Highlights & Hidden Gems With Locals: Best Of Palermo Private Tour

Great tour of many historic sites

Our tour with Fabio was the best way to start our stay in Palermo. The pace of the tour was perfect for us, and we learned a lot that you would not learn unless you had a guide. We would definitely book Fabio for another tour!

I'm glad we went on this tour, Sal was very knowledgeable and showed so many interesting things about Palermo that we would not see otherwise.

We were a small group of 3 and enjoyed our time with Fabio to the max. He took us on a very interesting tour through the historic city and told us memorable stories. We had a great time and the 3 hours were over much too fast. Fabio is very knowledgeable, speaks English very well and had a good feeling for what spiked our interest. He also gave us precious tips and told us about the difference between good and great food in Palermo. We would definitely recommend to take a tour with him.

We had a wonderful tour with Luca of Palermo. He is very knowledable about the area and provides a lot of details on the history, architecture, and culture of Palermo. He is very easy to talk to and provides a lot of information on what else to see and do in Palermo. We feel very fortunate we have had Luca as our guide to the amazing city of Palermo. We highly recommend him as a tour guide.

We spent three hours walking the streets of Palermo with our outstanding guide Salvatore. He provided rich history, humor, great insights and useful information to give us an overview of his amazing city. He gave us a memorable experience about his city, his people and the culture. We had a great afternoon

We really enjoyed our time with Fabio in Palermo. He's such a great guy. Personable, kind and extremely knowledgable about Palermo and its history. Born & raised in Palermo, he's super passionate about showing you his hometown.

Salvatore calls it “Walks with friend” and it was just that. But a friend who knows the good stuff. Fantastic communication skills and we really did see some hidden gems. I learnt a lot, even that I like spleen! His knowledge of Palermo seemed endless and he obviously loved sharing it - in a humorous and thoughtful way. Time flew by.

We had a great time with Salvatore. Very well on time, he guided our very international 6 adult group of friends. He is knowledgeable but not a "Professor", he can be funny and knows some Storys behind. He was taking care and listening to all our questions and he tried constantly to keep everybody involved and interested. We all were very happy with his tour through Palermo. We can recommend Salvatore highly.

We had a fantastic walking tour around Palermo with Salvatore. He was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. He clearly loves the city. The route was really interesting and we saw lots of the important sites as well as many things we would have missed on our own. Salvatore did a great job of packing in lots of information in a short time and always in a fun and enjoyable way. Lots of great stories. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it.

Thoroughly enjoyed our 3 hour private walking tour with Salvatore. He was very knowledgeable, funny, easy going and excellent company. In addition to the sites and the history of Palermo (which is fascinating) he was able to recommend some restaurants and bars. He was interested in us as people not tourists.

Loredana’s real life experiences of growing up in Palermo were fascinating. Her insights into the culture and history of Palermo were very useful. She recommended Bar Santoro as a great starting point for breakfast before our tour and then sent us to one of her favourite Palermo restaurants for an authentic experience.

We had a wonderful tour of Palermo's highlights with Salvatore! He was very detailed in his knowledge of the history of the city, as well as pointing out more than several hidden gems. Although not as hot a summer's day, he was thoughtful in helping find shade wherever we stopped, which was very much appreciated! He also offered many local recommendations for restaurants, shopping and other sights not included on the tour.

Salvatore was an excellent guide, the tour was interesting and we saw lots of places and things we would never have found on our own. Definitely a good starting point for a week in Sicily as more to explore.

Salvatore made this hidden gems personally captivating with his insights into the culture, history and unexpected unique experiences into the present and past of Palermo!!

Be warned, this is a three hour WALKING tour. Same as a "free walking tour" except this is almost $300AUD. Nowhere in the description does it say it's just a walking tour. It repeatidly states pass by this, and pass by that, your guide may stop here - implying a driving tour, certainly what we expected for that price. Don't be tricked. You can see exactly the same walking up the main avenue by yourself, or take a free walking tour to hear the history for a small tip. We certainlt didn't see any highlights and hidden gems we didn't see by ourselves walking to the meeting point.

I think a tour with Fabio is a ‘must do’ for anyone visiting Palermo. His knowledge, enthusiasm, sense of humour and personality are exceptional. We saw things and learned things that we would never have found by ourselves ( we are still laughing about the ‘fountain story!’ ) We will book Fabio again next time we are here and recommend 100%. Thank you again for such an enjoyable tour.

