In August, Delta Vacations ran a two-for-one sale where I was able to use some of my stash of Delta SkyMiles for two cents per SkyMile instead of one. That made 58,000 SkyMiles worth $1,160 towards airfare from New York to Palermo plus four nights hotel stay. I knew I wanted to go to Europe and I knew I wanted a warmer climate, so I picked one of the most southern spots for my January trip. Palermo's international airport is served by Alitalia through Rome and Milan and as a partner of Delta, I was able to earn back some of those Delta miles on my Alitalia flights. The airport is not too far from downtown Palermo with train, bus and taxi service. I would recommend the bus for only €6. Palermo does have a metro system but it was never where I needed to be, so most of my time was walking. It's an easy walking city as the historic district is quite flat. Of course, many of the streets are cobblestoned and many of the pavements (sidewalks) are not suitable for wheelchairs or those who might have mobility concerns. I'd not really recommend Palermo for you if you do. Other than a day trip to Erice and Trapani, I spent my time in the historic district where everyone spoke enough English to get by. The restaurants have English and Italian menus so I had no trouble ordering food, beer or wine. And the food was *fabulous*. Only downsides are that some of the places I tried to visit were not open despite their posted hours. I was only able to visit one art museum and did not get to others. The Teatro Masssimo and the Cathedral are impressive and should be toured. There are some homeless and some beggars but not many. I certainly did not see any crime and there was a good presence of various branches of marked law enforcement on patrol, including city police and carabinieri. They could do better with more vehicle barricades in the pedestrian areas. Americans will do well in Palermo. I had a grand time and can say that I'm a fan of the city! [Review 12849 overall, 164 of 2020.] read more

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