Palermo is not the world's most child-friendly city. Because of roaring, dangerous traffic, it is difficult to walk the city's streets, especially the narrow ones, without constantly keeping an eye out for your bambini.
There is one attraction that kids adore in Palermo, however, and that's the Museo Internazionale delle Marionette (International Puppet Museum). Sicilians call their famous puppets pupi, and they are really works of folkloric art. Puppet shows are staged here on Fridays between 5 and 6pm, and they are a delight, the finest in Europe. See if you can time your visit to see a show. Puppet shows are also presented at Opera dei Pupi, Via Bara all'Olivella 52 (tel. 091-3233400; bus: 101 or 122), and at Teatro Ippogrifo, Vicolo Ragusi 4 (tel. 091-329194; bus: 225). Shows, costing from 5€ to 6€ per ticket, are staged daily from 6 to 7pm, September through June only.
Each family who visits Palermo has to decide whether to take children to the Catacombe dei Cappuccini, where mummified bodies and skeletons of some 8,000 Palermitans are on view. Young children in particular may be frightened by these ghoulish sights, including a baby girl who died in 1920 at the age of two, her corpse amazingly lifelike even today.
Away from the traffic, noise, and pollution of Palermo, the city's public parks are refreshing interludes for families. Especially inviting is the landscaped oasis of the Orto Botanico, or botanical gardens.
Another delight for families is a trip up to Monte Pellegrino, a mountain that looms over north Palermo. With its greenery and parkland, the 600m (2,000-ft.) mountain evokes Yosemite. Keep in mind that the park is likely to be crowded on Sundays with Sicilian families who come to escape Palermo's smog.
Finally, if you're in Palermo on a summer day, you might want to escape the city altogether and head for Mondello Lido, with its long, sandy beaches. Even on a summer night, this is the place to be, as many families can be seen walking along the water and ducking into one of the pizzerie when the kids get hungry.
