Step into the golden chapel of Sicily's Norman kings — a shimmering fusion of Byzantine mosaics, an Arab honeycomb ceiling and Latin devotion. We secure your dated entry so you walk straight in.
Book your entryAges 26–64
€31
EU citizens aged 18–25 (photo ID at entry)
€28
Teachers on a permanent contract in the EU (proof at entry)
€28
EU citizens 65+ (ID at entry)
€26
Ages 14–17
€21
High on the first floor of the Palazzo dei Normanni, the Cappella Palatina is the private chapel the Norman kings of Sicily built for themselves — and nearly nine centuries later it still stops visitors in their tracks. Every surface above head height glows: gold-ground Byzantine mosaics climb the walls and vaults, a Christ Pantocrator gazes down from the dome and again from the apse, and overhead spreads a wooden honeycomb ceiling carved and painted by Muslim craftsmen. It is one of the most complete surviving expressions of the culture that flourished in twelfth-century Sicily, where Greek, Arab and Latin worlds met under one crown.
King Roger II began the chapel in 1132 and it was consecrated in 1140, with the mosaic decoration carried out over the following decades. The result is a single, harmonious space that shouldn't work and yet does: a Latin basilica plan, Byzantine iconography executed by Greek mosaicists, and a muqarnas ceiling drawn straight from the Islamic architecture of North Africa and the Middle East. In 2015 the chapel, together with the wider Arab-Norman monuments of Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The chapel sits within the Palazzo dei Normanni — the oldest royal residence in Europe, raised on Punic and Roman foundations, expanded by Arab and then Norman rulers, and today the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly. From Thursday to Monday a visit takes in the chapel and the Royal Apartments upstairs, including the Sala di Ruggero with its rare secular mosaics of hunters, peacocks and leopards among the trees. On Tuesday and Wednesday the apartments are closed and the visit is the chapel and the Royal Gardens only.
We are a concierge service: you choose your visit date, we arrange and secure the entry ticket on your behalf, and it arrives in your inbox ready to show at the entrance. No queuing at the box office, no wrestling with an unfamiliar booking site — just your ticket, in English, in your email.
We are an independent concierge and booking service for travellers visiting the Cappella Palatina and the Palazzo dei Normanni. We are not the monument, its administration or an official box office; we arrange your dated entry ticket on your behalf and deliver it by email for a service fee. We confirm your dated entry before your visit.
Plan your visit
A complete guide to booking the Palatine Chapel inside Palermo's Palazzo dei Normanni — ticket tiers, our prices, the opening quirks that catch visitors out, and dated concierge entry.
A practical, day-by-day guide to visiting Palermo's golden royal chapel — opening hours, the quietest times, how long to allow, and how to get there.
How Roger II fused Byzantine gold, Islamic honeycomb woodwork and Latin design into a single dazzling royal chapel — and how to read every detail on your visit.
From Thursday to Monday: entry to the Cappella Palatina and the Palazzo dei Normanni circuit — the Royal Apartments, the Royal Gardens, the permanent exhibition and the archaeological area. On Tuesday and Wednesday the Royal Apartments are closed and entry covers the Cappella Palatina and the Royal Gardens only. We book it for your chosen date and email it to you.
No. The Royal Apartments, including the Sala di Ruggero, open Thursday to Monday only. On Tuesday and Wednesday they are closed and the visit is the Cappella Palatina and the Royal Gardens only — the rest of the circuit is not included. Our price is the same whichever day you choose, so pick a Thursday-to-Monday date if the apartments matter to you.
Yes. Entry runs in one-hour slots across the day, and your ticket is booked for the slot you choose, so pick the window that suits your plans. Arrive at the start of it and you can then stay as long as you like. The first slots of the morning and the last of the afternoon are the quietest — the mid-morning ones fill with coach groups.
On Sundays and religious holidays the chapel closes to visitors for Mass from about 09:30 to 11:30, and overall hours are shorter, with last admission around midday. If you're visiting on a Sunday, aim for early morning or just after Mass.
Children under 13 enter free but must be accompanied by a paying adult. For ages 14–17 choose the Youth ticket. Please carry proof of age at the entrance.
Reduced entry is for EU citizens aged 18–25 and for teachers; the senior price is for EU citizens aged 65 and over. Bring valid photo ID or proof — it is checked at the entrance.
After you book, our team arranges your dated entry and emails it to you, usually well before your visit. You show it at the entrance on your chosen day.
The Cappella Palatina is a consecrated chapel, so modest dress that covers shoulders and knees is expected, along with quiet inside. Flash photography, tripods and selfie sticks are not permitted.