Where to stay in Palermo

The centro storico is the old city between Porta Nuova and Porta Felice, with the Quattro Canti at its middle, the cathedral and its palm garden to the west and the Kalsa running down to the sea. It is also the limited traffic zone, so a stay there starts with a decision about the car. Politeama and via Liberta, immediately north, keep the same walk into the old streets while sitting outside the zone.

South of the Quattro Canti, the station quarter around piazza Giulio Cesare marks the ZTL boundary itself, and the perimeter streets are open to any car at any hour.

Out of the city, Mondello lies about 12 km from the Quattro Canti under Monte Pellegrino, and Sferracavallo about 15 km at the north-west corner, where the fishing boats are drawn up on the sand. Both are seaside quarters of the comune of Palermo, not separate towns, so the city's tourist tax applies. Monreale, about 9 km away, and Cefalu are day targets; Quub's Sicily guide covers the rest of the island.

ZTL 1 runs from piazza Giulio Cesare to via Cavour and from Porta Nuova to Porta Felice. The day zone is in force Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 20:00. The night zone works on Fridays and Saturdays, from 23:00 to 06:00 between 1 November and 30 April and from 20:00 to 06:00 between 1 May and 31 October. Saturday and Sunday have no day zone, and the streets of the perimeter itself are free to drive.

What makes Palermo unusual is that anyone may buy a way in. A day pass costs EUR 5.00 for ordinary petrol and diesel cars and EUR 2.50 for hybrid, methane and LPG vehicles, and electric vehicles enter free. It must be activated before entering, through the ZTL portal, by SMS or in the Ztl Palermo app, and hotels and other businesses inside the zone can register a client's car for a temporary pass. A camera fine for entering without one runs EUR 83 to 332 and is billed to the registered keeper, which for a hire car is the rental company.

On the street, AMAT changed the rules on 11 August 2026. Blue bays in zones A, B, C and G are now charged continuously from 08:00 to 20:00, Monday to Saturday, at EUR 1.00 an hour, with the old free break from 14:00 to 16:00 gone. Mondello and Sferracavallo work on a season instead: charged every day, Sundays and holidays included, from 08:00 to 24:00 between 1 May and 31 October, and free the rest of the year. AMAT manages 18,422 spaces in all, 11,722 of them charged. For a car under cover, the Piazzale Ungheria car park charges EUR 1.50 per hour or part from 08:00 to 20:00 and EUR 1.00 flat overnight, and warns that a subscription does not guarantee a space. GetCar's car rental page for Palermo covers the hire side of the trip.

Palermo has charged the imposta di soggiorno since 17 May 2014, and the current rates come from council resolution 34 of 30 April 2025, in force from 1 July 2025. Per person per night: EUR 4.00 in non-hotel accommodation and in short lets, which the comune lists as B&Bs, affittacamere, case vacanza, case per ferie, hostels and campsites, and from EUR 3.00 at one star to EUR 5.00 at five stars in hotels and residenze turistico alberghiere. The tax applies to at most four consecutive nights, and the host collects it and gives a receipt.

Children under 12 and residents pay nothing, and so do coach drivers, guides, interpreters and tour escorts travelling with organised groups, patients and up to two carers each, school groups, ERSU university residents, people housed by public authorities in emergencies, and journalists and travel agents on press trips. On the rental side, Sicily issues its own regional code, the CIR, which covers homes let to tourists for under 30 days as well as licensed accommodation; hosts, agents and portals must publish it beside the property name in every advert and booking, and report arrivals within 24 hours, with a penalty of EUR 500 to 5,000. The national CIN sits alongside it, and the host registers every guest with the police within 24 hours.

The seaside zones decide themselves. Mondello and Sferracavallo are charged only from 1 May to 31 October, so a stay in April or November parks free at the beach. In the centre the opposite holds: the blue bays are charged every working day of the year, and from May to October the night zone on Fridays and Saturdays starts at 20:00 rather than 23:00.

Travellers flying in from outside the Schengen area pass through the EU Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026, at their first Schengen border. Compare and book on this page once the area is settled.

A first visit on foot among the markets and churches: the centro storico.

Shops and restaurants with the old city a walk away: Politeama and via Liberta.

Arriving by train or airport coach: Stazione Centrale and piazza Giulio Cesare.

A beach day before the city: Mondello.

A fishing village and the shortest airport run: Sferracavallo.