Head to Vucciria during daylight hours, and the market’s narrow
streets are filled with vendors selling fresh vegetables, giant
swordfish heads and piles of slippery sardines. That all changes as
twilight descends, when it morphs into a lively local nightspot,
packed with young people eating and drinking their way to midnight.
Try pomegranate spritzes in the central Piazza Caracciolo for
something different, or act like the locals and stick to beer.
Drinks rarely cost more than around £2.50, and you can fill up on
fried seafood, raw octopus and cheap bowls of pasta.

Unless you happen to be staying here, there’s only one reason to
visit the otherwise quite ordinary Hotel Ambasciatori on central
Via Roma – its rooftop bar. Locals keep this sky-high spot a
closely guarded secret, as it offers stunning panoramic views
across the city’s terracotta rooftops and across to the mountains
west of Palermo, bathed in pink and purple light at sunset.
Cocktails are chic, while aperitivo snacks have a loosely pan-Asian
theme, but the sight of Via Roma’s neoclassical architecture in the
golden hour is what it’s all about.

Peep through the heavy red-velvet curtains and the offbeat charm
of this tiny space will instantly appeal: the city’s creative crowd
sip smoked negronis at the bar, while students linger over card
games at the outdoor tables. The peeling green facade, wax-crusted
candelabras and rickety vintage chairs haven’t changed in years,
and the platters of complimentary aperitivo (slices of doughy
focaccia, bruschetta and aubergine-filled buns) are a tasty bonus.
On summer nights, people spill onto the street into the small
hours.