Palermo

After visiting Cefalù, we have been here and there, but nowhere long enough to create a blog post with two or three photos. As usual, we will showcase these pictures at the end in the concluding post.

Yesterday we visited Palermo and today it is still on the agenda. On the first day, we took the train from our campsite to the city - the journey takes about 30 to 40 minutes and is unfortunately not very spectacular, as it mostly runs behind high walls or underground.

In Palermo itself, there are several markets which, in our perception, do not differ significantly from each other. Everywhere you can buy fish, fruits, vegetables, and the usual tourist souvenirs. Integrated into or close to the markets, you will find many restaurants, bars, and ice cream parlors where you can taste the goods offered at the market.

Once you leave the market areas, you can stroll through wide boulevards or narrow alleys, admire churches and stately multi-story houses, and linger at fountains. There are several parks with Mediterranean plants where you won't even notice the car traffic.

Speaking of car traffic in Palermo. On the second day, we drove into the city by car because we also wanted to see corners that are not accessible by train or are scattered too far across the city. For the most part, the traffic is as chaotic as you would expect in southern Italy. However, there are also parts where there is no traffic even during peak hours (at least not currently), such as the coastal road SS113, which leads from the airport almost always along the coast to Palermo's port area. So if you come from the west, we can highly recommend this road as a fast way to get into the city at this time of the year. Only the last 5 km turn out to be the normal southern Italian madness again - both in terms of road conditions and the behavior of other road users. At least we were able to get an official free parking space right at the marina and thus were already on one of the main tourist axes after a 300 m walk.