Palermo

Palermo is Sicily’s capital and it does not tidy itself up for visitors: faded Baroque palaces sit next to bomb-scarred lanes, the traffic is a contact sport, and the four historic markets spill produce and frying smoke across the old town from dawn. Underneath the noise is an extraordinary layer-cake of Arab, Norman and Spanish history — the gold mosaics of the Palatine Chapel are as good as anything in Italy — plus the best street food in the country. The trick to a good first trip is to lean into that rather than fight it: book little, walk everywhere, and eat standing up at Ballarò and the Vucciria instead of hunting for restaurants near the sights.

Two full days is enough to see the Norman Palace, the Cathedral rooftops and all four markets, with a half-day out to Monreale for the cloister and its mosaics. A third night buys you a Mondello beach afternoon or a Cefalù day trip down the coast. Below, the structured planning — where to stay in the Centro Storico without the worst of the late-night din, what the Norman sights actually cost, how to get in from Punta Raisi, and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here.

Statutory facts — passports, the GHIC, EU entry rules, roaming and the wider safety picture — sit on the Italy country guide, which is the GOV.UK-anchored source for the whole vertical. This page sticks to the city itself.