Palermo. The Most Misunderstood City in Sicily

What we expected before going

Before our first trip to Palermo, we did what everyone does. We read Reddit. We watched a few videos. And the message everywhere was the same. Palermo is dirty. Palermo is full of trash. Palermo is chaos.

And, at the danger of being painfully shallow, we believed it. We expected loud markets with sellers chasing you down. We expected strange men at every corner selling something that is definetley stolen. We expected run down buildings, open bags of spices, dirty streets and that whole messy energy in general.

To be fair, as an opera lover, I did know about the Teatro Massimo and how impressive it is. But I almost treated it like a leftover from the past. A pretty building that somehow survived the chaos we were supposed to walk into.

What we actually found

Honestly. Either we are really, truly weird or the people complaining come from cities that sparkle like laboratories. Because Palermo was nothing like what we had read.

Instead of a dirty capital, we found a city that is alive in the best possible way. Bright, warm, surprising and genuinely beautiful. And I mean the whole thing. Not just the monuments. The streets, the little corners, the random balconies, even the noise. Everything felt full of life.

The charm you do not expect

I am not talking only about the cathedral, Teatro Massimo or the castle. Those, of course, are as beautiful as you can imagine. I mean the everyday Palermo. The tiny artisan shops that by this point have become a real threat to our marriage (and wallet) :D. The cafes. The small restaurants that smell so good you want to move in. The streets that make you stop and wonder what life here was a 100 or even more years ago.

One of our favourite places so far is the Botanical Garden. It honestly felt magical. We were walking around and suddenly something fell on our heads. A piece of fruit or whatever. We knew immediately. We have had experience with these little rascals before. Parrots. Little, beautiful mischiefs. Only parrots behave like that. And yes, there they were. Beautiful, colourful troublemakers jumping from tree to tree and hiding from my camera on purpose.

Is Palermo messy

Of course you can find mess in Palermo as well. It exists. But that story gets its own post and a video. Because the city is a lot more than that.

A lot of it comes down to your own perspective. How open you are when you travel. What you pay attention to. We have seen cities that are far messier and also cities where the locals clearly do not enjoy living there. Palermo did not feel like that at all.

People here seem proud of their city. You feel it in every interaction. There is a realness about Palermo. A heartbeat.

Our favourite city... Palermo

After that first visit we kept coming back. Many times. I actually lost count. Palermo has become one of our favourite places ever. If Mailo was a little calmer or if we were a little more social, I could easily see us living there long term. For now our setup is perfect. We live about forty minutes away and go whenever we feel like it. Concerts, dinners with friends, simple strolls, pub crawls and nights out. We always pretend to consider other places and then somehow end up in Palermo. It has reached the point where we had to ban ourselves from filming there. Otherwise our channel would slowly turn into the Palermo channel.

A small personal shout out

As always, not an ad. When the day comes that we do get our first real ad deal, trust me, we will celebrate it loudly and you will know for sure. But for now, this is simply something I love.

There is a small shop in Palermo called Manufacture Azzi Zzati. Maybe you noticed the Sicily necklace I wear in many of our videos. It comes from there. It was one of my first purchases in Sicily and it carries so much meaning for me. A small reminder of the start of the Spark of Sicily and our love for this island.

Why you should visit Palermo

Palermo is one of the best cities to visit in Sicily. It has everything. Lively evenings. Great food. Beautiful parks where you can breathe for a moment. I would not rush it. Spend a few days here, walk, sit, eat, watch people, enjoy it slowly. And once you have had enough of the city, you are only a short trip away from the beautiful Sicilian nature.

If you are interested in our Palermo impressions, you can find the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/KG3vNEy5J_U?si=5SBhKH9b08XdrWvx

Subscriptions mean more than you know. Thank you to everyone who is already supporting us. You really do matter to us more than I could ever express in words.

If you want to support us further, we also accept tips. As always, they are never expected but always appreciated: https://spark-of-sicily.ghost.io/#/portal/support

Thank you for reading and see you in the next one.