Palermo: Norman Palace & Palatine Chapel – Small Group Or Private

Even in October, this tour was extremely popular. As everywhere else in Italy, be prepared for lots of steps.

I enjoyed the tour with Stefania as our guide. She was informative and insightful.

Much of the palace is not accessible to public and chapel is partly renovated but still open to visit. If doing it again I would visit without a guide as you still have to stay in line to get to the chapel. They do not have separate line for groups. Women must have shoulders covered and knees covered- remember that.

The guide we had was outstanding. Her knowledge was very deep and her demeanour was very welcoming.

The information between the tour operator and us was suboptimal. The message with detailed I formation about meeting place and us came in 42 m after the tour had begun. We had been at the entrance of the palace about 39 m before tour started. Tour guide did not have an obvious sign. At the end we joined the group but it was a bit convoluted.

I recommend this tour. Rebecca (Becky) was lovely - a really lovely person and very knowledgable. She is extremely well qualified to run this tour and provided lots of interesting, thoughtful information that made the visit far more meaningful that it would have been on my own. Much better than an audioguide. She was very personable and tailored her commentary to her group, our interests and questions. It was very engaging. The group was a nice size (9 people) so that we could ask questions and hear her easily. It turned out that skipping the queue was not an issue since there was no line to buy a ticket and enter in any case, at 1pm on a Tuesday in July. Still worthwhile to have the tour though.

The guide was knowledgeable and kept our attention. She was enthusiastic and it was a good way to learn about Sicilian history

Our guide, Livia, was knowledgeable, entertaining, and warm. She covered so many details and answered all our questions thoroughly.

We had an amazing tour with Roberta. She was so full of great facts and clearly loved Palermo.

Our guide was great. Took us to all the rooms, allowed some time to tour a new an exhibit, and answered all questions. Would recommend!

History thoroughly covered by Laura our exceptional guide. She made it interesting and fun at the same time.

Debbie was extremely knowledgeable and provided many insights in a friendly and affable manner

The guide for our group connected well with all of us, made sure that we were all present as we moved from room to room, and shared great history! It was a great day!

Such a wonderful tour of the Norman Palace and Palatine Chapel. Our tour guide Liviana made this history of Sicily come alive with her historical knowledge and her descriptions of the events. Don't miss tour!

Excellent tour. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable, and we left with a good understanding of the buildings and their history. If you can't visit Monreale, this is a good introduction to the Arab/Norman period in Sicily. Recommended.

Unfortunately the palace was being renovated so we missed a major part of why we were there. The palace was interesting but we didn’t feel it was worth the amount we paid for this tour. We preferred going to the Palermo Cathedral on our own for a fraction of the cost.

An well paced guided tour of the Norman Palace and the exquisite Palatine chapel. I very much enjoyed our tour guide who was informative and attentive. Unfortunately I cannot recall her name.

An excellent tour. Well worth getting a guide to explain everything.

Debora is a wonderful guide! She showed us the highlights of Palermo with such warmth and passion and deep knowledge truly unforgettable.

This tour was fantastic. Our guide, Erico, was very knowledgeable and made this tour great. He not only knew the background and history, he knew the particular places to stand to get the best view of the particular items of interest. The tour did not include some other parts of the palace because there were some official functions that day, but that was disclosed in advance. Even without being able to see that portion of the palace, this tour still gets my highest rating. If you are also going to see Monreale, there will be some distinct similarities, but the contrasts make it even more interesting.

I am absolutely enchanted by the all information that Livi - the guide - provided during the visit. She really went extra mile in her guide, and demonstrated how knowledgeable she is about Palermo. Thank you very much. Ana

This is a very interesting tour. In 1,5 hours you find out so much! The guide points out on those details that is so easy to overlook by yourself. Highly recommended. Especially with the guide Lavinia - she is amazing!

Our guide was excellent. He’s very knowledgeable and explained the mosaics in the Palatine Chapel really well. I highly recommend this tour.

This was one of the most unique places i have ever seen. It is really cool learning about how the different cultures/religions mixed together. The palatine chapel is one of my favorite places i have seen on my trip, the mosaics and the art on the ceiling are truly breathtaking. I loved the tour guide i had, she was very funny and educational.

We had a private tour booked and confirmed, but our guide had a medical emergency and Towns of Italy was unable to find a replacement guide for a private tour. However, they quickly hooked us up with a small group tour on the same schedule, which was fine, and issued a partial refund. The Palatine Chapel is magnificent and not to be missed.

Excellent tour—we learned so many details (especially about the symbolism in the chapel) that made our visit so much more enjoyable than if we’d gone alone. And our friends kept commenting to each other on what a great guide Renate was!

We had a 5 hour city tour including this palace tour as a second half. I can't recommend it highly enough. Our guide Andrea was absolutely amazing. Fluent English, super knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We could not be happier with the tour.

