Palermo · Go deeper
Getting around
Palermo rewards walking and tests your patience with everything else. The historic center is compact and best on foot, city buses and the new tram cover the rest unevenly, and a car is a liability in the old town, not an asset. Getting to Palermo is easy, the airport flies far, including direct to America, but getting around Sicily by rail is slow, so plan for that.
Getting there
By air — the long-haul leg
Arriving from far away, you'll usually connect through a European hub (Rome, Milan, or another). Palermo does have some direct long-haul service, including a seasonal direct route to America, which is rare for a southern city.
Falcone Borsellino Airport (PMO) — the real gateway
Palermo’s airport sits about 35 km west of the city at Punta Raisi. It’s the island’s busiest and your genuine gateway, with wide European connections, Falcone Borsellino Airport.
From the airport by train
The Trinacria Express (Trenitalia) runs from the airport to Palermo Centrale in about 45 minutes for €6.80, the cheapest reliable way in, unaffected by traffic.
From the airport by coach
The Prestia e Comandè airport bus runs to the city center in about 50 minutes for roughly €6–7, with stops near the port and Politeama.
By train (intercity)
Palermo Centrale sits on Sicily's main line, but island rail is slow and partly single-track. Much of Sicily is reachable, just not quickly (times below).
Around the city
On foot
The historic center is compact and walkable. Most daily life in the old town happens on foot, and it's the best way to experience the markets and piazzas.
AMAT buses and tram — the main local transit
AMAT runs the city buses and the growing tram network. A single ticket is €1.40, valid 90 minutes (€1.80 if bought on board); a full-day ticket is €3.50 (AMAT, 2026). Coverage is decent on the main corridors and patchier off them.
A note on driving
A car is a burden in central Palermo: narrow old-town streets, chaotic traffic, and scarce parking. There's a ZTL (limited-traffic zone) in the historic center. Useful for exploring the wider island; a liability for daily city life.
Intercity buses (FlixBus, Itabus)
For longer hops within Sicily, coaches often beat the train on time and price. Palermo to Catania is faster by FlixBus than by rail.
Train connections — from Palermo Centrale
Palermo Centrale sits on Sicily’s main line, but rail here is unhurried, single track in stretches and rarely fast. Rough fastest journeys:
Cefalù
~1 hr
Agrigento
~2 hr
Trapani
~2.5 hr
Catania
~3 hr
Messina
~3 hr
Trapani/Marsala coast
~3 hr
Times are typical fastest journeys and Sicily’s trains are slow. Check live schedules on Trenitalia.
Sicily’s trains are slower than the map suggests. For getting around the island, the intercity coach often wins on both time and price: a rare case where the bus, not the train, is the smart default.