Shopping · Palermo · Italy
Shopping in Palermo
Shopping streets, markets and souvenirs worth the suitcase space.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Palermo's shopping ranges from fashion stores on Via Libertà to markets and old-town workshops selling ceramics, spices, metalwork and puppets. Best souvenirs: Teste di moro, Frutta martorana and Sicilian puppets.
Key facts
- Shopping areas
- 4
- Markets
- 4
- Top souvenir
- Teste di moro
Where to shop
Via Libertà
Palermo's elegant boulevard of Italian and international fashion stores.
Via Ruggero Settimo and Via Maqueda
The main high streets linking Politeama with the old town, with chains, bookshops and gelaterie.
Via Calderai
A narrow street near Ballarò lined with metalworkers' shops selling copper, tin and wrought-iron goods.
Via Vittorio Emanuele
The old Cassaro, with ceramics shops, souvenir stores and puppet workshops between the cathedral and the sea.
Markets
Ballarò
The oldest and liveliest food market, also selling spices, household goods and clothes.
Mercato del Capo
Food market behind the cathedral with fish, produce, olives and capers.
Vucciria
A shrunken daytime market that turns into a night-time bar scene.
Mercato delle Pulci
A flea market of antiques and bric-a-brac near the cathedral.
What to buy
Teste di moro
Painted ceramic heads used as plant pots, made by Sicilian workshops such as those of Caltagirone and Santo Stefano di Camastra.
Frutta martorana
Marzipan shaped and painted like fruit, sold in pastry shops; boxes keep for a few days.
Sicilian puppets
Small armoured pupi made by puppet workshops in the old town.
Pistachio cream and capers
Jars of Bronte pistachio cream and salted capers from the Aeolian Islands or Pantelleria.
Marsala wine
Bottles of the fortified wine from western Sicily.
Coppola
The traditional Sicilian flat cap, sold in hat shops in the old town.
Streets and markets worth a wander
Market · Albergheria and Ballarò
Ballarò market
Palermo's oldest street market stretches through the Albergheria from Piazza Casa Professa towards Corso Tukory, with stalls piled with swordfish, citrus, aubergines and spices and vendors calling out their prices in dialect, a tradition known as the abbanniata.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Free
- Iconic
- Photo spot
- Shopping
Market · Il Capo and the Cathedral
Mercato del Capo
Behind the cathedral, the Capo market runs along Via Porta Carini and Via Beati Paoli with fish, meat, produce, olives and household goods, and it is a little less crowded with visitors than Ballarò.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Food
- Free
- Shopping
- Photo spot
Food and drink to take home
Edible souvenirs travel best when they are dry or sealed: consider Arancine, Sfincione, Cannoli and Cassata siciliana. Bars, rosticcerie and street stalls everywhere; ask for 'accarne' or 'abburro'. Check your home country's rules on bringing food and drink back.
Shopping by neighbourhood
| Area | Price level | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Albergheria and Ballarò | $ | The oldest market district, between the Norman Palace and the station |
| Il Capo and the Cathedral | $$ | Market lanes around the Capo market behind the cathedral |
| Via Maqueda and Quattro Canti | $$ | The pedestrian spine of the old town, from the Quattro Canti to the Teatro Massimo |
| La Loggia and the Vucciria | $$ | Night-time market square and the lanes between Via Roma and the harbour |
| Politeama and Via Libertà | $$$ | Elegant 19th-century city of boulevards, theatres and shopping streets |
Paying and bargaining
Prices are in EUR. Tipping is not expected; rounding up or leaving a few euros in restaurants for good service is appreciated.
- Shops displaying the 'Addiopizzo' sign belong to a network that refuses to pay protection money; supporting them is a small, practical choice.
When to shop
Shops and markets are quietest in November–February; the busiest months are July–August.
Staying near the shops
$$ · Best for first-timers, shopping and families
Via Maqueda and Quattro Canti
The pedestrian spine of the old town, from the Quattro Canti to the Teatro Massimo
Questions travellers ask
+What should I buy in Palermo?
Teste di moro, Frutta martorana, Sicilian puppets and Pistachio cream and capers.
+Where is the best shopping in Palermo?
Via Libertà: Palermo's elegant boulevard of Italian and international fashion stores.
+What are the best markets in Palermo?
Ballarò, Mercato del Capo, Vucciria and Mercato delle Pulci.