Salemi FAQs: What Is It Actually Like to Live in Salemi?
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Please note that most of the answers below specifically refer to the Salemi Historical Centre. Many other services are available within a 2-3 minute drive.
Good news! Salemi is a great place to live
When people consider moving to a place like Salemi, it is hard for them to imagine what these towns are actually like. After all, Salemi is one of the pioneers of the 1 Euro Home movement. Is the town collapsing? Is it dead?
This is a fair question. And while there are a lot of towns in Sicily that are past the point of recovery, Salemi is not one of these towns. Sure, if you visit at the wrong time - such as during siesta, or on a Monday morning - Salemi feels completely dead.
But if you visit when the shops are open and people are going about their daily lives, you will find that there is a lot of life here in this town of over 10,000 people.
How Do I Get to Salemi?
To get to Salemi, you have three options:
- Take a bus with Autoservizi Salemi.
You can get buses from the airport but you should know that these services are not frequent. On most days, only one or two departures leave from Palermo. Yes, they're bookable online.
(Warning! A very common mistake is for people to a book a bus that stops at Salemi-Gibellina railway station. This is NOT Salemi - in fact, it is located 1hr45 minutes walk away, in the town of Gibellina - and taxi services are not readily available.)
- Rent a Car
There are many affordable options at the airports.
- Bring Your Car
For longer stays, it's a good idea to bring your car if feasible. There are many destinations from which car ferries depart to bring your car to Palermo - including from Genoa and Livorno in Northern Italy.
Where is the Old Town?
The red circle below pretty much perfectly encapsulates the old town of Salemi. And while the map looks quite confusing, the town is actually quite easy to navigate in a round circuit.
What is the Weather Like?
Winter: While winter isn't fun pretty much anywhere, Salemi's winter is more bearable than most. While you'll get your fair share of rain, wind and clouds, you'll also enjoy many pleasant mornings and afternoons of sunshine.
Spring: Spring is probably the best time to be in Salemi, in terms of weather. There are multiple festivals at this time and the wildflowers are gorgeous. However, one must contend with the Scirocco from time to time, a wind that blows up from Northern Africa. The Scirocco brings dust and grit, and clouds the sky. The Scirocco most commonly happens during Spring, and lasts a few days.
Summer: Summer is when Salemi is most alive. People come out of their caves, businesses are open, and businesses are buzzing. The drawback is that it can get quite hot at times, especially if there's a heat-wave. But if you embrace the local siesta culture (and flick on the air-conditioning), you'll be fine.
Autumn: There is a noticeable drop-off in activity as the town heads from September to October and towards winter.
What is Within Walking Distance? Will I Need A Car?
Pretty much everything you need during a short stay is either in the old town, or available within 800m walking distance of the old town.
A stay of one week is perfectly achievable without a car. Two weeks is achievable if you're happy not to go for any excursions, but for any stay longer than this, you will start to feel a bit trapped. While bus services do exist, they're not frequent.
What are the Locals Like?
In general, Salemi is a warm and friendly town. The locals are accustomed to foreigners, but are also not so accustomed that they've lost their patience. Overall, you'll find it to be a friendly, authentic atmosphere - unlike Erice, for example, which is friendly but has been swallowed whole by the tourism monster.
Can I Buy Online? How do I Receive Deliveries?
Did you know Italy has Amazon Prime? One of the pleasant surprises of living in this area is that it's within the Amazon Prime coverage zone, making it easy to receive deliberies.
Cafes and Bars
In Italy, 'bar' means something different to what you'd expect in other countries. In order to be clear, we'll make a distinction between espresso bars and wine bars.
Close to the historical centre, there are quite a few espresso bars, but within the centre, there are just two: Bar Extra and Bar Tazze Pazze.
We are all very frequent customers of both - and love them!
For those who want a wine or a beer, Kuddura (above) and U'Tocco are good options. They are open during the whole summer, but less so in spring/autumn and not at all during winter.
Bar Tazze Pazze (below) also serves as a wine bar in the evenings.
There is also a craft brewery - Picara - located roughly 1.5km away. The beer here is genuinely good and worth the visit.
Groceries and Supermarkets
Salemi has a bunch of fruit shops, bakeries, and butchers that are located right either within, or right on top of, the old town.
One of our favourites is Pane & Putia,who sell bread loaves and condiments for cooking. They'll also do up a lovely panino using premium ingredients for roughly 5 Euros.
In terms of supermarkets, Conad City is located very close to the old town. Another, located a bit further away is Deco Supermarkets. This one is walkable if you're willing to carry bags for 15 minutes; otherwise it's a 2 minute drive.
Salemi constantly takes you by surprise in this way. It feels a lot quieter than it actually is.
Eating Out
One of Salemi's big weaknesses is the lack of decent restaurants within walking distance.
Eating Out
Eating snacks is always a good option Bar Extra, Tazze Pazze or Pane e Putia.
However, for a proper meal, there are two options - Palazzo Monroy (recently opened), which offers fancy pizza, and Kuddura, which offers bar-style food.
Within a short driving distance, there is a good selection of pizza/pasta joints, but you should also consider American BBQ Fusion if you're looking for something a bit different from your standard Itlaian.
Take Away
Jolly Pizza offers decent pizza and never seems to close. The staff are friendly and the pizzas are good value.
Burger House offers burgers and pizzas.
Then there is the famous - yet seemingly nameless - rotisserie chicken place. Do you like rotisserie chicken? There is a place on Via Amendola that doesn't have any sign out the front but you can get some amazing chicken and hot chips there.
You can walk past it 100 times and have no idea that they sell chicken inside, as the blinds block the view. However, ask around and you'll find it. (Otherwise, the smell coming out the front can do the job!)
Beauty & Health
Hair:
For both men and women, Salemi has no shortage of options for a good hair cut.
For reasons we don't know, most of them don't have Google Maps listings - but you can find them easily.
Pharmacies:
There are three working pharmacies within walking distance of the old town.
Hospital:
Possibly one of the biggest comforts of choosing this town is knowing that there is a fully functional, major regional hospital right here in Salemi.
Gyms and Exercise
Right next to the old town, there is a gym called 'Encierro Training Lab', which offers personal training sessions for 25E and monthly memberships for 50E. (Prices may have changed since we last checked).
The gym is brand new, with excellent equipment and a great atmosphere.
Other exercise classes can also be found in the area, and Gibellina (a town nearby) also has a decent gym.
Banks & Utilities
There are multiple banks and ATM machines in the old town, all easily accessible.
A post office is also available.
The Views
Salemi, like all towns and cities in Sicily, has areas that are significantly run down. The old town has ruins dotted around it that are easily found.
However, the town itself is beautiful and charming. Here are a few photos:
