Hotels near Ballarò Market

Ballarò is Palermo's oldest and busiest street market, sprawling through the Albergheria district in a loud tangle of stalls. Vendors sing out the day's prices in Sicilian dialect over pyramids of fruit, silvery fish on ice, and vats of olives, in a scene that has changed little in centuries.

It is also the best place to eat street food on the move: panelle (chickpea fritters), arancine, boiled octopus, and sfincione, the local sponge-like pizza. The market spills toward the Church of the Gesù, one of Sicily's most lavishly decorated Baroque interiors, worth a look while you are here.

Pro Tip: Come hungry in the morning when the market is liveliest and the food stalls are frying. Keep valuables zipped away, and follow the locals to the busiest stalls for the freshest fritters.