A Taste of Two Cities™

Cannoli, arancini, sfincione and brioche stuffed with vanilla gelato – this is Palermo!!!  Shop with the Chef and learn how to make fresh pasta with ancient grains and arancini – Sicilian rice balls, and sfincione – Sicilian pizza, with Chef Enzo!  Discover bella Palermo in hands-on cooking and shopping with the chef while discovering ancient landmarks in Sicily’s capital. 

Bella Palermo is a city filled with history, culture, architecture and Sicilian cuisine. During your stay, visit the ancient outdoor markets – La Vucciria and Capo – where artisans sell farm-to-table produce, fruit and vegetables, wine, cheese and fish and meat.  During your stay, shop with the chef, enjoy Sicilian Street Food like panelle, delicious chickpea flour bites, crocché, Sicilian potato puffs flash-fried to a golden crips and arancini, rice balls stuffed with cheese, meat and tomato sauce.  When you are not in the kitchen, visit Palermo’s majestic landmarks, the Palazzo Normanni, a palace and museum, the Martorana, the Cappella Palatina, the Quattro Canti and Palermo’s grand square with symmetrical fountains.

As featured in June 2016 – Click here to read more!

Palermo Cooking Classes

Palermo is filled with ancient monuments reflecting the city’s rich and diverse history, and the many cultural and natural attractions make for a cultural experience for those who want to explore.  Visit the Cathedral, a honey-colored Catalan-church, the Quattro Canti, an octagonal Baroque square called the Piazza Vigliena!  Discover La Martorana church, a Byzantine masterpiece, the Museo Archeologico and the Catacombe dei Cappuccini.

Visit the Palazzo dei Normanni, Royal Palace of Palermo, standing at the highest point of the ancient city center. Once serving as the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman conquest and its beautiful Norman chapel. There is the Teatro Massimo, the largest opera theater in Italy and featured in the movie Godfather: Part 3.

Ancient history, beautiful landmarks, a rich culture and Sicilian cuisine are the ingredients in a one-of-a-kind cooking experience.

Palermo

Palermo is a melting pot of history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, making it an interesting and enticing city for travellers. Located in the northwest of the island of Sicily, Palermo is a vibrant and theatrical city where life is lived on the streets and piazzas. Visit the busy markets of La Vucciria or Capp where stalls are brimming with farm-to-table produce, fruit and vegetables; fishermen display their daily catch and Sicilian housewives vie for the freshest cheese. Experience Palermo’s famous street food like panelle – bite-sized snacks made from chickpea flour, crocché – special fried potato croquettes, or the famous arancini – stuffed rice balls that are lightly fried until golden.

Palermo has many attractions, its various monuments reflecting the city’s rich and diverse history, and its many cultural and natural attractions make for a wonderful experience for those willing to explore it. Take a walk and admire the Cathedral, honey-colored and Catalan-influenced, the Quattro Canti, the symbolic crossroads at the old center of the city, and the nearby small but lovely La Martorana church with byzantine mosaics inside. There is also the famous Museo Archeologico, and the Catacombe dei Cappuccini that contain over 8,000 mummified remains from Palermo and its surrounding villages.

Visit the Palazzo dei Normanni, Royal Palace of Palermo, standing at the highest point of the ancient city center. Once serving as the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman conquest, it contains a beautiful and unique Norman chapel. Teatro Massimo, the largest opera theater in Italy, is also not to be missed, with its awe-inspiring size and neo-romantic style overcoming the senses before the singing even begins. The theater was even featured in the movie Godfather: Part 3.

With all of its diverse history, landmarks, and rich culture and cuisine, Palermo is buzzing with life. On warm summer nights, you can feel the heartbeat of the city – there’s often live music in the piazza and people dancing. Join in and kick up your heels or simply sit at a nearby café and soak up the city’s magic.

Palermo & The Capo Market

This ancient market of Palermo, called Capo Market, is set in the heart of  the Arab quarter of the Schiavoni, called Seralcadio, which started under the rule of the Normans.  Narrow streets and alleys curve and cross leading visitors through not only a maze of venders selling traditional Sicilian street food, but a doorway into Palermo’s colorful past.  The entry to the Capo Market begins at the Porta Carini;  the original arch dates back to the 13th century.  The market is a stage as venders shout out their daily specials, locals shop while enjoying Sicilian street food and everyone converse about their family recipes.  Fish venders display their swordfish, singsong voices of vendors announce their vegetables, fruits, cheeses and spices, while artisan bread makers, pastry bakers and vintners dole out their delicious goods

Palermo Luxury Accommodations

Palermo & The Capo Market

This ancient market of Palermo, called Capo Market, is set in the heart of  the Arab quarter of the Schiavoni, called Seralcadio, which started under the rule of the Normans.  Narrow streets and alleys curve and cross leading visitors through not only a maze of venders selling traditional Sicilian street food, but a doorway into Palermo’s colorful past.  The entry to the Capo Market begins at the Porta Carini;  the original arch dates back to the 13th century.  The market is a stage as venders shout out their daily specials, locals shop while enjoying Sicilian street food and everyone converse about their family recipes.  Fish venders display their swordfish, singsong voices of vendors announce their vegetables, fruits, cheeses and spices, while artisan bread makers, pastry bakers and vintners dole out their delicious goods

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Itinerary Palermo ~4 Days

Day 1: Benvenuto & Chef’s Tasting Dinner

• Pick-up and transfer from Palermo airport or train station to the property.
• Arrival and check-in.
• In the evening, enjoy your full-course Chef’s Tasting Dinner at our Chef’s restaurant.   (Wine, drinks, grappa and an assortment of after dinner digestives are not included, and are available at a surcharge.)

Day 2:  Shop with the Chef Market Tour with Sicilian Street Food Tastings & Cooking Class 1

• Breakfast is served.
• After breakfast, join our chef for a Shop with the Chef Market Tour learning about Sicilian ingredients and experiencing the sights, sounds and scents of the market with tastings of local Sicilian Street Food along the way.  Our chef selects the freshest seasonal ingredients for the cooking class.  During
• Following the Shop with the Chef Market Tour, head to Chef Lina’s kitchen for your first hands-on cooking class featuring a traditional Sicilian full-course menu and Palermo cuisine.
• After the cooking class, lunch follows on the foods prepared in the cooking class with wine included.
• Take the rest of the day to visit, shop and explore on your own.
• Dinner is on your own with suggestions provided.

Day 3: Cooking Class 2 – Traditional Sicilian

• Breakfast is served.
• Join our chef in the kitchen for a traditional Sicilian cooking class and learn how to prepare arancini, small rice balls filled with meat, peas and red sauce, sfincion, Sicilian pizza, caponata, eggplant, pine nuts, raisins and vinegar. Vermicelli alla Siciliana, vermicelli pasta, garlic, tomatoes, eggplants, sweet peppers, olives, capers, anchovies, and basil, Pasta ‘ncasciata served in a beef ragu with eggplant and mozzarella; sarde a beccafico, small fish stuffed with pine nuts and dessert to name a few.
• Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys lunch together with a toast of local Sicilian wine include.
• In the afternoon, take time to explore, shop or visit any one of the local museums or landmarks.
• Evening free and dinner on your own.
• Dinner on your own. Check your Cooking Vacations Restaurant Hot Pick List for options.

Day 4: Departure

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out and departure transfer to Palermo Airport or Train Station.

Or Continue your tour onto Taormina

Taormina 4-Day Tour