Like many people have said the best way to start your adventure in a new location is to get it with locals guide. Michelangelo was no exception. We did the highlights and hidden gems tour. I feel like we could have done any tour with Michelangelo and we would have loved every minute just as much. Like the best of the with local tours, at the end you feel like you've made a new connection and have the confidence to explore the city fully. What we mainly concluded was that we had not allowed enough time in Palermo to export the treasures he had introduced us to. For the specifics, this is a vigorous walk which covers a large cross section of Palermo. There will be areas that more than likely you would not have gone in without him. Do the tour early in your trip as there are many destinations which will be pointed out to you but you won't have time to explore. We did this tour in the height of summer so after noon is much better than morning. Thank you Michelangelo!!!!

Loredana was simply incredible. Was very knowledgeable, good English, had a great itinerary, and had great recommendations for places to eat, see, and do after our tour. I would definitely recommend her and this tour to everyone visiting Palermo!

Loredana made the tour very lively, personal, entertaining and a memorable experience for us. We felt she is passionate about what she is doing. Her stories brought Palermo to our hearts! Just a pity we couldn't do the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. Nevertheless, a definite recommendation!

We had a great tour with Loredana. She was not only informative but warm and fun as well. The 3 hours went too fast!

We are a group of four adults in our early 60ies, all of us Italy lovers but none of us had been to Palermo before. We were not sure what to expect of a city whose image is so much connected to suffering and violence inflicted by Mafia. Aurora immersed us into the history and current life of Palermo and opened our eyes to a city of diverse cultures, of civilian courage and transformation. It was a journey more than a simple tour - it was enlightening, fun and truly inspiring! Thank you Aurora for showing us your beloved Palermo and turning us into knowledgeable fans of this city🥰 Thank you for this unforgettable experience!

The two of us had a wonderful 3-hour private walking tour around Palermo with Fabio. He taught us so much about old and new Palermo and left us with a much deeper understanding of this vibrant and chaotic city. Fabio is born and bred in Palermo and his knowledge, pride and love for his home city really shines through and yet he’s also open about the frustrations and challenges that the city faces. Fabio is an expert in languages and history and the knowledge that he imparted to us in three hours was incredible. The time flew by and Fabio left us with some great tips about what to prioritise with the remainder of our time in Palermo. In summary, your should jump at a chance for a city tour with Fabio. It will be the best thing you do in Palermo!

Really excellent tour with Luca who was very knowledgeable and friendly. He helped guide us to the meeting point where we started the tour. As he was born and brought up in Palermo and studied in London he was the perfect guide with lots of interesting local facts in excellently spoken English. We really felt we'd experience a local's perspective on an very interesting place. Many, many thanks Luca!

The tour is quite expensive for what it offers. We walked around for 2 hours, did not go to the places according to the description of the tour. For €190.00 we could have done it ourselves and costs us nothing. The only reason we give 3 stars is because the Tour guide is very sweet.

Luca was an amazing tour guide. He speaks great English and was very knowledgeable about Palermo. We tasted delicious street foods and found some unbelievable hidden gems.

Amazing experience- history- of Sicily - hidden gems- felt like visiting family. Outdoor market- monetary-cannoli-Highly recommend.

We had a great tour with Michelangelo. He was very passionate about his city. We covered a lot of ground on our tour. Our group consisted of us older folks and our 6 grown children, ages 20 to 28. Guessing I would say Michaelangelo was in his mid 20s so he could speak to thr kids really well. Even though he gave us a lot of detail, he made sure to include little tidbits that we all enjoyed.

We came to Palermo without any prior knowledge of the city and didn’t have too much expectations : Salvo was a great host, instead of a tour guide he was more like a friend bringing us around the city. It was so relaxing and we were not bombarded with too much “history lessons “ along the way. His tour "Highlights and Hidden Gems" of Palermo is not to be missed. Who better to introduce us to Palermo than a guide who was born and raised in Palermo but has travelled far and wide, with all the information that normally only locals know. Whether the Palazzo Reale, the Cathedrale Di Palermo, the Teatro Massimo, the Duomo di Palermo, the Fontana Pretoria and many other sights and hidden treasures of Palermo were explained to us in an interesting and entertaining way. Salvo gave us an unforgettable experience, he treated us as "friends in his home". Thank you Salvo, for your great stories and for your hospitality!

The tour was so informative and gave us a very good understanding of Palermo. We highly recommend. Michael-Angelo was an excellent guide.

We had a great tour with Loredana. She was able to accommodate a tour with us on short notice, when other plans fell through, and was able to customize our tour to the UNESCO locations that we wanted to see. Loredana speaks great English and has a wealth of knowledge about the city. We covered all of the major sights in the historic center plus a few that we had walked past on our own. It was particularly interesting to see the No Mafia memorial and museum and learn a bit of the Sicilian history that you don't see anywhere else. If you have the chance to go to the Santa Caterina Church, Monastery, and Bakery - take it! The cannoli and frutta di martorana are DELICIOUS in a gorgeous setting. Thank you, Loredana, for a wonderful afternoon!

We had a great time on this tour. Salvatore was a most kind and informative guide. As we both are working on our Italian, he spent the first two hours speaking in that language. He was very careful to make it as easy for us as possible. When our brains were starting to say “basta!” he changed to English for us. He took us to a range of places, sharing little gems, as the tour promised. Lots of good recommendations. We were not disappointed. A great tour, and a great guide.

Our guide was exception and very knowledgeable. He paced the walking tour perfectly for our physical level and we had a first rate experience!

Wonderful tour with Luca!! He explained all the history and took us to beautiful places! Thank you Luca🌸 Hope to see you soon! Patricia

Michaelangelo was our tour guard. His tour was excellent and we got a great taste of historic Palermo. he educated us about the various countries that inhabited the city and how it affected the architecture and culture. he treated us to expresso and juice. Overall, a great experience!

Salvatore's tour was excellent! He's incredibly engaging, explaining the history of Palermo in a way that was both short and fascinating. We left feeling like we understood Palermo’s rich past. 10/10

I was joined by Michelangelo, a local born and raised in Palermo. His English is absolutely excellent. His knowledge of the layers of Sicilian history, culture, and art were outstanding. I loved his easygoing style, yet he was very detail oriented and methodical about the tour. I had booked a formal 2 week tour of Sicily, which was to start two days after I arrived. I came early to acclimate and adjust to the nine hour time difference, but traveling alone presents its own challenges. Taking a "tour with a local" is the perfect way to feel safe, oriented, and to learn about the amazing culture of a new country.

Salvatore was an amazing, friendly, fun and knowledgeable guide. Since my family comes from Palermo, he made the presentation very meaningful. Highly recommend!

Salvatore was delightful and so full of information. We loved having him show us the history and fun facts of Palermo. His love of the city is evident in all he does. He was on time and the meeting place was easily located

We enjoyed walking the streets of Palermo with Loredana. She was knowledgeable and personable, two qualities you want in a guide when touring. I loved the grand cathedral (went back the next day to virw rooftop and tombs), fountain of shame (especially the background story) as well as the Massimo theater (we did this prior to meeting with her as I wanted to take the internal tour). She brought us to a great spot to sample arinchini, they were amazing. As stated by many others, it was a great way to get an overview of Palermo. I would recommend.

Takes the time as a true ambassador of the city, showed nice and quit places and knew a lot, nice drinks and icecream too!!

Our tour with Michaelangelo was outstanding! He did a marvelous job taking us from place to place with a surprise around every corner! He was a wealth of information! We especially enjoyed the market place(s) with so much local food and interesting souveniers! But the churches were our favorites.

This was a perfect way to start our trip to Palermo. Salvatore was incredibly knowledgeable and talented at speaking of the history of the city in a fascinating way. He gave us a ton of tips on different museums, historical sites, restaurants, and fun night life areas to go explore further during our stay. The tour was a perfect mix of history and culture and you can tell that he’s great at catering to your interests. Definitely recommend doing it at the beginning of your trip.

Salvatore's tour of Palermo was nothing short of exceptional. With his deep knowledge, passion, and warm hospitality, he took us on a journey through both the city's highlights and its hidden gems, leaving us with a newfound appreciation for Palermo's rich culture and history. Highly recommend experiencing Palermo through Salvatore's expert guidance.

We had an amazing experience with Loredana! She took us around the core of Palermo, letting us know which places to book tours and which places are better seen from the outside! We tasted amazing cannoli and delicious espresso from Monestero S. Caterina! Loredana told us about the history of Palermo and many interesting facts that we won't forget. Overall a great experience and perfect introduction to Palermo!

This tour was fantastic, and our guide, Michelangelo, was the best! He was very flexible and accommodating to our requests and tailored the tour to our interests. He was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Palermo. We also appreciated the recommendations he sent us after the tour ended. My husband and I can’t recommend the tour and Michelangelo highly enough.

Fabio was amazing - so knowledgeable, concerned with guest welfare, warm, and adaptable. Kindly responded to a million questions with humor and great storytelling ability. Absolutely the ideal guide!

Michaelangelo was a great tour guide. He is friendly and very approachable. He has great historical knowledge which makes the tour so valuable. His friendly demeanour makes it a pleasurable tour

We were absolutely amazed by the tour Karolina had us made! She’s so kind and cheerful…she immediately made us feel at ease! She’s well prepared and very well knows also the most hidden spots. Grazie Karolina!! Elisabetta and Claudio