How To Reach Palermo

Palermo is the capital of Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The city, its people, the cuisine and places are a perfect example of the island’s culture and the city became the center of economy in the country. It is a thriving place and has seen a huge amount of development in all these years. Going to Palermo is easy and one can easily travel by air, train, road and also by sea. The fastest way to reach the city is by air but driving down beautiful Sicilian roads or enjoying views of the country from the window of a train is an amazing experience.

Wondering how to get to the city? Here are some of the best ways to reach Palermo.

The airport that serves the city is the Palermo International Airport or the Punta Raisa Airport, which is located at a distance of 32 km from the center of the city. The airport is located to the west of the city in Punta Raisa and has flights coming in from different parts of Italy as well as international destinations. You can find daily flights to and from Rome, Naples, Milan, Bologna and other cities in the country. Flights also ply from European destinations like London, Paris and Brussels. Once you reach the airport you can take the shuttle bus or a cab to your destination.

If you are coming from North Italy, you can drive down by the A1 motorway until Naples and then eventually take the A3 highway that will take you to Reggio Calabria and Villa San Giovanni. Once you get there, you can take a ferry to Messina in Sicily. If you’re coming from south or central Italy, you can take the A1, A3 or the A14 motorway down to the south. The best way is to take one of the numerous ferries that run on the Tyrrhenian Sea and will take you to Sicily easily. You can also take a bus from Rome’s Piazza Tiburtina and reach Syracuse in Sicily. The bus journey is an overnight trip and takes more than twelve hours, but it is also the cheapest way to get to Sicily. 

The Palermo Centrale railway station is the main railway station that serves passengers of Palermo. This railway station is located in Giulio Cesare Square and is 1.4 km away from the center of the city. It takes about 13 hours on a train from Rome and about 10 hours from Naples to Sicily; the train halts at Villa San Giovanni Port and then travels across the Strait of Messina and reaches Sicily. It is best to take a sleeper ticket so that you can sleep it off during the long journey.

The sea port serving the city of Palermo is the Port of Palermo, which is 3.1 km from the main part of the city. This port is straight away connected to Genoa, Civitavecchia, Naples, Salerno, Aeolian Islands, Ustica, Cagliari, and Tunis. Also a number of cruise ships ply on these waters transporting goods as well as passenger. The port is very close to the heart of the city, making it one of the most convenient ways to get to Palermo. 

As soon as you get to the airport, you can book a rental car to get around Palermo easily. You can get these rentals anywhere in the city as well. You can take a taxi to go sightseeing but this is very expensive if you are on a shoestring budget. Taking a bus is the cheapest way to get around, halt, see places and get back to the hotel you’re staying in. You can also use the tram service or the underground metro service to move around and get to different places.