We stayed in Anna's apartment for 9 days and it was a brilliant base for our Palermo adventure. Located in the Capo district which is essentially on the border of the old and new towns means it's easy to explore the city by foot. But the best bit about the location for us was the door to the apartment building opened out straight into one of Palermo's legendary street markets! This really does make you feel like you're getting a proper Palermo experience rather than a sanitised stay in some chain hotel. The market is as vibrant as you would imagine selling the most delicious fresh fish, meat, cheese, fruit and veg. And don't feel intimidated if you can't speak great Italian as we only knew the very basics and everyone was super friendly and helpful. In fact, we found that to be the case with the people of Palermo in General. As for the apartment, it's every bit as good, if not better, than the pictures - especially the kitchen, which is really well appointed so you can properly take advantage of the market produce below. I know we did! :) Another lovely feature of the apartment were the 2 small balconies overlooking the market below which were a great place to relax with a glass of Sicilian wine.
Our visit to Palermo was at the end of July in the height of summer when the heat can be pretty oppressive, however the air con in the apartment was an absolute godsend and incredibly efficient considering the age of the building. If you have the choice we would recommend sleeping in the back room if you like a nice lie in as the market obviously starts VERY early and we found the back room meant we weren't disturbed. Anna's father and brother made us feel very welcome from the moment we arrived (thanks for the cannoli!) and were available to deal with any queries we had without ever being intrusive. All in all, we had an amazing holiday in the apartment and found Palermo to be a beautiful, lively city with friendly people and amazing food.