andreadee

I've read many books that divide Palermo into 4 sections. Is there an area of Palermo you find the best/safest/easy to walk to and from? Will be travelling with 3 children and would like to be in the center of the sites...of course in an area we can do lots of walking and feel safe. IF anyone has any hotel suggestions...we'd take those too.

adrienne

You received three responses to hotels in Palermo on one of your other threads asking about hotels and six responses on yet another thread looking for Palermo hotels. If these suggestions do not suit you, you should state your criteria otherwise you'll keep getting the same recommendations.

andreadee

Adrienne,
My questions have become increasingly more specific. We were first looking for accomodation but then learned there were suggestions in quite different areas of Palermo. As we researched further we decided to ask more specific question. This time we are requesting specific areas within Palermo to stay and suggestions in those specific areas. We have learned that there are benefits to being in one section of Palermo over another and hoped to get more detailed info than just a hotels name. Rather, we were hoping someone would highly suggest a certain area and then explain why and then possibly a hote.

While planning this we have seriously considered Hotel Ambasciatori and that is on the top of our list unless someone convinces us otherwise.

We are just first time travellers to Palermo and don't want to make any mistakes.

ekscrunchy

Andrea: I suggest you read the information that people gave you on the thread, below. It is much easier to continue the discussion if one can read what people have already suggested. I already gave you a good bet for a hotel, as did others. You will feel safe if you take care of your belongings and use your street smarts, in Palermo and in every other city.

You may be confusing "four districts" with the "four corners" which is an intersection in the center of Palermo:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...amily-of-5.cfm

adrienne

Just wanted to be sure you saw your other threads.

According to my Sicily notes (I'm going in May) there are 4 districts in Palermo: Albergheria (where 4 corners is located), Capo, La Vucciria, and La Kalsa. It appears that each district has some good sights to see.

I can't imagine not feeling safe in an Italian city. After all, the only thing you have to watch out for is the pick pockets.

I hope you post a report on your experience in Polizzi Generosa which is off the beaten track. I'm reading The Stone Boudoir by Theresa Maggio in which she writes about the small hill villages in Sicily and her experiences meeting the people who live in these villages. It's a terrific book so far.

bon_voyage

Andreadee, we walked in the area of the Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa seeking a restaurant open on a Sunday night. Granted it was a Sunday when most everything was closed, but it really felt deserted. I didn't like that area nearly as much as the area near Politeama square.

GAC

The four "disticts of Palermo" noted above concern only OLD Palermo, not NEW Palermo (which is the area to the northwest of Piazza Verdi/Teatro Massimo Opera House). There are also many hotels in the newer part of town, which some people prefer for a variety of reasons. For example, the Hilton Excelsior Hotel off of Viale della Liberta' and the Politeama Hotel, in Piazza Ruggero Settimo.

The Ambasciatori Hotel is a very good choice, and is within walking distance of all four "districts" mentioned above. Generally speaking most hotels between the rail station and a couple of blocks beyond Corso Vittorio Emanuele are best situated for the cultural/tourist sites in the old parts of Palermo. Piazza Verdi, and certainly Piazza Ruggero Settimo, would be at the edges of being comfortably situated to tour the city on foot. Any hotel further out than Piazza Ruggero Settimo (e.g. Hilton Excelsior) would certainly require use of the city buses.

andreadee

Thanks everyone....we booked Ambasciatori Hotel....

bon_voyage

Thanks for the update--look forward to hearing about your trip!