Palermo makes more sense from above. On this four-hour walk you climb three times: the dome of Santissimo Salvatore on the Cassaro, the tower of San Giuseppe Cafasso in the Albergheria, and the majolica dome of the Carmine Maggiore above Ballarò market. From up there you see the Conca d'Oro, Monte Pellegrino, the red domes of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, and the concrete blocks of the 1960s standing next to Baroque churches: the whole story of the city in one view.

Between the climbs you walk about 4.5 km through the historic centre: the Vucciria and Quattro Canti, the Cathedral seen from its quieter back, the Royal Palace gardens, the alleys of the Albergheria with their murals, Ballarò and its flea market, Casa Professa, Piazza Bellini, the Kalsa with TVBoy's Falcone and Borsellino, and Piazza Marina with its giant ficus trees. Eighteen stops in all. Your host lives in Palermo and talks about it as it is now: the beauty, the decay, the Sack of Palermo, the neighbourhoods that are coming back.

A few honest notes. The domes and terraces belong to churches and open when the churches do: if one is closed on the day, we climb elsewhere (the Cathedral rooftops, Santa Caterina's terraces) and the walk stays four hours. Entrance tickets are not included: budget around 3 to 13 euros per climb, paid in cash at the door. There is no food on this tour; your host will tell you where to eat afterwards. And there are a lot of stairs.