Palermo before Christmas

When someone says Palermo, you don’t think of the sea, or at least I don’t. I think of the food. The Sicilian specialties. So it was all the more special to visit this City and be so close to the water. Yes I know, it’s an island bla bla bla, but I just don’t think about this minor detail when I’m thinking of a city break.

Palermo is a rich and vibrant city. With a lot of cultural heritage and also people! There is something for everyone here, and also beaches. Now I would call myself well travelled but Geography was never my thing, and I never even thought of Palermo as being near beautiful beaches, but it is. And this was December. There were people on the sand, catching the sun and a few where even braving it in the water.

Our trip to Palermo was a quick one, but fun packed. We had visited this side of Sicily on our honeymoon a few years ago. Flying into Palermo and staying at a small resort which is part of the larger Planeta estate called La Foresteria. You can read more about that in another blog. But we never had time to explore the city, and I’m so glad we came back to do so.

We planned the trip based around our friends’ long road trip from Tuscany. They had traveled all the way down the East coast of Italy . Stopping off in Sicily before making their way back up to The Netherlands in a campervan! Got to admire them. They are younger than us. They can do these things. They have worked hard in Tuscany for the last two years, so they can take the time and make this trip.

We arranged to meet them in Palermo. We wanted to spend a few days together before they disappeared to explore other parts of the world for the next 6 months!

For us it’s a short flight from Pisa. We hired a car. It was cheaper than getting taxis. For 4 days we paid €19!!!! No idea how, but we did.

We had a day to spare as we couldn’t check in until 3, so after landing at 10am, we decided to go and explore. We drove around for a while, nowhere was too far away. We’d had a bit of guidance from another friend whose partner was originally from Palermo, so some good tips from a local also set us up for a great weekend.

We drove around 40 minutes to an hour to find the lovely beaches of Mondello and Castelmarre del Golfo. This is area is exactly as it says in the title. A sea and a castle on the gulf of Sicily.

First stop Mondello. There’s a lot of history here based around the Arab times. This is a beautiful area to stay if you want a city break and beach break in one. It’s a seaside village, with lovely art noveau style villas along the beach pathway. We sat and had a light breakfast in a cafe in Piazza Mondello before going for a walk along the beach path.

Not far from there is Scopello. A beautiful little hamlet with a beach and also a few artisan shops, restaurants and bars. As it was Winter it was very quiet but this made our little stop in the tiny square restaurant all the more special.

The Scopello Baglio. This takes you back in time with a little arched entrance and a huge oak tree right in front of you. This is a must visit if you have a car.

Then it was time to check in. I found our hotel in Palermo after searching the very Facebook group I started. This one was personally recommended by one of my 7,000 members. It couldn’t have been in a more perfect position. Right on the Piazza Ruggiero Settimo. Within walking distance from everywhere. A hotel with history. As a lot of them are in Italy. It has been renovated and modernised. It has a lovely rooftop bar but quite pricey. We managed to go for a pre and post dinner cocktail, a little decadence before bedtime!

The room was an ‘economy’ one. For two nights, around £230 or €278 euros. But the hotel felt more special than the price we paid for it.

From the hotel, we walked everywhere.. Notice the blue skies! It was warm, T shirt weather. It’s positioned on one of the main squares. There’s one road behind the hotel with all the luxury shops. If you turn down the side roads from here, you’ll find some of the more elegant places to eat and drink. More off the beaten track and definitely full of the locals.

On the other side of the square was the main drag to meander down. Via Ruggiero Settimo. We walked up and down this street a few times to get to and from the hotel. It was only a few days until Christmas, so the decorations were at their peak! It’s a great street to mooch in full of shops and bars and restaurants. This is where the whole world goes by. Keep walking and walking.

We found a great arancini bar, Arancini are a Sicilian specialty. So many different ones to choose from. There are few market stalls too at night, unless the police are around, in which case the very same market stalls are picked up and quickly wheeled away round a corner never to be seen again. Until 10 minutes later!

You can even do your laundry if you pass the outdoor launderette!

We visited the Porto di Palermo. One of the largest and natural ports in Italy. Did a steeet food your. Highly recommend this company for any street food tours in Italy. Wandered down Via Vitorio Emanuele, in the historical part of Palermo.

We found an escape room, that was fun.. I managed to persuade/force everyone to go on the hop on hop off bus, I love this. Lucky for them it rained that afternoon so we didn’t make it. Went to do the escape room instead!