I visited all the sites in this soon-to-be inscribed WHS in May 2015. Palermo itself has 7 sites. Most have been restored and cleaned up prior to this year's WH Conference. The main landmark in Palermo and the most beautiful site for its exterior is Palermo's Cathedral. The sheer size and sculpted details on the facade, towers and rear side of the cathedral are worth a trip to Palermo alone. Yet the jewel of Palermo is the Palatine Chapel and the royal apartments with their marvelous "golden" mosaics. It is always pretty crowded and there are no chairs to sit down and stay in awe. The presbitery treasures are also of outstanding beauty as are the royal rooms housed in the Norman Palace. Another Norman palace and the third site I visited was the Zisa Palace famous for the quadri-lingual stonepiece. Just outside of the Royal Palace and the Palatine Chapel is another stonepiece but it's tri-lingual and without mosaics. After the Zisa Palace, which is quite distant from the city centre proper, is the Admiral's bridge now standing in a rather shabby urban part of Palermo but nonetheless its condition is very good. The other three sites of Palermo which are mentioned in the very detailed nomination file and worth viewing are the Church of San Cataldo (with its 3 red domes, the Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio just next to it with its minaret like bell tower and its intricate Byzantine mosaics (I visited at 08:30 and attended mass here) and the Monumental Complex of San Giovanni degli Eremiti with its 5 red domes (best viewed from the Bell tower nearby to also enjoy the best panoramic view of Palermo). I spent two nights in Palermo and then I visited Cefalu' for a day trip and Monreale for a half day trip. Cefalu' is around 80km from Palermo and it's a quaint seaside town with a lovely sandy beach and high rocky hills. The Cefalu' Cathedral is nothing special from the outside and the interior mosaics only cover the presbitery area. It reminded me a lot of Porec in Croatia. Last but not least, I visited the Monreale Cathedral. The exterior is much more elaborate and the rear exterior part of the cathedral is very similar to the Mudejar/Moorish architecture I've seen in Zaragoza. The interior mosaics are in very good condition and are the entrance and visit is free of charge and there are chairs to sit down and gaze at the mosaic masterpieces. The bookshop sells a very informative mosaic map for 1 euro just outside the church and audio guides are also available. Both in Cefalu' and in Monreale, I enjoyed visiting the cathedral inner courtyards with their ornate sculpted columns and naves. All in all, this is a great addition to Italy's extensive WH list and a true highlight of Sicily.