Suggestions for time in Polermo before RS tour.

Posted by nehernan on 01/29/24 04:55 AM

We are a group of 6 signed up for the RS Sicily tour. Reading the itinerary looks like a very minimum time spent in Polermo before leaving the city. We are hoping to arrive at least a couple of days early and are looking for suggestions of items not on the tour.
The Capuchin crypt, RS walk from the guidebook, Piazza Bellini churches all look interesting, but we don't want to go there if they are part of the tour.

We would appreciate any advice from those who have already been on the tour or advice from anyone on visiting Polermo. We are doing some early planning on time and flights and would like a sense of how long to spend in Polermo to recover from jet lag and enjoy the city.

Thanks
Neil

Posted by lken56

01/29/24 05:22 AM

88 posts

We were on the Sicily Tour last year and it was fantastic! We flew into Palermo and then took the train to Cefalu for 3 nights to recover from jet lag and enjoy the beautiful little town. We climbed La Roca one day and explored the town the other day. We took the train back and had one day before the tour started in Palermo. So we visited the Regional Archeological Museum (which we really liked) the Botanical Gardens (which were okay) and went to the Sicily Symphony at Palermo Politeama Garibaldi (which was great!) Have a great trip!

Posted by Jean

Idaho, USA

01/29/24 05:54 AM

7645 posts

I am going to Palermo for five days independently in May, and these are the places/activities I am planning:

Palermo Cathedral
Norman Palace
Go to at least one of the markets, avoiding the spleen sandwich - LOL!
An Anti-Mafia Tour
The Sicilian Pantry cooking class - market & four homemade dishes; excellent reviews
Tour of the Palazzo Conte Federico
A puppet show
Lots of churches!
A day trip out to Monreale
Possibly a day trip out to Cefalu
Enjoying the city atmosphere & food. : )

I’m definitely having some authentic cannoli, and I want to have at least one Green Coffee at Casa Stagnitta - espresso, pistachio creme, chopped pistachios & whipped cream.

Posted by Jean

Idaho, USA

01/29/24 06:13 AM

7645 posts

lken56, thank you for the suggestion to check if the symphony will be performing while I am there!

Posted by John

CA, USA

01/29/24 07:13 PM

1227 posts

with regards to the Piazza Bellini churches if they aren't listed in the RS itinerary then you probably won't go there. We did the Sicily tour last year and while you will go to the sites listed in the itinerary, guides are given flexibility and your guide (RS guide or local guide) may take you to that piazza. The flip side, though, is they aren't going to take you thru all of the churches so at most one would be a duplicate.

Another vote for the Regional Archeological Museum, very interesting.

Posted by sboh

01/30/24 01:02 AM

280 posts

I’m taking a tour of Sicily (not RS) in March and arriving a day early. I plan to take a cooking class which I found through Cesarine.com. I choose a small group in a private home. Will make two kinds of pasta, one filled, a sauce and tiramisu. They have other options too.

Posted by Patty

Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas

01/30/24 03:28 AM

2266 posts

We did this tour in late April 2022 and arrived on the Friday before the tour started, so we had about 4 extra days in Palermo. We could have filled more days and would have added a trip out to Cefalu if we had more time.

Jean has a very comprehensive list. We did the NoMafia tour, the Streaty Food Tour, an English tour of Teatro Massimo (where we hear them practicing for an upcoming performance), the HopOnHopOff tour and all of the churches in the Piazza Bellini. The view from the top of the Church of Santa Catarina was outstanding. We loved the Norman Palace (in 2022 you had to pre-book entry)

Two tips: if you are arriving via the Palermo airport, watch for the huge pink obelisk on the freeway into town. It marks the spot where Judge Falcone and his wife were blown up on their way to their home. He was one of the leaders in the fight against the mafia. Also, the cheapest Aperol spritz were in Palermo.