Palermo, advance tickets?

I was in Palermo last week and definitely didn’t need advance tickets for any of the sights.

Where will you be staying in Palermo? I have visited there several times and can recommend some places we liked near there.

We did the No Mafia Tour and would highly recommend it.

One of my husband’s colleagues who is from the area recommended the crypt but it was closed in the afternoon and we ended up not going.

I don't think you need to book in advance, but if you wish to see the opera ( Teatro Massimo) you might want to go early to set up an English tour slot. When we went we were able to book for later in the day. It was well worth it.

Good idea, though, to get the earliest morning tickets to the Palazzo Normanni and to make sure the Cappella Palatina will be open the day you want to visit. The chapel is very small and gets very crowded.

We did an evening street food tour with Streaty tours.
It was really good!

Hi Anita, You may be better off buying opera or concert tickets in advance but other than that probably no need. I have been to Palermo three different times and the only thing I arranged in advance were private drivers for transfers and some siteseeing daytrips. I have not done the No Mafia tour but I did go to the Capuchin catacombs. I think the entry fee was cheap. I was somewhat reluctant to visit there but it was interesting in a weird way. The catacombs were not dark. I walked most everywhere in Palermo and did not take the Hop On Hop Off bus. A lot of the key tourist sites are in pedestrianized areas so I am not sure how close you can get to them on a bus. I suggest a visit to the Regional Archeology Museum Antonio Salinas. I love exploring churches and Palermo has many. I imagine your tour will take you to the churches at Piazza Bellini and the nun's bakery right next to the Santa Caterina church, but if not, do not skip them. Another beauty, baroque style, is the Church of Gesù di Casa Professa. And if you are into religious sites you might hire a driver to take you up to the cave Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia on Monte Pellegrino. I don't think your tour includes a visit to Cefalù but it is an easy daytrip by bus or train.. That is a small lovely town and you can easily spend an afternoon exploring it. One place in Palermo where I have not yet been is the Zisa Palace but it has caught my attention. If you like flea markets there is a small one not far from the Palermo cathedral, Mercato delle Pulci. Enjoy your tour. Sicily has much beauty. You might also do some research to see if any nearby small towns are having any of their patron saint day or special festivals during the time you are there. At these festivals you will experience all the colorful folkloric and religious traditions, parades, dress, foods etc. of the particular town.

October so a bit slower...

We didn't prepurchase anything. We walked up during our self-guided RS walking tour and an English tour of the opera was starting in a few minutes. I got the impression they did things ad hoc basis if there were enough _____ speakers. You don't need prepurchase for the catacombs or Monreale. It's such a great walking city, I don't think a hop-on, hop-off bus trip makes sense. We conspicuously never really saw them anywhere.

I guess just performances would be a good idea.

Free tip: Pizza at Biga

While you don't need advanced tickets for the Palazzo Normani, buying them online in advance (even on the day) can save you some time spent queuing. We actually just went and bought them on one of our phones when we saw how long the queue to buy them was. We didn't book in advance for anything else. We really liked the crypt- we walked out there and took a taxi back to town. We haven't done the No Mafia walking tour but we did like the No Mafia memorial (which is a small museum).