Palermo

thumb|450px|The Cathedral, in Arab-Norman style It's the capital city of the autonomous region of Sicily and of its own province. The city's economy is based on local government institutions, port, shipbuilding industry and the mechanical industry.

It is also seat to some important Sicilian wine-making companies (like Tasca d'Almerita, Duca di Salaparuta, Corvo, and Planeta) whose popularity in the world is growing. Capital of Sicily, founded by Phoenicians under the name of Ziz (= Flower, but the meaning is still doubtful), later renamed by Greeks Panormos, which means "all port".

thumb|Palermo Airport 2009 * Falcone–Borsellino Airport | url=http://www.gesap.it/en/ | email= | address= | lat=38.181944 | long=13.099444 | directions=32 km west of the city at Punta Raisi | phone=+39 0917020273 | tollfree= | hours= | price= | wikipedia=Falcone–Borsellino Airport | image=Palermo-Airport-bjs2007-01.jpg | wikidata=Q630645 | lastedit=2018-08-27 | content=Has flights incoming from other Italian centres and major European cities on a regular basis. Half hourly shuttle buses, on the :00 and :30, (operated by Prestia e Comandè) provide inexpensive transport into the city centre train station (€6.30, as of 2018).

Purchase bus ticket from the ticket office next to the bus at the airport. From city centre to the airport, purchase ticket from the driver.

thumb|The Baroque square of "Quattro Canti" Although Palermo is a fair-sized city, most of the interesting sites around the centre can easily be reached on foot. There are a large number of bicycles and e-scooters for hire across the city.

These include Lime, RideMovi and others. Get a 24-hour ticket for €4.

Palermo is a quite safe city during the day but it can be an intimidating city at night, especially on week days in the winter, when there are not many students, visitors and locals around. Even if crimes against visitors are quite rare, just remember that: *Use common sense all day but especially after dark, especially outside the main streets and if you are a woman *You should book a hotel/B&B in the city centre (the areas around Piazza Ruggero Settimo, Fontana della Ninfa and Piazza Giuseppe Verdi are fine), both for security reasons and also because public transportation between the city centre and suburbs is not reliable at night.

Accommodation in Palermo is quite cheap compared to Italian and European standards, even in the best areas. During the day just remember to be aware of pickpockets on the streets and city buses as well as motorcycle-riding snatch thieves targeting handbags