In early November, I had gone on a European MSC cruise to France, Italy, Spain and Tunisia. I had wondered what the different excursions would be like and wanted to share my experience here in case YOU were also going on a similar cruise and wanted to know!

Unfortunately, you won’t get the time of the excursion when you book- I had wondered if I could double up and you can’t both because excursions often overlap and you’ll be EXHAUSTED! I went on a 7 day cruise with only 1 day of cruising (the rest of the time, I had one excursion per day) and I’m so glad I had that break in the middle!

You’ll get your excursion ticket in your room the day before from your Steward, with the time and meeting location. Once you’re at your meeting location (often the Aft Lounge), your group number (on the ticket) will be called and you’ll head down to deck 4 where you’ll scan your card and leave the ship. There are clear signs everywhere, you literally can’t get lost!

All of the excursions start on a bus and it’s there where you’ll begin your trip! I will warn that this excursion does have quite a bit of walking. I had totaled 11,634 steps, which is approximately 4.8 to 5.7 miles. This excursion was 5 hours long where we:

• Saw mountain view of the city
• Went to Monreale Cathedral
• Visited the Palermo Cathedral
• Stopped by the gorgeous Church of Jesus of Casa Professa
• Explored the marketplace
• Checked out the Fontana Pretoria
• Ended with the Quattro Canti (Four Corners)
• With free-time and stops to shop along the way

Our first stop wasn’t too far from the cruise port, only about minutes. We had parked on a hill, where we got to see the stunning overlook of Palermo.

As you can see- it was absolutely stunning weather. A lot of people had said that it was going to be too cold if I had gone in November, but it actually was warmer than the US! So for any of your American friends, tell them it was 74 degrees in Palermo, Italy on November 12th!

Before we continue onto the church, let’s talk a little bit about Palermo. Palermo is the capital of Sicily, Italy and is known as a melting pot of such due to being conquered by multiple other civilizations; Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Spanish, Arabs, and Normans. Palermo is now a large tourist city and home to beautiful gardens, underground catacombs, palaces and thriving culture. Palermo’s markets are centuries old and it is also the birthplace of street food in Europe. The historical buildings here are something else and my favorite was 100% hands-down the Church of Jesus of Casa Professa, which we’ll cover later… just a little bit of foreshadowing here!

Monreale Cathedral
After we took our photos, we were then lead up the hill to our first building to tour, the Monreal Cathedral. This Catherdral was built between 1174 and 1185, by the order of a Normal ruler, William II. Architecturally, it is of Arab-Norman-Byzantine style and was initially built to demonstrate William II’s power and magnificence. In fact, it was built as a rival to William II’s grandfather’s Palatine Chapel, so there’s some ruler drama if you want to grab some popcorn! When you enter, you will be stricken by the gold and if you’re wondering if it’s real, it sure is! This church has gold mosaics that cover approximately 68k square feet and are estimated to contain about 2.2 tons of PURE gold. (Wow!) This is created by using gold leaves and placing them between glass to form the mosaic tiles. And this, my friends- is what happens when family drama gets to an all-time high! (Kidding… for most of you, at least!)

Definitely a sight to see! The cost to enter the main part of the cathedral is free, but for certain parts, such as the cloister, it costs a little over $18 and can be found here: https://www.viator.com/tours/Palermo/Monreale-Cathedral-Complex-Entrance-Ticket/d4815-14982P63

From here, we walked through the town center and down the stairs where there were several shops or vendors selling different items. Like other places in Italy, they’re not pushy and if you approach them, they will help- but they don’t generally come up to you, from my experience at least. The bathrooms are at the bottom of the stairs and cost a few euros. I personally did not use them, but from what I have heard, carrying your own toilet paper is recommended and the quality is low, some calling them “disgusting” and smelly. I had used a restroom an hour or so later at the Church of Jesus of Casa Professa, which was free and had some toilet paper inside already. It was fine; it didn’t smell and I wouldn’t refer to it as “disgusting” but perhaps “shabby” is a better word to describe it as.

Palermo Cathedral

Next, we went back on the bus to our next destination which was the Palermo Cathedral. (In… yes, Palermo). We did park right at the cathedral so we were able to explore more of the city, such as the city gates and gardens. We passed several horse-drawn carriages before we got to the cathedral.

