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Palermo Market Tour: Street Food and Fresh Seafood
5.0
35 Ratings
Palermo
Experience the vibrant markets of Palermo, filled with fresh produce, street food, and local delicacies. Indulge in crispy fried seafood, homemade caponata, and grilled swordfish. Don’t miss the sea urchin shucking experience!
Experience the vibrant markets of Palermo, filled with fresh produce, street food, and local delicacies. Indulge in crispy fried seafood, homemade caponata, and grilled swordfish. Don’t miss the sea urchin shucking experience!
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Teatro Politeama Garibaldi - The start of our Palermo tour, more than 10 full tastings in three different markets, explorations of local neighborhoods and visits to historic sites, this tour takes in iconic Palermo as well as lesser-known hidden gems.
- Capo Street Market - At the lively Capo market, we will have a street snack of fried fish…
- Teatro Politeama Garibaldi - The start of our Palermo tour, more than 10 full tastings in three different markets, explorations of local neighborhoods and visits to historic sites, this tour takes in iconic Palermo as well as lesser-known hidden gems.
- Capo Street Market - At the lively Capo market, we will have a street snack of fried fish and stuffed sardine rolls. In the shadow of a Norman-era Church, where Byzantine and Arab influences come together, we will sample one of the city’s best arancina and panelle.
- Teatro dell’Opera dei Pupi - Visit to the workshop of one of Palermo’s last puppeteers to see how he brings Sicilian history to life through his craft.
- Mercato Ballaro - In the Ballarò market, we’ll go from stall to stall as local shoppers do, learning about Sicilian agriculture and sampling local pistachios and other nuts, candied fruits and fresh seasonal fruit juice. No visit to Ballarò would be complete without a bite of stigghiola, grilled lamb intestines, a humble but delicious snack.
- Mercato Ballaro - At Vucciria Market, we will have for a glass of minerally white wine from Mount Etna, to accompany a snack of octopus at a local taverna.
- Antica Gelateria Patricola - The tour ends in the Sicilian fashion, with an artisanal gelato, the sweet finish that unites this city.
What's Included
- Bottled water included
- Snacks provided
- Tea and coffee available
- Bottled water included
- Snacks provided
- Tea and coffee available
Additional Information
The markets of Palermo are sure to captivate you: bright, sunlit alleyways overflowing with vibrant lemons, incredibly smooth ricotta, plentiful capers, and, of course, unique street food. Trade cries echo from the stalls of the Ballarò market as sellers vie for the attention of gastronomes with tables brimming with fresh octopus and sizzling grills…
The markets of Palermo are sure to captivate you: bright, sunlit alleyways overflowing with vibrant lemons, incredibly smooth ricotta, plentiful capers, and, of course, unique street food. Trade cries echo from the stalls of the Ballarò market as sellers vie for the attention of gastronomes with tables brimming with fresh octopus and sizzling grills filled with offal. Numerous stalls offer a paper cone filled with crunchy fried seafood. Alternatively, indulge in a plate of homemade eggplant caponata dappled with pine nuts and raisins. Should the sight of a thick slab of grilled swordfish not pique your interest, fret not, there could very well be a man on an overturned pail prying open fresh sea urchins just a few steps away.
Location
Teatro Politeama Garibaldi
Via Filippo Turati
We will meet you on the front steps of Teatro Politeama
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(35 Ratings)
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1 star
Roger
Oct 20, 2024
A wonderful way to experience Sicilian cuisine and culture. - A wonderful experience! Enrica was wonderful - warm, friendly and very knowledgeable! We got to experience some hidden gems which we would never have found on our own.
Happy to highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Msague
Oct 9, 2024
great experience - Enrica was a marvelous tour guide. She took us to interesting places where we were welcomed and introduced us to delicious Sicilian treats.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Connector443585
Oct 2, 2024
Palermo Wow - We have done a few Backstreet tours in different cities and this was a memorable one. Passed on the spleen panini though.
.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lisanm3978bp
Sep 28, 2024
Must—do insight to Palermo. - This was an excellent tour. Enrika our guide was delightful company and took us to very interesting places that we could never have found by ourselves. Much delicious food and insights into the culture and history of Palermo. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dorothylindsay
Sep 19, 2024
Palermo's hard-to-find street food gems with wonderful guide and small group - Paola's tour of Palermo street food was the highlight of our week in Palermo. We could not have managed, on our own, to locate and order some of the best examples of the city's amazing street food. Paola led us through markets and into tiny courtyards and vibrant piazzas, covering all four quarters of Palermo's centro storico. We stopped and ate at small, local and historic vendors, most off the beaten path. Just a few examples of what we tried: pezze, raw sweet shrimp, fried potato croquettes, panele, grilled and stuffed lamb intestines (surprisingly good) and--of course--spleen sandwiches, finishing our 6+ hour tour with gelato. (My husband and I managed to find and return to a few of these places during our stay.) Paola's background in architecture and history--as well as Palermo's culinary specialties-- was evident and appreciated. A stop at a family-owned puppet theater and workshop was among the wonderful surprises. Paola was endlessly cheerful and flexible, allowing us to make special requests. Included in our group was a good friend of ours who has lived in Palermo for 22 years; he was delighted by the tour. We have loved all of our experiences with Culinary Backstreets: we appreciate the knowledgable guides, the small groups and the company of other interesting travelers. A great day and a fabulous introduction to Palermo.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Debgw6281lg
Jul 8, 2024
Palermo Food Tour - Fantastic Experience - Francesca was a fantastic guide - sharing stories of food from her life and sharing unique places to experience this type of food for ourselves. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jason_a
Jul 6, 2024
Must do. - The tour was simply fantastic. Experiencing the tastes of Palermo and so much more- this will definitely be hard to beat.
Review provided by Viator
Lynne
Jun 19, 2024
You won’t leave hungry! - The tour was led by an excellent guide named Anna Maria. She was full of great information and anecdotes about Palermo and its history. We went to two markets and several restaurants. All were outstanding. My favorites were the watermelon custard filled-Pastry and the anchovy panzerotti. Highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
757leigha
Jun 11, 2024
The perfect way to see the city and experience the best foods it has to offer. - 1st time for us to join a Culinary Backstreet tour, but what a brilliant way to see the city, warts and all. An experience not to be missed and we will certainly look out for Culinary Backstreet tours in future. A big shout out for our guide for the day who made the day fun and informative.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
220allene
May 31, 2024
Excellent Food, Markets, and Fun! - Maria Luisa was a wealth of knowledge about Palermo, its languages, its history, its art, its residents, and its food. You will NOT go hungry on this walk. It was great to see both the Capo Market and the Ballaro market, and eat our way through a bit. We also got to try plenty of food off the markets, including some of what Palermo is famous for, like the spleen sandwich, grilled intestine, arancine, sfincione (tomato, onion, and cheese pizza, and seven-layer cake. Off the beaten path, we particularly enjoyed the non-food stop at the marionette theatre. This was such a neat, unique experience that we went back for a show that night. We wouldn't have found this without Maria Luisa. Thank you, Maria Luisa, for a great experience - both in eating and getting to know Palermo a little bit!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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