FIRST DAY: ARRIVAL IN PALERMO - DINNER IN A TYPICAL RESTAURANT
Arrival in Palermo. You will reach on your own the 4* hotel in Palermo, located in the hearth of Palermo, The rest of the day is free for individual activities or for the shopping in this area where are located the best fashion shops. Late afternoon you will meet our guide and the other guests of the tour; together you will have a dinner in a close typical Sicilian restaurant, where you can enjoy the local food specialities. Overnight.
SECOND DAY: HALF DAY WALKING TOUR OF PALERMO UNESCO ITINERARY. P.M. AT LEISURE
.jpg) Palermo has been dominated from the 9 th to the 11st centuries by the Arabs. In the 11st and 12nd centuries they were replaced by the Normans; from the mix of these two people is born the “Arabic-Norman” architecture style, that one can find just in Sicily. In 2017 some of such monuments have been inserted in Unesco World Heritage,  and these are the “highlights” of this half day tour. From the hotel by public bus we will reach the Cathedral (in its interior are the tombs of the emperor Frederick II and of some Norman kings). We will enjoy the stunning view of the cathedral as well from the balconies of the Palazzo Asmundo, an aristocratic palace of the 18 th century, a “museum of itself”. Before to continue our walking tour we will taste one of the typical Sicilian beverages in a kiosk. Continuation (through a palms garden) to the Royal Palace (called as well Norman Palace), seat of the Sicilian kings and vice-kings from the 11st to the 19 th centuries; here we will admire some halls in different styles and the Palatine Chapel, where a jewel of architecture are its polychrome marbles and colored mosaics on a golden background. We finish the visit in front of the Porta Nuova (New Gate), erected on the 16 th century. Back to the hotel by public bus. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight
THIRD DAY: HALF DAY EXCURSION TO MONREALE. P.M. AT LEISURE
  Not far from the hotel, we enter in the popular market “Il Capo”, that looks like an Arabic souk, where local people prefer to buy the local food, in a mix of colours, flavours and smells. At the end of the market we reach Piazza Indipendenza, where we will take the public bus, that will drive us to Monreale, a village 7 km far from Palermo, world famous because of its magnificent Cathedral (Unesco World Heritage as well), in Arab-Norman style with its 3.500 square meters of polychrome mosaics on a golden background, representing scenes of the Old and New Testament. Close to the cathedral (that host as well the tombs of other Norman kings) we will visit the cloister, with its 80 couples of twinned columns, each one different from the others. In a corner of the cloister is the Arabic fountain. Back by public bus to Palermo. Who wants can continue the visit on its own (nearby we suggest the Fleas Market, the Christian Catacombs and the Arabic-Norman church St John of the Hermits. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight.
FOURTH DAY: FULL DAY EXCURSION TO CEFALU’
  Near the hotel we take the public bus number 101 (which crosses the main axis of the city) to the central railway station. There we take a comfortable regional train to Cefalù, one of the top touristic destinations in Sicily. Cefalù, medieval fishers’ village, at the slopes of a promontory, hosts as well a Unesco World Heritage site, the Arabic-Norman Cathedral, that looks like a fortress. The cathedral was erected by the Norman King Roger II as its own burial seat (not used anymore for this purpose); for this reason the polychrome mosaics on a golden background were positioned just in the apse and not in the sides of the cathedral. We will then walk in the narrow streets and admire the medieval washhouse, still used till the 50’. Time at leisure to admire the beach, to do shopping or to visit on its own the Mandralisca Museum, that hosts the “Portrait of Unknow Man” of the famous Sicilian painter Antonello da Messina. Back to Palermo by regional train and continuation to the hotel by public bus. Overnight.
FIFTH DAY: HALF DAY WALKING TOUR OF PALERMO. P.M. AT LEISURE
 Our last day in Palermo is dedicated to the walking tour of the most central part of the old historic centre of the city. From the hotel we head towards the Teatro Massimo, inaugurated in 1897 and currently the third largest opera house in the world, after those in Paris and Vienna. We will visit the audience and the other rooms of this masterpiece of Sicilian liberty. On foot we will continue on via Maqueda  (on both sides of which some aristocratic palaces rise) to reach the "Quattro Canti" (Four Corners), the geographical centre of the city, where fountains and statues of Spanish kings stand. Not far away we can admire the baroque Pretoria Fountain (with its naked statues), and the exterior of the Town Hall. We then enter the Convent of Santa Caterina, where young pastry chefs continue the ancient confectionery tradition of the nuns; here we will taste the typical Sicilian sweet (the "cannolo"), but we will be able to buy other delicacies. A few steps away we will visit the Arabic-Norman churches (Unesco) Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio and San Cataldo, the latter with the red domes. On foot we enter the popular Ballarò market that looks like an Arabic souk. The tour ends at the central train station, from where we will take the public bus 101 which takes us back to the hotel. Free afternoon. Overnight.
After the breakfast at the hotel end of our services. You can reach the airport on your own. We are pleased to inform you that the public shuttle-bus that connects the city with Palermo airport stops walking distance from the Hotels .
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