What to see on foot from the Teatro Massimo

Within 10 minutes

• Oratorio di Santa Cita – 4 min. A small baroque jewel box with white stucco work by Giacomo Serpotta, including the famous scene of the Battle of Lepanto.
• Piazza San Domenico – 6 min. The church of San Domenico holds the tombs of many illustrious Sicilians, including Giovanni Falcone. Next door, the Oratorio del Rosario has an altarpiece by Van Dyck.
• Teatro Massimo – 6 min. Italy’s largest opera house, opened in 1897. You can also see it on a guided tour; the final scene of The Godfather Part III was filmed on its steps.
• Via Ruggero Settimo and Politeama – 8-9 min. The shopping street leads to Piazza Politeama and the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi, home of the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra.
• Vucciria – 10 min. The historic market painted by Renato Guttuso: a few stalls by day, one of the liveliest spots in town at night.

Within 20 minutes

• Mercato del Capo – 12 min. A local market with fish, fruit and street food stalls, just behind the Teatro Massimo.
• Quattro Canti and Piazza Pretoria – 12 min. The baroque crossroads at the centre of the city and the 16th-century fountain nicknamed the “Fountain of Shame” for its nude statues.
• Piazza Bellini – 14 min. The Martorana, with its Byzantine mosaics, and the red domes of San Cataldo, part of the UNESCO-listed Arab-Norman route.
• Piazza Marina and Giardino Garibaldi – 15 min. Home to a monumental ficus, one of Palermo’s most famous trees.
• La Cala – 16 min. The old harbour, from where you can stroll along the seafront to the Foro Italico.
• Cathedral – 17 min. A blend of styles from Arab-Norman to neoclassical; you can even walk on the roof.

A little further

Palazzo dei Normanni and the Cappella Palatina – 25 min. The golden mosaics of the Cappella Palatina are worth the trip on their own: book ahead and go in the morning.

A half-day walk

Head out along Via Cavour, stop at the Oratorio di Santa Cita and Piazza San Domenico, walk down through the Vucciria and continue to the Quattro Canti and Piazza Pretoria. Come back up Via Maqueda, the pedestrian street, to the Teatro Massimo. It is about 3 km, an easy 2-3 hours with stops.

Opening hours of churches, oratories and museums change often: check them the day before, or ask us.