“Without Sicily, Italy creates no image in the soul: here is the key to everything. – Goethe

Ciao from the heart of Palermo! It only takes a few minutes in this ancient city to feel the energetic pulse radiating in every direction. Palermo’s historical center offers a rich, year-round calendar of bustling activity. It’s sensory overload and I love it, but if you like to travel to quiet and pristine places, this cultural melting pot, overflowing with street food markets, restaurants, bars and nightlife, might not be not the place for you.

At all hours of the day and well into the Palermo night, you are surrounded by the bustle of Sicilians going about their daily lives—grabbing expressos, chatting with friends, hanging laundry, calling out to neighbors, playing loud music, shushing crying babies, and serving up fried fish and other street treats at one of the many local markets. Ambulances constantly rush by with their deafening sirens, dogs are barking, cars whizz by, honking their horns—crossing the street here is scary!

And it’s not only Sicilians—foreign languages can be heard everywhere. People from all over the world come to enjoy what feels like a 24-hour street carnival; a lively, gritty, graffiti-laced city. Even Mondello, the seaside area of Palermo, is an energetic place with its beautiful palm tree-bordered sandy beach, lined with water sport rentals and plenty of street food markets to satisfy the summertime crowds.

Sure, there are quiet spots to be found: churches, palaces, cathedrals, gardens and the outlying residential streets. But Palermo is not the place to go if you’re looking for calmness and serenity. This is a place for fun and excitement. So pack your dancing shoes and book your flight to this vibrant, chaotic and totally fascinating old town.