Ballarò Market (Mercato Ballarò) Tours and Tickets

There are plenty of ways to experience the Ballarò Market. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• Palermo Food Tour: 10+ Tastings of Arancini, Cannoli, Wine & More

• Walking Tour and Street Food Tour Palermo - History and Food

• Savoring Palermo: In the Markets and Beyond

• Tuk-Tuk Ride, Ape Car

• Palermo Private Street Food Tour: A Culinary Journey With a Chef

The open-air Ballarò Market winds through several blocks of central Palermo and is free to browse on your own. If you’d like to purchase any food or souvenirs, bring cash, as some vendors may not accept card payments. Exploring the market on a guided food tour typically costs US$60 or more.

Yes, the Ballarò Market is well worth visiting. As Palermo's oldest and largest food market, lively Ballarò is a memorable place to stock up on souvenirs and sample the city's unique North African-influenced cuisine. While you could follow your own nose through the market, food tours will take you directly to local-approved vendors for arancini, cannoli, and other specialties—and give you a sense of Sicily's melting pot of cultures.

Per one customer who booked the Palermo Food Tour: 10+ Tastings of Arancini, Cannoli, Wine & More, "Excellent Guide. Our tour was a perfect balance of history and culture. We were able to try so many local delicacies and enjoyed the history and sightseeing in between food stops, most of which would have been easy to ignore on the menu. We had Lorenzo as our guide. He was knowledgeable, friendly, and approachable, in addition to having a pure love for his home island of Sicily. It was a great day. Highly recommend booking this!!"

Ballarò Market (Mercato Ballarò) is an outdoor street market in the Albergheria district of Palermo’s old town. Said to date as far back as the Middle Ages, this is one of the oldest and busiest markets in the city center and is known for the colorful calls of its vendors in the local dialect.

Ballarò is primarily a food market and most stalls sell fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, bread, or local specialties. There are also street food stalls and a handful of merchants who sell housewares, hardwares, and other odds and ends. All stands are open from morning to evening.

Yes, Ballarò Market is one of the top places in Palermo to sample local street foods. Delicacies include pane e panelle (chickpea-flour fritter sandwich), arancine (deep-fried rice balls), sfinciuni (sicilian pizza), pane con la milza (spleen sandwich), cones of deep-fried fish and seafood, snails, octopus, stigghiola (grilled lamb offal skewers), and more.

Yes, good-natured haggling is common in all Italian street markets and Ballarò is no exception. The vendors are known for their theatrical abbanniata—a sing-song call in the Palermo dialect to attract customers—while locals answer their sales pitches with lighthearted negotiations until they settle on a mutually agreeable price.

Yes, Ballarò Market tours are one of the most popular ways to experience this historic market. Tours can feature the market only, or can incorporate multiple sites through Palermo’s old town. Many Ballarò tours include stops to sample the street food at the market stalls and nearby eateries.

Yes, Ballarò Market is accessible, but with some limitations. The market is held along public streets, so there are no steps or other architectural barriers for visitors in wheelchairs. However, the lanes are very narrow and overflow with shoppers during the midday hours, so the crowds can be a challenge for anyone with limited mobility.

There are tons of things to do when you're done visiting the Ballarò Market. According to travelers, these are some of the top attractions in Palermo:

• Palermo Cathedral

• Massimo Opera House

• Capo Market

• Four Corners

• Vucciria Market

View Viator's guide to all the best attractions in Palermo.