What is the best area to stay in Palermo?
By Marta Gagliardo. July 09, 2023
Being the capital of the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, Palermo offers a variety of attractions to its tourists - ranging from architecture to gastronomy. The appealing Mediterranean climate of the island makes it the perfect destination all year around, holding the record for the warmest city in Europe. The island offers a wide range of wonders, among which there are some UNESCO Heritage Sites, such as the city’s Cathedral and opera houses such as Teatro Massimo, which is the largest theatre in Italy and ranks third amongst the European ones.
The best area to stay in Palermo is the city centre. The city centre can be divided in two areas: the old city centre, which sees history and culture as its protagonist, and the new city centre, which reveals the modern, elegant side of the city. Staying in the city centre of Palermo will allow you to be within walking distance from all the attractions of the city. More specifically, the best place to stay in Palermo is Via Ruggero Settimo, which serves as a perfect meeting point between the old and the new city centre, offering a great selection of shops and restaurants, with important landmarks to visit being just around the corner.
Other areas to stay in Palermo are: **La Kalsa, Albergheria, Castellammare Vucciria, Monte di Pietà, Borgo Vecchio and Mondello (Palermo’s beach)**On the map, which shows the most convenient area to stay in Palermo, Sicily, you can see a selection of some of the best located hotels.
If you were interested in finding out where to stay in Palermo, you may also be interested in knowing in where to stay in Taormina and where to stay in Catania.
Via Ruggero Settimo, the best area to stay in Palermo
Best for:
Shopping / Family Holidays / Exploring the City by Foot.
Via Ruggero Settimo is one of the main arteries of the city, and it serves as its main shopping centre, being adorned with shops and restaurants on both sides. This area of the city is considered the most modern, yet the historical charm of Palermo’s architecture is still present, with buildings from the 1700’s now hosting famous clothing brands.
Via Ruggero Settimo is also known to be very elegant and safe: roads are closed to traffic, allowing pedestrians to freely stroll around the city, making it ideal for families with young children. Via Ruggero Settimo’s main benefit is its centrality: it will allow you to be in the best area of Palermo whilst being at a walking distance from the more historical side of the city.
Via Ruggero Settimo, in fact, serves as a meeting point between the two main theatres of the city: Teatro Politeama Garibaldi and Teatro Massimo, an UNESCO Heritage site.
Other areas to stay in Palermo
La Kalsa
Best for: Historical Tourism
La Kalsa, also known as Mandamento Tribuinali, is the biggest neighbourhood of Palermo. La Kalsa embraces most of the historical city centre and it is ideal for those who want to have a glimpse of the picturesque architecture that stands as a symbol of Palermo, bustling with majestic churches and buildings of Arabic origins. One of the most important landmarks within this area is Fontana Pretoria, also known as Square of Shame by locals due to the naked nature of the statues, originally built by the famous sculptor Francesco Camillani during the Renaissance period.
There is a wide range of gastronomic offerings in La Kalsa that can be found especially in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, there is a wonderful selection of taverns and pubs offering a selection of delicious typical food. This area also comprehends the city’s port (a smaller quarter called “La Cala” by locals), an ideal spot for dinner and nightlife during summer.
Albergheria
Best for: Historical Tourism / Enjoying Traditions
Albergheria is a popular neighbourhood of Palermo which is ideal for an immersive experience into the culture and old traditions of the city. This area encompasses Ballarò, one of the most famous street markets of the city, which will offer you a wonderful glimpse of the city’s dialect and trading traditions.
This area also offers a wide range of magnificent buildings such as Casa Professa church, also called the “Lace Church” for the incredible details of its interiors, and San Giovanni degli Eremiti Church, which is recognised as an UNESCO Heritage site. The Quattro Canti square, composed of four buildings, serves as a signpost for the two main streets of the historical city centre: Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda.
The four buildings that compose the Quattro Canti have two main floors - each building holds one statue per floor, representing the four old patron saints and four of the kings of the city of Palermo.
Castellammare Vucciria
Best for:
Nightlife / Street markets
The area of Castellammare Vucciria, also known as Vucciria by locals, is one of the most ancient neighbourhoods of the city. This gem is hidden in the smallest street of Via Roma, one the main city’s streets. This neighbourhood used to host one of the main street markets of the city, as well as being the home of artisans and tailors. However, these traditions have slowly declined throughout the years, with only a few stands open during the day selling local products such as fruits and fish.
La Vucciria has in fact become one of the main attractions of the city’s nightlife, with its main square bustling with crowds and loud music especially on Wednesday nights, with old stands being replaced by bars and street food based taverns. The newest nature of this neighbourhood fits the name of the neighbourhood, as “Vucciria” directly translates into “confusione” from the Sicilian dialect.
Hotels in Castellammare Vucciria
Monte di Pietà
Best for:
Nightlife / Historical Tourism
This neighbourhood sits at the heart of the old city centre of Palermo, embracing the area around the Palermo’s Cathedral and Il Capo, another bustling market of the city centre. The UNESCO heritage site Massimo theatre, also known as “Il Massimo”, also resides in this area. This neighbourhood is characterised by the Porta Nuova, an imposing building which towers over the city and delimits the perimeter of Monte di Pieta. The importance of Porta Nuova resides in its history, as it served as a monumental city gate during the 1500s.
The main historical attractions of the city are all within walking distance - however, this area of the city is one of the loudest neighbourhoods of Palermo. This area, in fact, offers a real gastronomic tour and affordable restaurants - there is a wide selection of pubs and restaurants that offer all kind of typical food and drinks.
Borgo Vecchio
Best for: Quiet / Families with Children
Borgo Vecchio is the farthest area from the Palermo city centre, although it is easily reachable through local transport. This area is ideal for those who are looking forward to a much quieter area than the city centre’s nightlife.
Borgo Vecchio is one of the few neighbourhoods of Palermo that preserve and maintain alive one of the city’s oldest traditions: The Opera dei Pupi consists of hand-made, wooden marionettes which enact theatrical performance of traditional Sicilian poems and scripts that re-interpret the history of the Paladins of France. The Opera dei Pupi, and in particular the artisanal art required to make these traditional marionettes, have been recognised as part of the UNESCO heritage in 2001.
Despite its appealing calm, it is important to bear in mind that this neighbourhood is still under development and therefore might not be the safest option, especially for families with children.
Mondello, Palermo’s beach
Best for: Beaches / Summer
The closest beach to the city centre of Palermo is Mondello. Mondello is the largest beach area of the entire Island and it extends over 1.5 kilometres along the coast, delimited by the two main promontories of the province: Mount Gallo and Mount Pellegrino.
This small village is well equipped with holiday accommodation ranging from simple rent to bed and breakfast and more expensive hotels. Mondello serves as the perfect holiday location: being only 20 minutes away from the airport and perfectly reachable from the city centre (using bus line 806), Mondello is the perfect spot for enjoying the sea side.
The best time of the year to fully enjoy Mondello goes from spring to autumn, when restaurants and bars all return to work and offer a wide variety of delicious gourmet, typical food and a delicious selection of seafood dishes solely composed of the island’s products and fish caught the night before.
Our recommended hotels in Palermo
Use the interactive map to navigate through our recommended hotels in PalermoNote: Hotel prices can change daily due to promotions, seasons, and demand. Our $ - $$$$ scale shows the overall cost range rather than exact prices.
