The exotic mixture of Moorish, Norman and Spanish Baroque styles makes this city special. It is rich in monuments, royal palaces and churches and remains a great fascination up to now. Amidst the bustle of 21st-century life, you will be led to tucked-away churches, ancient mosaics and lively street markets, where innumerable reminders of history are woven within the modern city splendor. The most important monuments are: the Cathedral, Martorana Church, St. John of the Hermits and the Norman Palace with the Palatine Chapel in Norman-Arab style; the "Quattro Canti", Piazza Pretoria, St. Joseph of the Theatines and other ones in Baroque style.

Also view the Palace of the Normans, La Martorana Church, and the Cathedral, which houses the imperial crown of Constance of Aragon in its treasury. No trip to Palermo is truly complete without a visit to Monreale about 7 kilometers south of Palermo's center. Monreale overlooks the "Conca d'Oro," the beautiful valley beyond Palermo. The beautiful mosaics in Monreale Cathedral are said to be one of the world's largest displays of this art. The splendid cloister of the Benedictine abbey alone would make Monreale famous. Located next to the cathedral, these 228 columns, some with mosaic inlay, each with a meticulously stone carved capital, enclose the gardens of the cloister.