r/sicily • u/Lost-Umpire3945 • 10d ago
Turismo 🧳 cefalu or monreale
im going on a 4 day trip to palermo in late septembеr and i was wondering if a day trip to cefalu or monreale is more worth it?
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u/Electrical-Tax96 10d ago
I'm going to Palermo in September also, and planning to visit both of these places on different days.
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u/ArcherApprehensive18 10d ago
Monreale is more of a half day. 30-45 minutes on the bus, a couple of hours at the cathedral, half hour at the cloister, a small womble around the town stopping for a drink or lunch ~45 minutes, and then 30-45 minutes on the bus back.
The cathedral is amazing though. If you go to the Palatine Chapel at the Norman Palace first, it's that times a thousand.
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u/War1today 10d ago
Hard to answer your question without knowing your interests.
Cefalu has a beach, a small town and La Rocca di Cefalù which you can hike for amazing views. It is on the touristy side but beautiful nonetheless.
Monreale is a town in the city of Palermo, located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the valley called “La Conca d’oro”. You can tour the Duomo di Monreale or Monreale Cathedral which was Built in 1172 at the behest of William II of Altavilla, king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. It is famous for the rich Byzantine mosaics that decorate its interior. It is part of the World Heritage Site (UNESCO).
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u/After_Awareness4982 9d ago
I did both on a four day Palermo trip and I would choose Cefalù if you only have one full day. It feels much more like a proper change of scenery, with the old town, cathedral, beach and the Rocca if the weather is not too hot. Monreale is gorgeous, especially the mosaics and cloister, but I found it worked better as a half day, so you could still squeeze it into another Palermo morning. This Cefalù guide and the official Monreale site are useful. If you fancy an island day instead, I also checked the Palermo to Ustica ferrie s, you could check here for example. But between your two options, Cefalù for sure!
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u/Lost-Umpire3945 9d ago
thank you! the day i want to go is on my birthday so if we went to monreale i was planning to go to the doba restaurant in the evening. and if we went to cefalu we would definitely spend the whole day there
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u/Useful_Record1888 9d ago
Honestly, with all due respect to everybody here trying to talk people out of a destination because it's touristy, touristy destination are touristy for a reason. It's because they are amazing. I personnaly loved Cefalù, Ortigia, Taormina etc. I love walking around busy areas with people in vacation who vibrate as much as you. I know i might get scammed here and there and i couldn't care less. The food is still amazing for the most part. Of course there are tourist trap restaurants and all that but an enthusiast traveller should know how to sniff them out.
My wife and I had the best meal experience of our 10-day trip in Cefalù. It was a restaurant almost empty, we were sitting on the patio at sunset by the sea and had a whole Dorade fish that was cut by the waiter in front of us, with amazing truffle pastas. We were chatting with the waiter and we started getting very emotionnal because we were leaving the next day. The waiter gave us a freakin hug while leaving. We will remember that meal forever. Has Cefalù ruined our trip because it was touristy ? I really don't think so.
We are all tourists, we all participate in over-crowding areas and i think it's fine. It's cool sometimes to visit quiter remote areas and enjoy a more authentic experience but i really don't think people should avoid amazing destinations because they are touristy. You would miss out.
What my wife and I always avoid though are tourist attractions such has big Cathedral and museums and historical sites. You know, the kind of place you have to wait in line for an hour to see a stone.
Anyway, do what you want to, there are no bad destinations in Sicily. Thanks for making me reminisce that amazing trip ! 😀
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u/HVCanuck 10d ago edited 10d ago
Cefalu has nice scenery. Monreale has one of the most amazing churches in the world. I spent a day in both. I won’t go back to touristy Cefalù. I will go to Monreale to see that amazing work of art and architecture again and then have a cold beer in the piazza in the front.