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The capital of Italy’s biggest island and icon of the Mediterranean, Palermo is a destination you’ll want to return to. From Arab-Norman conquests to serving as the epicentre for the Sicilian mafia, Palermo is a city with background and swagger that holds a sacred quality in its outward beauty.
Exploring restored palazzi, cinematic in their grandiosity; sampling local wines while watching the setting sun slide behind domed cathedrals; and indulging in culinary experiences that reimagine Sicilian cooking – Palermo is perhaps an underrated travel destination that really cares about where its visitors eat, sleep, drink and explore.
Palermo accommodation: Best luxury hotels
Villa Igiea, a Rocco Forte Hotel
Plenty of places in Palermo’s historic accommodation scene have maintained the glamour of yesteryear, but nowhere makes you want to live out your wildest Fellini-esque fantasy than the Villa Igiea. This 19th-century resort (taken over by the hotelier Rocco Forte in 2019) boasts a stunning outdoor pool, tennis court, glitzy cocktail terrace with live piano, and a history of notable guests. With rich parquetry flooring, glossy Carrara marble bathrooms, Art Nouveau wallpaper and stained glass windows, the resort is grand in every sense of the word. No two rooms are the same, and though they might be slightly more modern than the property’s communal spaces, they’re no less glamorous. While the property’s waterfront position is dazzling (some rooms offer a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea), it does mean a short drive is required into Palermo’s city centre.
Palazzo Arone dei Baroni di Valentino
“Sleep surrounded by history,” declares this palazzo’s website. Situated in Palermo’s Arab-Norman UNESCO World Heritage Site, stepping into the Palazzo Arone dei Baroni di Valentino feels like entering a museum of 18th-century aristocratic luxury. Within the palace, rooms hold warmth in their lush textiles, exposed beams, grand headboards, gold trim and exquisite tapestries. While this boutique hotel has fewer rooms than larger hotels in Palermo, families or travel groups can find comfort in the Home of the Barons – two suites with conjoined living, dining and reading rooms. Experiences abound at the palazzo with cooking lessons, dinners, gala events, musical evenings as well as literature presentations, offering a taste of aristocratic life. With both modern and historic art museums just a stroll away, as well as other palazzi to explore, the accommodation’s central location makes it an ideal launching point for the city.
Grand Hotel et Des Palmes
Lined with palm trees and harbouring a secret tunnel that connects the hotel to the adjacent Anglican church, this luxury establishment lives up to its grand name. Communal spaces feature high-ceilinged frescoes that draw your attention upwards, red velvet armchairs to sink into and a hall of mirrors-style bar that will reflect your Aperol Spritz many times over. The property’s 100 rooms and suites are spacious, understated and comfortable – take your post-pasta siesta on a memory foam mattress and Egyptian cotton sheets. For when you’ve had your fill of pasta, the hotel also offers a rooftop garden and a gym housing all the workout essentials. Tucked just a few blocks back from Palermo’s marina the property makes for a well-placed springboard for discovering all the city has to offer, with local, vintage and international shopping, historical sites and some of the city’s best restaurants just steps away.
Palermo bars to check out in 2025
Seven Restaurant Palermo
One of the metropolis’s most reputed rooftop terrace bars, Seven Restaurant is the place to sip an Aperol Spritz and watch the sun set over church domes, terracotta roofs and the mountain ranges that surround Palermo. Located on the seventh level of the Hotel Ambasciatori, this panoramic spot is one that you’ll need to make a reservation for. Mixologist Leonardo Romano has curated a cocktail list with both classic and signature offerings, along with a quality wine list accompanied with pairing suggestions, leaving all bases covered. The aptly named and stand-out signature cocktail No. 7 has bite; a concoction of tequila, pepper cordial, orange bitter, lime, pink grapefruit soda, salt crust and olive.
Botteghe Colletti
Red velvet curtains frame a hole in the wall on a cobblestoned street of Palermo’s historic district. Stepping through the drapes and into Botteghe Colletti is like entering a film set. Iconic vintage Italian posters plaster the walls of the long dark bar; intimate wooden tables and stools line the moodily lit room. Frothy Espresso Martinis and fruity Spritzes will keep things buzzing all night. Take the opportunity to chat to the friendly bar staff, who clearly care about what they do.
