A Taste of Palermo

Your coach will pick you up at the pier and carry you off on a tour taking in the main highlights of Palermo. And there are many highlights to enjoy in this cultural capital. The via della Libertà, Palermo’s most important street, famed for its shops and plane trees…the monumental Teatro Politeama…via Ruggero Settimo, known as the salon of Palermo because of the stylishness of its shops…Teatro Massimo, where Callas and Pavarotti have sung…Quattro Canti, the sculptural centre of Palermo. 

You’ll get off the coach at the Piazza Bologni and amble to the Martorana Church with its glittering Norman-Byzantine mosaics, before strolling on to Palermo’s thousand year-old vast and ornate Cathedral. But to really get under the skin of this intriguing city, you need to understand its food – something (else) Sicilians are truly passionate about. So, the lively Ballarò street market is the next stop on your tour. Here, in between plentiful photo opportunities, you’ll get to taste local specialties: sfincione - thick focaccia topped with tomatoes, onions and anchovies; vegetable ratatouille; panelle - chick-peas pancakes – perfect with a dash of lemon; sprats in olive oil, and plump olives, all washed down with a glass of good local wine, before heading back to the ship.