Palermo itinerary for first-timers

Start in the heart of the old city. On Piazza Bellini, the red domes of San Cataldo stand beside La Martorana, the church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio with its Byzantine mosaics, and the Baroque church of Santa Caterina, whose rooftop terrace looks over the square. Around the corner, the marble statues of the Fontana Pretoria fill Piazza Pretoria, and a few steps further the four curved facades of the Quattro Canti mark the crossing of Via Maqueda and Via Vittorio Emanuele.

• San Cataldo
• La Martorana
• Santa Caterina rooftop
• Fontana Pretoria
• Quattro Canti

Each facade of the Quattro Canti has three levels: a fountain with one of the seasons, a Spanish king and one of the city's patron saints.

Palermo's oldest market fills the lanes south of the cathedral with stalls of fish, fruit, vegetables and spices, and with vendors calling out their prices. It is also the place to try the city's street food: panelle, arancine and sfincione. On its edge, the Church of the Gesù hides one of the richest Baroque interiors in the city behind a plain facade, all inlaid marble and stucco.

• Ballarò market stalls
• Street food
• Piazza del Carmine
• Church of the Gesù

Come in the morning, when the market is at its busiest and the stalls are freshly stocked.

Palermo Cathedral has been rebuilt and extended over many centuries, and it shows: Norman towers, Gothic porches, Arab-style decoration and a later dome all on one building. Inside are the royal tombs of Norman and Swabian rulers, and a walk across the roof gives a close view of its towers and a panorama of the city.

• Cathedral facade
• Royal tombs
• Cathedral rooftop
• Via Vittorio Emanuele

At the top of Via Vittorio Emanuele, past the palm garden of Villa Bonanno, stands the Norman Palace, one of the oldest royal residences in Europe and today the seat of the Sicilian regional parliament. Inside, the Palatine Chapel is covered in golden Byzantine mosaics beneath a carved wooden ceiling in the Islamic style. Next to the palace, the triumphal arch of Porta Nuova leads out of the old city.

• Villa Bonanno
• Norman Palace
• Palatine Chapel
• Porta Nuova

The Palatine Chapel is a working church and a popular sight: dress modestly and allow time for the queue.

In the evening, the pedestrian stretch of Via Maqueda fills with people walking between the Quattro Canti and the Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Italy, with its grand steps and dome on Piazza Verdi. Behind it, the small squares and lanes around Piazza Olivella are lively after dark.

• Via Maqueda
• Teatro Massimo
• Piazza Verdi
• Piazza Olivella

The Kalsa, the old quarter toward the sea, takes its name from the walled citadel of Palermo's Arab rulers. Its streets mix restored palaces, churches and open squares; Piazza Magione is a wide green space beside the Norman Basilica della Magione, and the old garden of the Giardino dei Giusti is nearby.

• Giardino dei Giusti
• Piazza Magione
• Basilica della Magione
• Kalsa streets

Villa Giulia is an 18th-century public garden of geometric paths, palms and fountains, right next to the city's botanical garden. From there, the Foro Italico seafront promenade runs along the sea with lawns and views of Monte Pellegrino, up to Porta Felice, the monumental gate at the sea end of Via Vittorio Emanuele.

• Villa Giulia
• Foro Italico promenade
• Sea views
• Porta Felice

The seafront lawns have little shade: in summer walk them in the morning or toward sunset.

Just inside Porta Felice, Piazza Marina is surrounded by old palaces, among them the medieval Palazzo Steri. In the middle, the Garibaldi Gardens shelter an enormous fig tree whose roots and branches spread across the garden, and on some days a flea market fills the square around it.

• Piazza Marina
• Garibaldi Gardens
• The giant fig tree
• Palazzo Steri

La Cala is Palermo's old harbour, a small curved inlet now full of fishing boats and yachts, with the open waterfront park beside it. At its entrance, the church of Santa Maria della Catena takes its name from the chain that once closed the harbour mouth.

• Santa Maria della Catena
• Porta Felice
• La Cala harbour
• Waterfront park

The great church of San Domenico, where many famous Sicilians are buried, faces a square with a tall Baroque column. Below it, the lanes of the Vucciria, once Palermo's most famous market, still have some stalls by day and turn into one of the city's liveliest places to eat and drink in the evening.

• Chiesa di San Domenico
• Colonna dell'Immacolata
• La Vucciria

The Vucciria is busiest late in the evening, especially at weekends.

Enter through the old city gate of Porta Carini and the Capo market runs through the narrow streets of one of the old city's four quarters. It feels more local than Ballarò, with produce, fish, cheese and street food stalls, and quieter lanes and squares around it.

• Porta Carini
• Mercato del Capo
• Market lanes

North of the old city, the 19th-century Teatro Politeama Garibaldi, with its triumphal arch and bronze horses, opens onto a pair of large squares. From here Via Libertà, Palermo's elegant boulevard, runs north between trees, Liberty-style buildings, shops and cafés: the modern face of the city.

• Teatro Politeama Garibaldi
• Piazza Castelnuovo
• Via Libertà
• Liberty-style buildings

Mondello is Palermo's own beach, a former fishing village between Monte Pellegrino and Monte Gallo. Its long curve of pale sand and clear, shallow water is lined with Liberty-style villas, and the Art Nouveau bathing pavilion stands out over the sea on its pier. Walk the promenade, stop by the small harbour and stay for the evening light.

• Sandy beach
• Liberty-style bathing pavilion
• Small harbour
• Liberty-style villas
• Mondello town centre

Much of the beach is taken by bathing establishments in summer, but there are free public stretches too.