Dal Barone
With the bar’s name spelled out by an exposed neon sign, this natural Sicilian wine bar injects an effortless cool into the Palermo bar scene. The tiny indoor/outdoor bar accompanies its curated wines (Sicilian whites, rosé, macerated skin contact oranges, pét nats) and a few cocktail and beer options with local artisanal products. Staff are experts at helping even the most indecisive patrons decide what they want to drink, or pairing your tipple with a meat or cheese selection. This is the type of watering hole where locals will sit kerbside if the tables are full.
Ojda
Scandinavian-Italian fusion café, record store and bar – Ojda is many things, but most importantly it serves as the youthful outpost in the historic city. Stop in for an aperitivo (the bar staff at Ojda execute a classic Select Spritz Aperitivo well, or choose from the substantial Sicilian wine list), and be sure to check the bar’s Instagram for its frequent events and live music.
Palermo restaurants to check out in 2025
Corona Trattoria
A culinary experience that focuses on fresh fish, Corona Trattoria is a local favourite, meaning you’ll have to book in advance. Busiata with roe, pasta with sea urchins and swordfish roulade – dishes oscillate depending on what the ocean provides. Family-run, you’ll often find the restaurant’s owners working the floor. This is the type of place where you’ll be walked through the menu or wine list in detail if you wish. To conclude your meal, try the local digestivo; Alloro is made from bay leaf and has a strong herbal taste that cleanses the palate.
Gagini
The contemporary culinary experience headed by Italian-Brazilian chef Mauricio Zillo sets the barometer for Sicilian fine dining in Palermo. Zillo has created a menu that shines a light on local products – à la carte dishes include tortello stuffed with octopus, broccoli and mushrooms, pig neck with celery purée, black cabbage and cumquat, and tagliolini with sheep’s ragù, pumpkin and borage. A modern take on old-world Sicily, with exposed stone interiors set against contemporary lighting fixtures and furniture, it’s a comfortable place to dine long and slow, the Sicilian way.
MEC Restaurant
For a truly unique dining experience you thought you’d probably never have in Palermo, look no further than MEC. In the centre of the city and adjacent to the Statua di Santa Rosalia, is a Michelin-star restaurant in a late-16th-century building that pays homage to a very unlikely legend – Steve Jobs. Among an exhibition dedicated to the founder of Apple that includes photographs and memorabilia documenting the history of the brand, chef Carmelo Trentacosti reimagines Sicilian classics, often in the shape of apples (think the iconic logo carved into a dab of butter). Tasting menus with meat and plant-based options are accompanied by more than 650 Italian wines. Dishes are innovative and cheekily named, such as “The Appearance Deceives”, which consists of a fake crunchy lamb chop, autumn vegetables, gratinated semolina and the chef’s take on “coratella” (slow-cooked offal).
What do to in Palermo
Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi
Famous for hosting the grand dance scene in Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, this palazzo is extraordinarily beautiful and has been meticulously maintained. Grand frescoes, 12-metre-high ceilings in some rooms, large Murano glass chandeliers, hand-painted tiles – there is no surface that isn’t an artwork in itself. Somewhat of a secret and lesser-known destination among tourists in Palermo, visits to Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi can be arranged by emailing the palace’s custodians. You may even be so lucky as to have Princess Carine Vanni Calvello Mantegna di Gangi, who lives in the palazzo with her husband, take you on a personal tour.
Ballarò Market
A food market more than 1000 years old, the Ballarò Market, in the bustling historic centre of Palermo, is a street food experience not to be missed. Plates of fried fish sit on tables with personal fans keeping away flies, cannolis rest behind glass counters awaiting the sweet-toothed, grilled octopus sits side-by-side with Sicilian-style pizza – the market is maximalist in its presentation and leaves you wanting for nothing.
Mondello
One of Sicily’s most heavenly beaches and only a 20-minute drive from Palermo’s city centre, Mondello promises delicate milk-coloured sands and cerulean blue waters. With the type of setting that inspires you to want to get away from it all, lounge on a daybed or wander the streets overlooking the beach that house spectacular villas once owned by mafioso. Be sure to finish the day with a granita in brioche from one of the cafés that line the beach.
