Palermo Street Food Tours
Palermo is the street food capital of Europe by most reckonings, and a street food tour here is three hours in the Ballarò, Capo and Vucciria markets eating arancine, panelle, sfincione and, if you dare, the spleen sandwich, with a local who knows which stall to trust. Compare the top-rated tours below, then read our notes on the markets and the canon.
Street food tours in Palermo
Food tours and market walks
Formats: daytime street food walks through Ballarò and the Capo; evening tours that end in the Vucciria when the grills light; all-inclusive market tours with ten or more tastings; bike tours with food stops; Cefalù day trips with tastings.
What you will taste: arancina, panelle and crocchè in a roll, sfincione, pane con la milza, stigghiola off the grill, boiled octopus, cannoli filled to order, and a glass of Nero d’Avola or a beer standing at the counter.
Price and time: roughly 45 to 80 dollars for two and a half to three hours; the all-inclusive and evening tours sit at the top.
The canon
Palermo’s street food is a fixed list. The arancina, round and feminine here, filled with ragù or butter and ham. Panelle, chickpea-flour fritters, with crocchè, potato croquettes, stuffed together into a sesame roll. Sfincione, a thick, spongy pizza with onions, tomato, caciocavallo and breadcrumbs. Pane con la milza, or pani ca meusa, the veal spleen sandwich, “schettu” plain or “maritatu” with cheese. Stigghiola, lamb intestine wound round a spring onion and grilled on the street. Boiled octopus, frittola, and a cannolo to finish. A tour covers most of it; nobody covers all of it in one evening.
The markets
Ballarò is the biggest and most alive, open every day with a night street-food scene around Piazza del Carmine from Thursday to Sunday. The Capo runs mornings until early afternoon, Monday to Saturday, behind the Teatro Massimo. The Vucciria has faded as a daytime market and revives after nine at night as a grill-and-drinks scene. Daytime tours work Ballarò and the Capo; evening tours end in the Vucciria. Sunday is Ballarò only.
Choosing
For a first visit, a daytime market walk with a local guide and eight to ten tastings. For the atmosphere, an evening tour. The all-inclusive versions with wine and a sit-down course are the best value if you skip dinner. Cefalù, an hour east by train, is a beach day with a small food scene and a few cooking classes; it is a section here, not a page. For classes in Palermo, see Palermo cooking classes.
Frequently asked questions
Arancina or arancino?
Arancina in Palermo and the west, round like an orange; arancino in Catania and the east, pointed like Etna. Both are correct, and Sicilians will argue anyway.
Do I have to eat the spleen sandwich?
No; tours offer it and respect a refusal. Most people try a bite.
Is Palermo really the capital of street food?
Forbes ranked it first in Europe and fifth in the world in 2012, and nothing since has changed the order.
Read next: Palermo street food glossary
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.