With kids · Palermo · Italy
Palermo with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick answer
Palermo is noisy and chaotic, but children usually love its markets, puppet shows, street food and the beach at Mondello. Plan short sightseeing bursts, avoid the hottest hours in summer and use Politeama or Mondello as a calmer base. Top picks: Mondello beach, Opera dei Pupi puppet theatre and Orto Botanico. Families usually base themselves in Politeama and Via Libertà.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 5
- Best area for families
- Politeama and Via Libertà
- Rainy-day options
- 1
- Busiest months
- July–August
Best things to do with kids
Beach · Mondello
1.Mondello beach
Palermo's city beach is a long crescent of pale sand and shallow, turquoise water between the headlands of Monte Pellegrino and Monte Gallo. Much of it is lined with beach clubs, but there are free public sections, and an Art Nouveau bathing pavilion stands on piles over the water at its centre.
Go on a weekday morning; on summer weekends half of Palermo heads to the beach and traffic jams build on the road from the city.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Free
- Iconic
Experience · Old town
2.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. Family-run companies stage short shows in small theatres in the old town, and the Antonio Pasqualino International Puppet Museum displays puppets from Sicily and around the world.
Shows last about an hour and are easy to follow without Italian; children love the battle scenes.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- After dark
- Art
- History
Garden · Kalsa
3.Orto Botanico
Founded in the late 18th century and still run by the university, Palermo's botanical garden has a neoclassical entrance building, tropical and subtropical plants from around the world and a giant Moreton Bay fig whose aerial roots spread like a small forest.
Pair it with Villa Giulia, the 18th-century public garden next door, for a shady afternoon with children.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Kids
- Outdoors
Architecture · Via Maqueda and Quattro Canti
4.Teatro Massimo
Opened in 1897, Italy's largest opera house is a neoclassical temple with a grand stairway guarded by bronze lions; its steps appear in the final scene of The Godfather Part III. Guided tours show the horseshoe auditorium and the royal box, and the season includes opera, ballet and concerts.
Take the guided tour if you cannot catch a performance; the steps outside are a classic evening meeting point.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- Art
- Iconic
- Rainy day
- After dark
Nature · Monte Pellegrino
5.Monte Pellegrino and the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia
The 606-metre headland that Goethe praised as the most beautiful promontory in the world rises between the city and Mondello. A road and an old stepped pilgrim path lead to the cave sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, Palermo's patron saint, where water drips from the rock walls, and viewpoints look out over the city and the bay.
Take a bus or taxi up and walk down the old pilgrim path for changing views over the city.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Views
- Nature
- Free
- Active
- History
Rainy-day ideas
- Opera dei Pupi puppet theatre — Shows last about an hour and are easy to follow without Italian; children love the battle scenes.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for shopping, families and luxury
Politeama and Via Libertà
North of the old centre, the 'new city' built from the 19th century centres on the Teatro Politeama and Via Libertà, a boulevard of Liberty-style villas, designer stores and cafés. It is calmer and more orderly than the old town, with buses to Mondello leaving from Piazza Politeama and the Giardino Inglese park nearby.
- Good
- Calm, orderly streets; The best shopping in the city; Easy buses to Mondello
- Watch out
- Less historic atmosphere; 15–20 minutes' walk to the Arab-Norman sights
- Nearby
- Teatro Politeama, Via Libertà, Giardino Inglese, Teatro Massimo
Family travel tips
- Puppet shows are short and easy to follow without Italian; book a family-run theatre in the old town.
- Pavements are narrow and uneven and traffic is heavy; a carrier is easier than a pushchair in the old town.
- Skip the Capuchin Catacombs with young or sensitive children.
- Mondello's shallow, sandy water suits small children; go early to beat the crowds.
- Arancine, panelle and granita are child-friendly street food at low prices.
Day trips for families
- Cefalù (About 1 hour by train) — A seaside town below a huge limestone crag, Cefalù has a Norman cathedral with a golden Christ Pantocrator mosaic, part of the same UNESCO listing as Palermo, a medieval washhouse fed by a spring and a sandy town beach.
When to go with children
The best months overall are April–June and September–October. July–August are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Palermo good for kids?
Palermo is noisy and chaotic, but children usually love its markets, puppet shows, street food and the beach at Mondello. Plan short sightseeing bursts, avoid the hottest hours in summer and use Politeama or Mondello as a calmer base.
+What can kids do in Palermo?
Mondello beach, Opera dei Pupi puppet theatre, Orto Botanico, Teatro Massimo and Monte Pellegrino and the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia.
+Where should families stay in Palermo?
Politeama and Via Libertà: Elegant 19th-century city of boulevards, theatres and shopping streets.