palermo
 

hello everyone!
1-please help w/hotel recommendations in palermo---something centrally located, clean, with a view, a/c, etc.
2-any thoughts on the villa iglea? is it too far from the best sights?
3-please list the top 10 things i should see while there---any thing i need to book before i get there?? thanks in advance because my computer will not let me reply to messages!! i can only post new topics!

Montreale was tops for me in Palermo

and then Segesta Temple west of town - stunning setting for stunning temple.

Cefalu is a dreamy seaside town just east of Palermo - good base or good day trip for lunch.

Villa Igea is too far to walk to the sights...

How much do you want to spend, more or less, per night?

I like the Villa Igiea very much. The rooms are nice and they have a beautiful view of the sea. The pool and gardens are pretty too. But we had a car and drove into the center. It isn't far that way but certainly too far to walk. There is a bus that stops in front of the hotel though and you can take that. It isn't a long ride at all.
As for sights, walk around the old quarter by the harbor to see the buildings that still haven't been repaired since being bombed in WWII. Very spooky in a way. There is a church that was bombed and has no roof. They rehabed it but left the roof off and now hold concerts there. See the Palatina Chapel, and also Monreale. The Capuchin Crypt is fascinating but not for the faint at heart.

We are planning a Sicily trip with first stop Palermo. You mentioned that you had a car. Our debate is car or train. We've driving in other countries, but have used public transportation in Italy. We've never been to Sicily so don't know if driving is safe there or not.

Driving in Sicily is safe. We left the car parked on the streets of Palermo while we visited the sights over three days. Nothing happened to it. We drove it to Erice, Cefalu, Capo di Orlando, Messina, Taormina, Catania, all around Mt. Etna and never had a problem. We left it in public garage all day when we took the ferry to Lipari. No problem. It is definitely useful to have a car while touring Sicily.

We rented a car upon leaving Palermo. I was surprised how easy driving was on the island..we found good roads with excellent signage. But I would prefer not to drive within the cities if possible..driving into Ortygia was pretty bad..

I agree, it is definitely useful to have a car in Sicily.
In Palermo there is a cathedral were the bones of Saint Rosalia (the patron saint of Sicily) are buried. I can't remember the name.
The temples of Selinunte are beautiful. It was easy to see the difference between the "town" and the "temple". The people would not live right next to the temple since it was a place of worship. You see the layout of the shops and homes. IMHO, I thought it was nicer than Agrigento.
The Piazza Armerina with mosiac tiles was very cool. The tile work was amazing.
I have heard Catania & Mt. Etna are nice.
Just in case you are a fan of the Godfather movies, there is nothing really to see/do in Corleone. :(
Have a great time

though i'd recommend car i did do a week or so railing around Sicily and the train took me easily and cheaply wherever i wanted to go. Including Segesta - though bus would have been better there as train dumped me off at some abandoned looking station and bus would go right to temple.

I took train first to palermo, then cefalu, segesta, argrigento, taormina, catania, syracuse and the CircumEtnea narrow-gauge train around the base of Etna - quite an unusual ride that was.

For my purposes, bus and train schedules worked well for eastern Sicily, but not for everything I wanted to see in other parts of the island. I rented a car for 3 days - picked it up in Palermo, drove to Segesta and Selinunte before spending a night in Agrigento; drove to Enna for the next night; drove to the Villa Romana del Casale the next day, ending in Caltagirone; then left the car off in Siracusa. I was glad to have the car for those days!

As others have said, the main roads are good and the signage is generally good. I did, however, have trouble getting used to Sicilian drivers! I don't know how many times I saw 2 cars going in each direction - with a motorcycle or two scooting in between them - on sharp turns clearly marked as one lane in each direction - all at speeds well over the posted limits! A bit nerve-wracking!

ttt

We recently stayed at Hotel Villafranca in Palermo. Nice hotel, good staff, on a quiet street but a short walk to things. I'd recommend it. Nice breakfast is included.

If you can swing a trip to Agrigento, the ruins are unique in that they are not surrounded by development. Monreale, Erice also good.

Don't have a car in Palermo, but you can get one to drive elsewhere. We used a Hertz office 3 minute walk from the Villafranca.