Palermo Food Tour: Sicilian Markets and Street Food

Taste the rich history of Palermo's culinary culture
From US$661 privately
Book a Tour
Tour Details
Duration
3 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
  • Capo Market
  • Ballaro Market
  • Santa Caterina
Photos & Highlights
  • Palermo street food tour led by an expert in culture or local chef
  • Includes samples of arancine and sfincione
Select a date
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
2324252627281234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303112345
Tour Description
An old Roman proverb says, “cook like a Sicilian, eat like a Sicilian." Nowhere is this more celebrated than in Palermo. In a city that is rich in history, art, and architecture, Palermo also boasts distinctive culinary traditions influenced by multiple empires over centuries. For an introduction to one of Italy’s most exciting cities, we will join an expert guide to discover Palermo’s historic markets and winding alleys to learn about its unique street food and how this food culture relates to the past and present Capo and the Vucciria districts. 
Experts
Alba
Art Historian
Valentina Valentina
Local Guide
Enrica Enrica
Art Historian
Giorgio Giorgio
Local Guide
Valentina Valentina
Art Historian
Chiara Chiara
Local Guide
Gabriella Gabriella
Local Guide
Paola Paola
Local Guide
Daniela Daniela
Local Guide
Naida Naida
Art Historian
Cetty Cetty
Architect
Roberta Roberta
Local Guide
Marco Marco
Local Guide
Anita Anita
Local Guide
Valeria Valeria
Local Guide
Rachele Rachele
Art Historian
  • Mercato del Capo
  • Chiesa di Sant’ Agostino
  • Chiesa di San Domenico
  • Mercato della Vucciria
  • Piazza San Francesco
  • Focacceria di San Francesco
As we proceed through the Capo and the Vucciria districts, you will have the opportunity to admire some of the most outstanding Palermo baroque churches, tucked away in the midst of fish, vegetable and fruit stands. You will learn about the foods and recipes that are associated with local feasts, some of which date back to medieval times, as well as the fishing techniques in use since times immemorial. On this delightful stroll, we will stop at various stands and shops to indulge in tasty snacks such as arancine (fried rice balls filled with either meat ragù, béchamel, ham or butter), sfincione (deep pan pizza with fresh tomato sauce, onions and anchovies), panelle (fried chickpea flour pancakes seasoned with lemon juice), pane ca meusa (bread with spleen) and more.

You will also be making stops at other iconic food and cultural landmarks that are important to the city’s anti-mafia phenomenon such as the San Domenico Church and the Focacceria San Francesco. By the end of this tour you will know what it's like to eat like a Sicilian, with full bellies and new memories of the rich history of the food culture in Palermo.

To continue your explorations of Sicily with Context, we recommend our Introduction to Palermo tour.
Is this tour walking intensive, and/or wheelchair accessible?
We do cover quite a bit of ground on this tour and therefore we recommend contacting us with any mobility questions; we will be happy to advise if the itinerary will be appropriate for you or propose modifications where necessary. Please feel free to contact us.

Can this tour cater to those with dietary requirements? 
Let us know what your dietary requirements are and we will try our best to accommodate. 
Where You'll Start
(4.86) 20 Reviews

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

Our time with Valentina was fantastic! She was so knowledgeable, friendly and we ate very well!
We thought our guide was lovely but we felt the tour fell short. I thought that there really wasn't any structure to the tour. Basically, we could have walked through the market ourselves. Our guide was very nice but didn't add much value to the tour. Would have loved to learn more of the history of the markets and thought that we would be sampling more delicacies along the way. For the cost of the tour, we were expecting more.
We received a marvelous introduction to Palermo’s interesting markets and tasty street food!! It was the first time we tasted intestines and spleen and found them to be delicious! We also received an account of Palermo’s history as it relates to its diverse population and how those peoples influence the cuisine of this area. Rachele also was able to educate us on the architecture and religious symbolism of some of the Baroque churches. We found Rachele interesting, charming and she had our complete attention from start to finish.