountain of Shame, Balaro Market and back streets (roughly following RS walking tour). Our first day was a national holiday so he wasn't available until the next day. So for us, it felt like a bit of a repeat but with food tastes (arancini, chick pea fritters, juice, gelato etc). We were glad we took market photos the day before because we walked pretty quickly thru the market, but did sit for a bit to try some foods. I would say we didn't get off the main touristy area and one of the churches we were supposed to visit had a long entrance line, so that was skipped. We might have enjoyed it more if it happened on our first day. With that said, he is very personable and has a great sense of humor ! I would suggest you skip the tour and use the RS tour as a rough guide. It felt completely safe to explore and even walk back to our Air BnB off the north end of the main shopping street (via Maqueda) in a small alley at 10P. We did enjoy the 1/2 hour Teatro Massimo tour though and would recommend that. Also, would recommend eating at Grano Granis (small, family run, near Teatro Massimo) - I had the pesto di pistachio with clams. Yum.
We loved our Streaty Food Tour. The guide was local and very personable- he even got us to try the spleen sandwich (which was actually tasty). At one point, an elderly lady he knew called down to him, lowered her bucket and had him grab something from a vendor for her.
We had 4 extra days, so some of the things we did and loved were the RS walking tour, an English tour of Teatro Massimo where we heard part of a rehearsal, the HOHO bus and the Norman Palace. We also climbed to the top of one of the churches for outstanding views. The Capella Palatina at the Norman Palace is not as glamorous as Monrale, but we really enjoyed it.
Thank you so much, appreciate all the suggestions, I like the idea of doing Ricks walking tour and enjoying Palermo
I read a few reviews that said they weren't really impressed with Cefalu' unless your a big beach person,
Monica, if you do go to Monreale, make sure you also visit the cloisters. The mosaic work is unique and different on each and every pillar. Also I enjoyed walking around the piazza and visiting the shops where artisans were actually creating items with mosaics.
If you are into religious art and like visiting churches, make sure to stop in for a visit to the Chiesa del Gesu di Casa Professa for its Baroque interior. Also when you visit the cathedral of Palermo make sure you stop by to see the back outer facade of the building off Piazza Sett'Angeli. It is quite ornate and very pretty. Right near there one half block away on the corner there is a very good restaurant called La Galleria on Salita Artale.
The cannoli at the bakery at Santa Caterina church is to die for.
The cloisters at Monreale were one of my favorite things to see in Sicily --- the top of each column is uniquely sculpted, and while some are religious scenes, many are things like strange mermaid creatures or people turning into owls or naked people doing acrobatic poses or lions eating a person.
Thank you for all the wonderful advice, my husband loves cannoli so will make sure we drop by the bakery at Santa Caterina church
Monica, The cloistered bakery at Santa Caterina Church has a lovely private outdoor patio where you can sit and enjoy your cannolo.
