Palermo half day tour, (4 hour)

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. More than 450 years after her death, the bones of Saint Rosalia, miraculously found inside the cave on Mount Pellegrino, freed Sicily from the plague in the Jubilee Year, under the Pontificate of Urban VIII. The Sanctuary (445 m above sea level) is one with the cave where, on July 15, 1624, the bones of Saint Rosalia were found. Its structure, completed in 1629, is very particular: in the first part there is the 17th century façade leaning against the rock; entering we have a finely crafted vestibule; immediately after, we have a dome "open" to the sky and, finally, past a sumptuous iron gate, we enter the karst cave that we could define as the "heart" of the Sanctuary. Since December 1946, the Sanctuary has been cared for by the Religious of the Opera Don Orione (Small Work of Divine Providence)

   30 minAdmission included

2. Mondello water is known to be crystal clear and transparent with a shallow and sandy bottom, ideal for families. There you can find areas equipped with beaches and bathing establishments.

   30 minAdmission included

3. Teatro Massimo in Palermo is the largest opera house of Italy and third in Europe. It is a neoclassical structure, located in Piazza Verdi, which is also famous for its architectural elegance

   20 min

4. Visit to the Cathedral of Palermo, a Norman Arab route, Unesco Heritage

   20 minAdmission included

5. The so-called four songs, located in Piazza Villena, represent the center of Baroque Palermo

   10 minAdmission included

6. The Church of the Gesù, better known as Casa Professa, built in 1564 by the Jesuit fathers, certainly represents the most significant example of Baroque art in Palermo. Despite having incorporated part of the previous structures, the new church was sumptuous in shape and the dome was completed in 1683. The decoration was worked on from 1658 until the end of the 18th century. From 1703 a new phase of decoration of the ceilings and vaults began; the stuccoes were made by Procopio Serpotta, while the frescoes were the work of Antonio Grano. The façade, designed in the late 16th century, is placed on a staircase; niches have been placed on the openings that house the statues of the Virgin of the Grotto with Jesus, St. Ignatius and St. Francis.

   15 min

7. Piazza Pretoria, also called piazza della Vergogna, is located on the edge of the Kalsa district, near the corner of the Cassaro with via Maqueda, a few meters from the Quattro Canti, the exact center of the historic city of Palermo. Piazza Pretoria, also called piazza della Vergogna, is located on the edge of the Kalsa district, near the corner of the Cassaro with via Maqueda, a few meters from the Quattro Canti, the exact center of the historic city of Palermo.

   20 minAdmission included

Cancellation

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Reviews

Ratings come from 16 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Palermo

• Its from-price is 47% below the median of the 358 experiences we list in Palermo.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 90 of 358.

About Palermo

Palermo, capital of Sicily, is a port city of Arab-Norman palaces, gilded mosaics, baroque crossroads and street food.

Palermo was founded by the Phoenicians and later ruled by Arabs, Normans and Spaniards, and the layers show in its buildings. The Norman Palace holds the Palatine Chapel, glittering with gold mosaics, and the cathedral mixes Norman, Gothic and Baroque styles. The Arab-Norman monuments, with the cathedrals of Monreale and Cefalù, are listed by UNESCO.

Top-ranked sights in Palermo: Massimo Opera House (Teatro Massimo), Capo Market (Mercato di Capo), Vucciria Market (La Vucciria).

See all 358 experiences in Palermo