Hotel Cala Rossa

Monreale cathedral

by extrajoce

Just half an hour by bus south of Palermo lies the byzantine jewel of Monreale cathedral. Its mosaics are some of the finest in the world, and you can only be impressed by the dominating figure of the Christ and the detail of biblical scenes. The cloister is also beautiful (see my Monreale tips). It is the best site to visit when in Palermo, in my opinion.

Caccamo- A Beautiful Hilltop Town

by pecsihornet

Caccamo - on 521m high -is a day trip from Palermo.
At first you have to go to Termini Imerese (there is a frequent train service between Palermo and Termini), then you can go up by bus. The bus leaves in front of the Termini I. train station. It runs quite rarely, try to cath a morning bus.
From Caccamo there are fabulous views of the surrounding countryside. The castle was built by the Normans in XI.century. The medieval streets are very charming.

Theatro Massimo

by Martino100

This is 3rd biggest theatre in Europe. It's a very beautiful and big building build in neo-classic style. It was desinged by Giovanni Battista Basile. Due to the expensive costs the building is closed for more then 10 years.

Duomo di Monreale

by kedi+

The most spectacular feature of the Cathedral is the splendid series of mosaics adorning the whole interior. Gold is the background on which the tesseras are set, that numerous make up the depicted scenes in a surface of 6,430 sq.
The big arch of the presbitery marks the start of the two rows of scenes developing the subject of the world salvation. In the panels of the upper and lower rows episodes from the Bible and from the New Testament are represented.

Palermo

by Alice-Kees

"Difficult to define, impossible to ignore!"

Palermo is an incredible lively city that discloses itself bit by bit the longer you stay. During our holiday on Sicily we went here twice, but this was by far not sufficient to take in all that the city has to offer. As it is also a ferry port to Tunesia and other mediterranean destinations, you can feel the multi cultural atmosphere in the streets.

For first timers I have a short list of must see sights, our "Palermo Top 3":

1. Palazzo dei Normanni with its Byzantine mosaics
2. La Vucciria quarter > especially its markets!
3. Chiesa di San Giovanni degli Eremiti

A lot of buildings are in a state of decay; it is obvious that not one cent of EC money pumped into this part of Italy has reached its goal. Among the crumbled buildings you will find a remarkable mix of Byzantine, Arab, Norman. Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Many buildings, like the cathedral consist of a combination of styles.

All in all, we found Palermo a very inspiring city and its inhabitants a bunch of charming people!