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Bars and Nightlife
The strangest thing about Palermo’s fast lifestyle is that it virtually stops at around 8pm. Apart from a perfunctory passeggiata between the Teatro Massimo and Piazza Castelnuovo, in most areas everything is quiet outside after dark. In summer, most young people head for Mondello , and buses run there and back all night. Still, for an outdoor, early-evening drink , Via Principe di Belmonte is a good spot - closed to traffic, and with several favourite places - for coffees and beers. Evening crowds also congregate at the nearby Bottiglieria del Mássimo , a wine bar with pavement seating at Via Spinuzza 59, and, at the bottom of this street, in the bars on Piazza Olivella, opposite the archeological museum; all of these remain open until late. For a refreshing non-alcoholic drink on the hoof, the stand-up Pinguino at Via Ruggero Séttimo 86 serves famous milkshakes and a range of non-alcoholic cocktails, and also has excellent cover cream (closed Mon). If it’s discos and video bars you’re after, what exists is all in the new, northern section of the city, along Viale Strasburgo, or along Via Generale Arimondi (beyond the Giardino Inglese). Otherwise, there are cinemas on Via Cavour and Via E. Amari, and, on Mondays (winter only), English-language films at the Fiamma Cinema, Largo Abeti 3, on the corner of Via Libertà and Via Notarbártolo (tel 091.625.1868).
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