Palermo Catacombs and Monreale Half-day Tour

Recommended by 91% of travelers

Palermo, Italy

3 hours 40 minutes (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover two of Palermo’s most distinctive landmarks on this immersive, private tour. Set off from your accommodation—hotel pickup and drop-off are included—and venture first to the Capuchin Catacombs: a macabre destination home to thousands of mummified bodies, many of them priests. Next, discover the UNESCO-listed Cathedral of Monreale, famous for its fusion of Norman and Arabic architecture. A break for Sicilian coffee and nibbles is also included. **ATTENTION: Due to renovation works throughout 2024, the cathedral (not the cloister) will only remain partially open to visitors.**

Get up close and personal with two of Palermo’s most distinctive destinations
Hotel pickup and drop-off make getting around seamless
Learn about the long history behind both landmarks
A private guide and vehicle ensures a personalized experience

What's Included

Local expert guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off only in Palermo city
Tour&Travel Insurance
Tour escort/host
Air-conditioned vehicle
Private transportation

entrance tickets to the monuments

€13.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

All hotels, b&b, guest houses in Palermo

Itinerary

Catacombe dei Cappuccini

1 hour • Admission Ticket Not Included

Cattedrale di Monreale

1 hour 20 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Benedictine Cloister

40 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.6

based on 43 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Our Guide Made all the Difference

Frank_S, Jul 2025

The guide was the highlight of the trip. Salvo was communicating the day before and met us right at the entrance/exit of the port in Palermo. He really took time to learn our names and speak to each of us on a unique level. The sites were great and the guide was able to speak about the great history

Trip to monteale

Fran_M, May 2025

We enjoyed our experience. Our guide was excellent and very informative . The church was amazing! The catacombs a bit creepy ! We had a great time

Beautiful cathedral, interesting catacombs

Sabrina_C, May 2025

Salvo was our guide. He was excellent, thorough, and informative every step of the way. The tour ended up being private with just me and my husband. The cathedral in Monreale was beyond beautiful Salvo explained much of the artwork in the Cathedral. We then moved on to the catacombs where Salvo continued to point out various pieces and explain their importance. The entire tour was 3 hours long. I feel that it was expensive for what we received, but Salvo did a wonderful job!

Learned a lot

marisa_l, Nov 2024

Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable, which really enhanced our understanding of everything we saw on the tour.

Response from Host, Nov 2024

Hi, we are glad you enjoyed the tour

A must see!

Mona_C, Nov 2024

Our Viator booking was handled through Find Sicily with our outstanding guide Salvatore! We had the most amazing experience through the Palermo Catacombs and Monreale! Our group was a private tour and was worth every cent. Our guide was knowledgable, insightful, caring, and personable. He demonstrated so much historical background to the disturbing Catacomb experience - think the tomb scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark but real! And the highlights of the beautiful and majestic Monreale. The bible in the Rock. Thank you Viator and Salvatore for the most remarkable experience. One of the highlights of our trip!

A morning in Palermo

Ronald_P, Nov 2024

Great tour and guide. Learned a lot at every stop! The guide was very well informed and thank God for the driver.

very beautiful and personable tour

Hannah_B, Oct 2024

Salvatore was an amazingly knowledgeable, kind, fun & engaging tour guide! Always had fun tidbits and answered ALL my husband’s history questions. Haha! Highly recommend this tour, specifically with Salvatore! :-)

Monreale a must see

Michael_N, Jun 2024

Our guide Consuela, was fantastic. Monreale was beautiful and so much history. The Catacombs are interesting but very morbid. Highly recommend Monreale.

Stunning Monreale

Stefanie_K, May 2024

Salvatore met us at our hotel, arranged for the driver to pick us up right out front. Salvatore is very passionate about the cathedral and Palermo's history. He was a great guide. He was patient with our group which included 80+ yr old parents. Driver was excellent at navigating the roads. Highly recommend visiting the cathedral. Catacombs are interesting but may be disturbing to some due to the realistic nature of some of the contents.

Beautiful Monreale and spooky Catacombs

Judy_M, Apr 2024

What a fantastic tour! Our guide was so incredibly knowledgeable about the area driving from Palermo to Monreale. She has so much information about the cathedral in Monreale that we had few questions! The Cathedral is a “must see” place. The tour provided a stop for coffee and pastries which were quite yummy. The second part of the tour was the Catacombs in n Palermo. Our driver had great skill with his driving ability. The tour was very informative and spooky. Again, our guide was very knowledgeable about this place. We were lucky to be just the two of us on this tour. The van was very comfortable and clean.

Fabulous and recommend to all!

