One day in Palermo

I'll try to help as much as I can. Sicily has become my favorite place in Europe! I was in Palermo last September, and I loved it. I stayed in the Center of the Old City area, and walked to the sites. Palermo is gritty, traffic congested, and is just coming into its own as a tourist attraction, so prices will be going up. I did not spend enough time there, just went for a day also, because I used the Palermo airport to connect through Rome for the trip home.

If you've checked the price on your guided cruise tour, and compared that to the price of the Hop on Hop off Tour, (don't forget to count in the price of the taxi to and from the Bus Stop -- probably 20+ eu each way) and the Bus is a lot less expensive, I'd just do that! We saw most of the sites in one day, but unfortunately, didn't get to the famous Palermo Market. We didn't spend an adequate amount oftime there, and next time I'm definitely going to allow more time and my First Priority will be the Market, even though I will be staying at a hotel! I will at least be able to buy some of the beautiful fruit.

I use hop on/off buses when I'm in a new European city, and I see nothing wrong with it. It's a great "overview" of the city. I especially loved the one in Paris.

You can surely google Palermo, check out the tourist sites, and choose the ones you want to go to. IMPORTANT: Traffic is heavy in Palermo, so make sure you allow enough time for the taxi from the bus stop to get you back to the ship on time.

I almost always agree with Donna, but in Palermo traffic you may make better time walking beside the ho-ho bus. I hope you get to the Palatine Chapel and have some time for the market.

Is 10-4:30 your actual time in Palermo? The port is close to the city historic center. Stroll around the waterfront, there are beautiful gardens at Via Lincoln near the waterfront, and some good seafood restaurants in the area if you have time. The Michelin Geen Guide or Lonely Planet will have suggestions for walks and sights.

My favorite place in Palermo was the Monreale Cathedral, a few miles outside Palermo. If you want to go there, you'd probably be best off by spending the money on a taxi. There's a regular bus service from the train station, but it runs infrequently and gets snarled up in traffic, while a taxi can often take an alternate route that may be faster. Also it's quite a walk from the bus stop to the cathedral and a taxi may be able to get you closer.

With only a few hours, you're probably better off staying in Palermo. There's enough to fill up your time. I was not particularly impressed by the market. I enjoyed walking through it, because I like markets, but I was frustrated that I couldn't touch the produce - ended up with some under-ripe strawberries and over-ripe tomatoes and oranges. But I also got some very nice things at very good prices. It's just a run-of-the-mill market. You do get to see what's grown locally, because that's pretty much what's on offer.

As Zoe said, don't miss the Palatine Chapel - especially if you don't get to Monreale.

Here is a link to a website I used for all the info I needed on Sicily.
There are maps, tours, hours of opening, etc.
Best of Sicily

I am in Sicily now, and was just in Palermo earlier this week. I would say the top sites are (1) the Palatine Chapel, with wonderful mosaics; the rest of the Norman Palace where the chapel is coated was Ok but not really special, think I ; best to get there as early as possible, it opens about 8:15 am I think; expect a line much later than that; (2) two very different churches that are right next to each other, those being La Martorana, with lovely mosaics, and San Cataldo, a very meditative and minimally decorated chapel. The first had a low admission, the second was free. I love markets, and went to both the Ballaro and Capo markets, and they were both OK, but not really special IMO. I was disappointed. They also were not very crowded the days I was there. You can easily walk everywhere in central Palermo, better than trying to deal with congested and very slow traffic.
The cathedral in Monreale is wonderful too, but not really in Palermo. It would eat up quite a bit of your limited time to get there and back, even by taxi, but certainly by bus. You would almost have to choose one Palermo or Monreale, however if you did go to Monreale first, you might still have time to get to one or even two sites in Palermo afterward.
Be careful to check what might be closed on the day of your visit, and be sure to get current information on the hours that anything is open.