We'll be traveling to Sicily on a RickSteves Tour in late March.
Having a few extra days on the front of the trip:
what are some must see sights (not part of the tour) ?
What are some must do things ?
I heard about eating "spleen" as a delicacy. Has anyone tried it ?
What are some other must eat (besides the canoli's) ?
Thanks in advance
The markets are fun! My husband liked the spleen sandwich so if you adventurous give it a try! Not sure what's on the Rick's Palermo itinerary includes but just walking around the city is fascinating.
One restaurant that was a bit chaotic but fun was Antica Focacceria di San Francisco.
Try arancini and pasta alla Norma. Never tried the spleen sandwich but heard it was good. Yes, the markets are fun. Vucaria is one of the oldest in Palermo and mainly clothing but you can come across some good souvenirs. Balaroo is more food/fish and great to wander around. Some sights probably not on the tour: Capucian Crypt, La Zisa, Villa Guilia, San Giovanni degli Ermiti (chiesa San Guisseppe directly behind there has a bell tower you can go into for a good view of that and the rest of town), Basillica Magione, San Cataldo and Teatro's Massimo and Politieama. bestofsicily.com is a great sight for info.
We ate the meusa (spleen) sandwich and it was good! We ate it at the Antica Focacceria di San Francisco. If the church is open you can stop in. We tried twice but it was closed, but on the third try it was open and there were only two other people in the church. An organist and violinist were practicing for an afternoon wedding. They were playing Pachelbel's Canon. What an experience! In a trip filled with so many highlights, this was one of the best.
If these are not on the trip itinerary you might visit Palazzo dei Normanni, the Duomo, Quattro Canti, Oratorio di San Lorenzo, Piazza Pretorio and the 'fountain of shame'.
We also enjoyed the restaurant Il Pipino Rosso not far from Quattro Canti.
I used this site for info on Sicily.
There are several restaurants listed and lots of other info.
Best of Sicily
There's an old beautiful hotel near the famous Four Corners. Centrale Palacio. She's old and a little worn, but is a true former palace, with beautiful staircases and chandeleirs. They have a roof-top restaurant with very good food and a beautiful view. If I ever return to Palermo, I'm staying there again! My friends didn't appreciate it as much as I did, (I think they're Very American and prefer modern/new) I got a great deal from Booking.com
It is in the center, and within walking distance to most of Palermo's most important sites.
If you don't stay there, at least try to have dinner and see the sunset from the roof-top terrace.
Definitely visiting the markets. I think there are at least three main ones, and they are very cool. I don't know what the tour covers, but I would go to the crypts - we definitely enjoyed that. It's a longer walk so some people like taking a taxi but I enjoyed walking through the neighborhoods and exploring. Sicilian cooking uses a lot of citrus, olives, chicken, ricotta... If you have eaten in other Italian regions it's fun to compare and see how truly regional the food is. There's plenty of seafood of course. The cassatta cake is very good.
Pasta con le sarde