The cathedral itself is HUGE and truly magnificent. Outside, is a statue of Saint Rosalia, the patron of Palermo and often celebrated as the protector against the plague.

The inside is equally mesmerizing, and is free to enter the main entrance, but costs 5 euros for access to the Royal Tombs, Treasury, Crypt, Apses, and potentially the rooftops.

We had some free time here to do what we pleased- exploring the cathedral, going to some of the local shops for gelato, snack, etc.

Church of Jesus of Casa Professa

Next, we headed down some narrow streets to my FAVORITE church, the Church of Jesus of Casa Professa. This is a Jesuit church, a religion order under the Catholic Church and while relatively simple on the outside, there were AUDIBLE gasps once we stepped foot indoors. This church was opened in 1636 and costs 6.96 euros to enter (although we didn’t pay since it was included in the excursion. The architecture is Sicilian Baroque and is was located not too far from the marketplace.

And if those photos don’t impress you and completely take your breath away, maybe these videos will:

And if they don’t? Well… then I guess we can’t be friends. (Kidding!)

We had some more free time here and I spent some time at the marketplace before we had gone to our last two destinations and then on our way back to the boat. Once again, very respectable people. They may call out, “fish for sale!” but don’t get in your face or anything of that nature. I found them to be polite, wanting to sell their products (obviously) but also knowing limits. I share this because I’ve found such a range in etiquette when it comes to these things. Americans (where I’m from) generally sit by their booths and hoping someone comes along, Tunisians are pushy and as our tour guide said, “just keep walking, otherwise they will stick to you like a parasite” and Italians had that middle balance. They will advertise their products, but they also accept a no and move on pretty quickly. They’re also fun people! Some were dancing to the music playing and seemed genuinely happy and upbeat (love to see it!)

I loved the marketplace, but it is quite easy to get lost here. I had International service so was able to find my way back, but I always recommend either International service, and eSIM card or something! You never know what you may need and while it can be nice to go “off grid” it should also be something you can choose- i.e. if you need help or are lost in a foreign country, having the ability to have service is always good. Better safe than sorry!

Fontana Pretoria

The Fontana Pretoria is located in the Piazza Pretoria and was built in the 16th century and is considered the most important examples of High Renaissance architecture in Sicily. It is known by locals as the “fountain of shame” due to the nude sculptures and many locals finding it to be too graphic. There was also a rumor at one time that the water from the fountain was infecting people with Syphilis! Although, nothing came of this and it still sits here, open to the public to view. The basin holds 50 statues of a mix of monsters, harpies, sirens and tritons, as well as the twelve Olympian Gods and the four seasons.

Quattro Canti (Four Corners)

Not far after, we had walked down the streets to Quattro Canti, also known as “four corners.” These buildings are located in a Baroque square in Palermo and shows four buildings like the one below, all facing each other. If you stand in the middle, you will be the center of them all. Why did I only have a photo then, you ask? Between the sun, the traffic, the horses, the people and the time, it was difficult to take a photo in the right spot- As you can see on the image on the left, it was busy and of course the one on the right has a shadow the definitely photo-bombed my picture. However, as un-aesthetic as they are, I hope that you can imagine the splendor of it as you stood in the middle looking at the exquisite pieces of architecture.

While they may look identical to someone who doesn’t know the history- each do have fountains at the base, statues of Spanish kinds in the middle and the figures of the four female patron saints of Palermo at the top, which are Santa Rosalia, Agata, Cristina, and Ninfa.

And that just about concluded the MSC excursion: Delving into Palermo and Monreale’s Historic Venues and unfortunately, also my time in Italy!

Do I Recommend the MSC excursion: Delving into Palermo and Monreale’s Historic Venues

Umm… YES! I really had no complaints about the excursion, but my biggest tip is to use the restroom before you go. There was a lot of walking on this excursion, so something to be mindful of (around 5 miles, give or take) but I thought the views and historic landmarks were worth it and just really incredible. Our guide was fantastic- nice, helpful and very knowledgeable!

WEBSITES:

• Monreale Cathedral: https://www.duomomonreale.com/
  • Viator Ticket can be found here
• Palermo Cathedral: https://www.cattedrale.palermo.it/
• Church of Jesus of Casa Professa: https://www.casaprofessa.it/

Cheers friends and travelers!
~ Backroad Butterflies ~

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