Incredible private tour with brilliant guide, Fabio. He was so impressive; he had us all spellbound with his knowledge, charm and intelligence. His descriptions of the political, religious, social, aesthetic and historic times during the creation of the Reale over the past centuries was impressive and we would both choose to have him as our Guide anywhere and on any subject. memorable. Thankyou, Fabio!

The history of Palermo is layered and complex, but Renata did an excellent job illuminating key groups and trends to give us an understanding of the place and the sites we were seeing. In her explanations, she elegantly set the stage to describe important moments and people, and she also tied the tour to deeper concepts and encouraged us to think more about them.

Stefania was an amazing guide. We learnt so much from her - she was very informative, engaging and welcoming. We did the 5 hour tour with a break in the middle.

So much history in the building, I could emagine king Robert walking up the stairs! My guide, Fabio, even gave personal reflectation that made me reflect! Fantastic!

Very informative. Fabulous guide. Only complaint. Bought my ticket several weeks ago, $91, friend bought hers today, $79!

Incredibly insightful visit thanks to Fabio’s presentation! The tour was comprehensive and we were able to appreciate most of the gems hidden in the Palace. Truly recommended!

The guide was not only friendly but, more importantly, had an incredibly deep knowledge of history. Listening to the explanations was so engaging that I completely lost track of time. I highly, highly recommend this tour.

It really was a small group. Just 4 of us and our guide. Was able to spend time and answer any questions. He also gave us the option at the end of the tour to roam the garden and also take in the art exhibit that was at the castle.

This was a really awful experience. I'm not sure where to start, it was so bad. Firstly, most of the chapel had been closed off, but we weren't told in advance of paying. The chapel is the only thing worth seeing (the rest of the palace is a waste of time) so it's a complete rip-off to charge people to go inside and then tell them afterwards that over the half the chapel is closed for maintenance!! But it gets MUCH worse. We went into the cafe and bought a coffee and cake and went to sit down at one of the empty tables. The incredibly rude staff member said we weren't allowed to sit at this table (even though it was empty and nobody was sat there. No reason given. So we had to stand up to eat. This is despite me having a walking disability!!!!! Massive cue for the toilet (only one toilet available in the entire palace with thousands of visitors!!!) After waiting ages in the queue when I eventually got to the front of the queue, they said we had to pay one euro to use the toilet!!! When I said I didn't have a Euro, the person on the door almost pushed me out. Outrageous!! All the staff were very rude and unpleasant. This palace is an expensive rip off. Massive crowds, horrible atmosphere, and a complete waste of money. This is one of the worst experiences we have ever had at any tourist site anywhere in the world.

This is a well done tour with enough information shared to walk away feeling like you have an understanding of everything you see. The tour is done with a small group which makes it easy to move from one activity to the next.

Stunning place with very interesting history. The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable and even managed to keep our 7 year old daughter interested on a very hot day! Up front communication was also good and the guide met us right outside the main entrance so was easy to find.

Peter was our guide for this amazing palace and Chapel. He was thorough, providing us with the history, art and culture of the site. Peter made the visit memorable with his passion snd appreciation for this wonderful place that should not be missed.

Roberta was lovely and very knowledgeable. She provided a really in-depth understanding of the history of this palace.

This was a very informative tour and our guide was fantastic . Claudio our guide was so knowledgeable and answered all of our questions.

It was a good tour with Debbie, who knew her stuff. She explained the details about the Palace and Chapel that we would not gave known otherwise. It enhanced our visit.

Thorough, knowledgeable guide! This tour is well worth the money to skip the lines and learn details about the palace and chapel. It is just the right of time; highly recommend.

Great tour with Eleana Grecco! She was very knowledgeable, spoke perfect English and was entertaining. She made the Palace come alive. Highly recommend.

Fabio surpassed all our expectations and gave us such an educated, informative, and detail-oriented look at the palace. His information stood out as exceptional because we could tell he was passionate about art and history. And when you combine passion, intellect, and a good conversation...well, you're destined for awesomeness! Fabio was a highlight of Palermo for us, and we thankful to him for showing us a side of Christian Art History that we would have missed.

What a fantastic venue. The Norman Palace and the Palentine chapel are wonders to behold. The artwork and frescos and golden mosaics all came to life through the emotional and incredible commentary from our super tour guide VALERIA. Valeria also gave a real sense of the many cultures that influenced the palace - Phonecian; Moorish; Norman; Roman; Greek etc. - and answered all the questions from the group. This tour is not to be missed. Thank you Valeria.

The Norman Palace and Palatine Chapel were rich with Sicilian history. Our guide, Valeria, is a native Sicilian with extensive knowledge of the two sites. Her English is superb and we couldn't have been more pleased with the experience.

Tour guide very good and informed. Just one thing I want to mention, she was walking very fast, this tour requires alot of walking and standing up sometimes I could not follow the guide since she was out of range.

Stephania was a great tour guide. She gave us background information on the building history and art. She knew her stuff!