Palermo, the quintessence of Sicily, is capable of being chaotic, elegant, fascinating, secretive and a little decadant, all at the same time. The historical centre represents the typical Sicilian fusion of art, architecture and way of life on which the past invaders have left their impression. In the small streets and alleys of its huge historic centre elegant Baroque and Norman monuments stand side-by-side with arabic domes, the Byzantine street markets of the "Ballaro", "Vucciria" and "Capo" invade the populated medieval quarters of the city and some of the most important Italian brands can be found on the elegant Via Libertà in the city centre.

A visit to the city's numerous and famous monuments, churches, squares, cathedrals, villas and aristocratic residences is an absolute must: don't miss the Cathedral, the Palazzo Reale, the Cappella Palatina, the Martorana, San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Spasimo church in the Kalsa district (the oldest district in Palermo), the church of Santa Maria della Catena, Casa Professa, the Chiesa della Magione, the Chiesa della Gancia, Palazzo Aiutamicristo, Steri, Abatellis, Chiaramonte, the Palazzina Cinese and Villa Giulia, the 19th century Botanical Garden, the Giardino Inglese, the Parco d'Orleans, the Villa Malfitano Whitaker and the city's famous squares such as Piazza Marina, Piazza delle Vergogna, the Quattro Canti, Piazza Magione, Piazza Indipendenza and Piazza Politeama.

A visit of Palermo is not truly complete without a visit to Monreale: the cathedral with its Benedictine Cloisters represent one of the finest examples of Arab-Norman architecture in Sicily.