Palermo and its surrounding towns are often shown as the highlight of Sicily . . . unfortunately, I disagree. Don’t get me wrong, its nice – the giant grid section of the city centre is impressive with its architecture and buzzing nightlife, and nearby Monreale’s Cathedral is worth the visit – but the highlights of Sicily are in the east – in particular in Wandering the Old Towns of Eastern Sicily and the The Aeolian Islands– so prioritise accordingly and fly into Catania rather than Palermo if you have the choice.
#1 Tip
I’ve listed below some tips for a trip to Palermo, but my #1 tip is to venture an hour or so to the west for the magical villages and gorgeous coastline by the picture-perfect Scopello. The way to do it is make your way to Castellammare del Golfo, renting a yacht (we got €400 for the day for 4 people in June 2025) sailing along the coast to Scopello, and then further driving to the pretty town of Trapani. This was my highlight.
Taking a yacht (reasonably priced!) along the coast to Scopello