We will be arriving to Palermo on Sunday early afternoon and have found nothing open then. It appears even the museums and cathedrals are closed by 1 PM. Any suggestions of what we can do? We only have 2 days total in Palermo.

According to my annotated map of Palermo that I picked up last year, the Cathedral in Palermo is open Sunday from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

And the Cathedral in Monreale is open all day Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The lovely little cloister next to it unfortunately closes at 1:00 p.m.
(To get to Monreale, there is a bus with a three-digit number that leaves from Piazza della Indipendenza/Corso Calatafimi; there are signs all over telling you where the stop and which bus to take.)

Sounds good! I think, then, we could do a walking tour of south part of Palermo. Thanks so much! We plan to go to some markets on Monday? Any you recommend?

Last summer we arrived in Palermo on a Sunday afternoon and everything was closed, very little traffic, whole place seemed dead. But by 4pm or so things started to liven up, even some stores were open, lots of people out on foot and more traffic. By Monday it felt like a completely different city. We enjoyed doing a walking tour on Sunday afternoon without all the traffic and noise. But it was nice to see the contrast on Monday. I found the exterior of the cathedral and many of the churches more interesting than the interiors. The Capuchin Catacombs was pretty interesting. Also loved the chapel in the Palazzo Reale and the San Giovanni Degli Eremiti cloisters/garden.

The Vucciria market is the most famous one and is very interesting, but we found them all very interesting : I can't remember the names of the others but we basically did all the ones covered by walks in our guidebook. The Shangai (not Chinese but Italian, mainly seafood) is a great budget place to eat overlooking the Vucciria, and we had the interesting experience of trying spleen in a bun at one of the other markets

Yes, you need to try the spleen which is a favorite snack in Palermo. It is known there as guasteddu (in New York, visteddi). The most famous place to try it is the Antica Focacceria San Francesco (worth visiting) but as Caroline wrote, it is available all over town. I also thought the Vucceria market was wonderful. Big bags filled with either sun-dried tomatoes or salt-packed capers cost about 5 Euro.

Just be extra careful of your belongings while in the Palermo markets.

ekscrunchy, we tried to find the Antica Focacceria San Francesco but couldn't !

I felt completely safe everywhere in Palermo.

To find the Antica Focacceria San Francesco:

From the Quattro Canti (the "center" of old Palermo) at the corner of Via Maqueda and Via Vittorio Emanuele, turn down Via V.E. towards the sea; after you pass the cross street Via Roma, there will be a street off to the right called Via Alessandro Paternoster; take Via A.P. and continue going until you hit the small piazza with the church of San Francesco; the Antica Focacceria is right opposite the church.

And if you're a wimp like me, have one of their "arancini" (fried rice balls) instead of the spleen sandwich.

Thanks, eks - will save these instructions for next time !

Sorry - thanks, Eloise !

I posted the instructions, not Ekscrunchy, but that's all right!

Caroline, now it's my turn to say "sorry!"

But do try to find the place; it's an old Sicilian institution.

Mm, I'd read about it in a book so was disappointed not to find it, but glad we found spleen in a bun anyway ! It wan't bad - kind of like a milder tasting liver. Better with lemon than cheese I think - the sharpness of the lemon cut the richness somewhat.

I'll be back in Palermo again in about three weeks, so I might just try the spleen in a bun. Milder tasting liver doesn't sound bad at all; I actually like liver. And I can see that the lemon would be preferable to the cheese. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks for all the tips! I think I will pass on spleen!