A Day Trip To Palermo, Italy – What To See, Eat And Do april 27, 2022 – Posted in: Italy, Travel – Tags: Attractions, Food, Holiday, Italy, Sicily, Trapani, Travel

What to see on a day trip to Palermo?

If you are on holiday in Trapani, it is easy to take a day trip to Palermo. Trapani was the starting point for our own holiday, and therefore the article is based on a day trip from here. Here you get a small overview of what you have to see, eat and experience on a day trip to Palermo.

How do you get from Trapani to Palermo?

The bus runs back and forth between the two cities all day, and it takes about two hours. In April 2022, it was €10 for a single ticket, and you can buy it here at Omio, where you can also see the departure times. You can also buy your ticket in the small office opposite the bus stop – but NOT on the bus.

The bus runs from the port, close to the ferries to Egadi. It can be a little difficult to find the bus stop to Palermo, so here comes a detailed guide. If you go to Google Maps and type “Via Ammiraglio Staiti, 13, Trapani”, then you are almost there. Cross to the opposite side of the road, the one furthest towards the coast.

Below we have put in pictures of what the ticket office looked like in April 2022 as well as a picture of the bus time table. Remember to check if there have been updates in the time table and if the bus stop is still here.

Must see attractions in Palermo

When you get to Palermo, the bus stops in many places in the city center right up to Palermo Centrale, the main bus and train station. Drive all the way to the station and enjoy the ride up through the city. Set course for Via Maqueda, the long shopping street with its countless shops. Continue up to one of the city’s most popular sights, the Quattro Canti, the four marble-adorned corners.

It is also here at this end of town that you will find two of Palermo’s other great sights. At the Cattedrale di Palermo you can already see from the outside how the cathedral has evolved from Byzantine basilica over Moorish mosque to the giant cathedral it is today. A little further up the road lies the Norman Palace, Palazzo Reale, and the large city gate from 1535, Porta Nuova.

End in the old Jewish quarter. Here it’s looks just as you imagine Sicily, with the narrow, crooked streets and laundry hanging from the balconies. Palermo can be a hot city, and if you need to cool off, end the day at the harbor and the long beach promenade.

What to eat in Palermo?

Palermo has many great restaurants, but is particularly famous for their street food. If you are feeling adventurous, you can grab two of the really big delicacies that Palermo is known for: spleen and stomach. Yes, you read that right, a sandwich with spleen, Pani cà Meusa, and grilled colon are two of the really great dishes here in the capital of Sicily.

You get the best spleen sandwich at Porta Carbone by the harbor. If you’re not in the mood for spleen, the small snack bar also offers a sandwich with chickpea fritters, a Pane e Panelle.

Also visit the street food market Vucciria, located north of Via Roma. Even before you get there, you can smell the smoke from the large grill on which lies something resembling squid. But it’s not, it’s colon, bon appetit! It tastes better than it sounds, but don’t chew on it too much before swallowing.

If that’s not for you either, fortunately there are many other fast food stalls in the area. Also visit some of the many great bakeries in town that offer almond cakes, cream-filled genovesi cakes or just a cornetto, the sweet croissants.

More tips for your holiday in Trapani

Find a great hotel in Trapani

There are three areas you can choose to stay in when you visit Trapani: the old town, the new town and then in the medieval town of Erice. The old town is where it all happens with the shopping street Corso Vittorio Emanuele as a lively center. The new district is where the locals live in the smaller roads going in all directions from the long shopping street. Here you are also close to the best beaches. Erice is located on a mountain, making you dependent on the cable car, but in return yo have an amazing view over Trapani and the Egadi Islands.

On Booking.com you can see the hotels and holiday apartments in Trapani, and below you can also read our recommendations for Trapani. Please do your own search on Booking.com for a good hotel in Trapani right here:

Booking.com

Recommendations for an apartment and a hotel in Trapani

Being in Trapani for a week, whe had the time to have both a city break and a beach holiday at our time in Trapani. The first days we stayed in an apartment in the center of the old town right by Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The restaurants, harbor and sights were right below our window, and it was nice to have your own kitchen.

During the week we moved to the relatively new and really nice beach hotel Punta Tipa, where the photo is from. Trapani is not (yet) patched up with beach hotels, and in fact Punta Tipa is one of the only ones. It is located just before the best beach in Trapani (at the university) and with the most beautiful view over the city.

From the hotel there are about 10 minutes walk up to the new town and 30 minutes to Torre dell’Orologio in the old town. Trapani is an expensive city to park in, with prices from 1 euro per hour inside the city center, but Punta Tipa is with its free parking spaces a good hotel for you who is renting a car and want to use Trapani as a base to get out and see a lot of sights in the area. Read more about the hotel by clicking on the links or photo.

See more great hotel in Trapani on Booking.com – click here!