Season guide · Palermo · Italy
Palermo in winter
December–February: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Lasterketak, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Mild with occasional storms, low prices and quiet monuments; arancine day on 13 December. Expect highs up to 16°C (61°F) and lows around 9°C (48°F), with about 27 rainy days across December–February.
Key facts
- Months
- December–February
- Temperatures
- 9°C (48°F) to 16°C (61°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 27
- Sea
- 15°C (59°F) to 17°C (63°F)
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Hotel prices
- Low
Weather in winter
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C (59°F) | 9°C (48°F) | 9 | 9.8 h | 2/5 |
| February | 15°C (59°F) | 9°C (48°F) | 8 | 10.7 h | 2/5 |
| December | 16°C (61°F) | 10°C (50°F) | 10 | 9.5 h | 2/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 15°C (59°F) against a yearly 23°C (73°F), and 27 of the year's roughly 65 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 2/5 and hotel prices 2/5 on average.
What's on in winter
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- February: Carnival events in Palermo and nearby towns (February or early March)
- December: Santa Lucia — a day of arancine and cuccìa instead of bread and pasta (13 December)
Good choices for winter
Museum · Olivella
Antonio Salinas Archaeological Museum
Head to the Selinunte rooms first; the metopes are the highlight of the collection.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
Palace · Zisa
Castello della Zisa
A 12th-century summer palace built for the Norman kings in Arab style, the Zisa was designed to stay cool, with a fountain hall of mosaics and muqarnas where water once ran along a channel into the gardens.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
Religious site · La Loggia and the Vucciria
Oratorio del Rosario di Santa Cita
Ask about combined tickets with the nearby Serpotta oratories of San Domenico and San Lorenzo.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
- History
Experience · Old town
Opera dei Pupi puppet theatre
Sicilian puppet theatre, recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage, tells tales of Charlemagne's paladins with armour-clad marionettes up to a metre tall, clashing swords to live narration.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- After dark
- Art
- History
Palace · Albergheria and Ballarò
Palazzo dei Normanni and the Palatine Chapel
Arrive early, cover shoulders and knees for the chapel, and check which days the royal apartments are included.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Day trips in winter
- Scopello and the Zingaro reserve (About 1–1.5 hours by car) — Scopello's old tuna fishery and sea stacks lie at the southern entrance to the Zingaro Nature Reserve, Sicily's first, where a coastal path of about 7 km links coves of clear water reachable only on foot or by boat.
- Agrigento's Valley of the Temples (About 2 hours by train or bus) — The Valley of the Temples holds some of the best-preserved Greek temples outside Greece, including the Temple of Concordia, spread along a ridge facing the sea.
What to pack
- Layers, a warm sweater and a jacket for cool evenings
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is winter a good time to visit Palermo?
It is a trade-off: Mild with occasional storms, low prices and quiet monuments; arancine day on 13 December. The best months overall are April–June and September–October.
+What is the weather like in Palermo in winter?
Highs of up to 16°C (61°F) and lows around 9°C (48°F), with about 27 rainy days over the season.