You are staying in Palermo, but don’t know a thing about the public transport! With these simple guidelines, you will be moving around like a real Palermitan.

The first thing you must know, is that a free shuttle bus, the ‘Free Centro Storico’, is driving in the historical centre of Palermo. It connects Piazza del Cavalluccio Marino with Piazza Indipendenza by passing some important places such as la Cala, Quattro Canti, Stazione Centrale, Palazzo Reale, la cattedrale and the Teatro Massimo. The orange bus passes every 11 minutes... but remember, these are Sicilian minutes! You can take this free bus every day between 6:35 a.m. and 9 p.m.

The second free shuttle bus is called the ‘Free Express’ and starts at piazza Indipendenza. It will bring you all the way to il parcheggio Basile. This bus drives every day between 6:20 a.m. and 9:10 p.m.

Concerning the other busses in Palermo, you need to but a bus ticket first. It costs €1.40 and you can find it in almost every tabacchi or newspaper store. On some busses, you can buy your ticket on the bus as well, but then it will cost you €1.80. In winter time, the busses don’t drive as often as in summer, but you will get around. All the timetables as well as additional information can be found on the official website of the bus company that drives in Palermo: AMAT (http://amat.pa.it).

Once you are in the right bus, you must validate your ticket first. There are yellow boxes in which you will have to put your ticket in order to receive a stamp. If you don’t do this, you can get a fine of more than €50! Even if you have never seen a controller before, always validate your ticket… it is not worth the risk! You can recognize the controllers on their uniform: they weir a grey sweater and have the logo of AMAT on it, PLUS everyone will get off the bus in 1 second if they even see a glimpse of these men.

For more information about the busses and other public transport in Palermo, please contact us at … or stop over at our office in via Torremuzza.

More information here.

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