Helen_H, Oct 2023

I was lucky enough to share my tour with only one other traveller to Cathedral Montreale and the Palermo Catacombs! A really great morning with our amazing guide Sal (Salvadore). He was incredibly knowledgeable, happy and chirpy and a wealth of information which was really appreciated by Suzanne and myself! It was obvious to all he loves his guide job! His is a real asset to your company and I would highly recommend this tour to all Helen from Australia

Wonderful

dguzz1984, Sep 2023

The guide and driver both were great. The tour guide everything in detailed and went above and be on in answering questions.worth every cent.

Palermo’s must do

Belinda_C, Aug 2023

Our tour guide was extremely informative No waiting and cues for anything I faraway to see both Montréal and the catacombs, I must do it in Palermo.

Tour was blocked as the...

Richard_T, Jul 2023

Tour was blocked as the King of Spain was visiting the site. The guide took us to an alternative site but it wasn't as good.

An awesome time

Jim_R, Feb 2023

A fantastic experience with very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide, Salvadore. The trip to the Cathedral at Monreale was magic. Gorgeous Byzantine mosaics covering everything. Simply amazing! The Catacombs are like none other I have ever seen. You will treasure this experience for a lifetime.

Monreale Cathedral was amazing

Roger_N, Feb 2020

Our guide was very knowledgeable about the sights we saw. He showed us things which we would never have seen. He was very responsive to our questions and we even discussed subjects in present day Sicily.

Palermo Catacombs and Monreale

ckevinh53, Dec 2019

Exceptional. Simon, our guide was wonderful. Knowledgeable, nice, informative and friendly. Simon loves Palermo and Monreale and it shows in how he conducts his tours. Gabriele was very friendly and is an expert driver. We highly recommend this tour to the amazing catacombs and beautiful Monreale.

Simon is amazing!

MikeandDaveNYC, Oct 2019

What a great tour! Simon was super friendly and knowledgeable about Monreale and Palermo. He connected with our group so well. As a bonus, he picked us up at our hotel. Would highly recommend this tour for a comprehensive overview of the city

We loved our tour and Barbara was...

FrancesA_G, Sep 2017

We loved our tour and Barbara was superb. We felt well informed and like best friends by the end of our tour.

Barbara was excellent and really...

richard h, Sep 2017

Barbara was excellent and really enjoyed the trip. It was informative and well organised although it would have been nice to spend some free time in Monreale.

Manuel was the most personable...

Joseph S, Jul 2017

Manuel was the most personable person we met. He was informative, funny and thoroughly entertaining. His English was perfect and by the end of the day we felt like family. He made us so comfortable and entertained we retained his service again. Consuela was very good and maintained our interest throughout the tour. The Catacombs were strange but fascinating and she explained everything although obviously uncomfortable in this location. In Monreale she was at ease and as well very informative. She is an expert guide but it was Manuel that was the life of the party. If you want to enjoy your time in Sicily, I highly recommend you retain Manuel who will not only entertain you but show you places you would not know to see. He is also great at suggesting local authentic restaurants where you will find real Sicilian food which is delicious.

Barbara is a brilliant guide. I'm...

John M C, May 2017

Barbara is a brilliant guide. I'm really glad this tour was on my first day in Palermo because she gave us a fantastic introduction to the city.

An absolutely fantastic tour and our...

JosephC_H, Oct 2016

An absolutely fantastic tour and our tour guide, Barbara, made this tour our favorite of our holiday. She was so friendly and had so much to tell us about all aspects of the tour - from the glorious decor of Monreale Cathedral to the unusual sights in the Catacombs. A must if you are in Palermo.

So thrilled with our experience and...

Nickole_A, Jul 2016

So thrilled with our experience and tour guide! Barbara was simply FABULOUS! With curbside pick-up in the crazy city of Palermo, she started the tour off with a pleasant smile and cooled off car! She is so passionate about the city and it's history we enjoyed learning from her and listening to her stories. The catacombs were interesting and a must see if you visit Palermo. The city of Monreale is lovely and quaint you feel removed from the city. The history of the monastery was very interesting and the setting provided great photo backdrops! We ended the tour with a delicious gelato or two!! Thanks to Barbara this was a highlight of our Palermo trip!

the tour was excellent and our guide...

ronen b, Apr 2016

the tour was excellent and our guide Barbara went out off her way to make the best out of the tour

On a payé vraiment trop...

Roxane_R, Sep 2024

On a payé vraiment trop cher!! 140€ chacune pour les catacombes où l'on reste 20min à peine... Et la mauvaise surprise également c'est de devoir repayer pour l'entrée des catacombes, de la cathédrale et toute autre visite! Et pourtant on avait déjà payé 280€ pour la demi journée ! Je trouve extrêmement cher pour ce que c'est !

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Bonsoir, la durée de la visite des catacombes était de plus de 45 min. Aussi que les frais d'entrée sont à votre charge est précisé au moment de l'achat.