It’s autumn — but if you hurry to Palermo, the capital of Sicily, you can wallow in unusual conditions that improve your mind and your tan at the same time. The frenetic streets of this history-soaked, deeply cultural city cool to pleasant levels at summer’s end, and yet nearby sandy beaches are still warm enough for swimming throughout November.

Your only trouble is choice. The tourist map of Palermo shows the best churches, palazzi, castles and sights in little red blobs — so many that it looks like urban acne. But it’s all walkable and easily navigated; you must simply remember that the two grand highways, Corso Vittorio Emanuele and the Via Maqueda, intersect at the Quattro Canti, dead centre of the old town. Find this point, then off you go.

Architecture reflects Arab and Norman control, with much 16th and 17th-century rebuilding and countless achingly atmospheric small stone streets, all humming to the tune of honking cars and Sicilian bustle.

Contrast the cathedral’s hugely ornate exterior carvings with the awesome mosaics of the Capella Palatina, a quiet royal chapel in the Palazzo dei Normanni. A £2 guided trip around the Teatro Massimo is an eye-goggling pleasure, too (ask your guide to throw in an English translation; they will).

There are also countless Baroque churches and ancient palaces, but when cool culture pales simply hop on an 806 bus outside the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (buy a ticket from the green booth on the Viale della Liberta corner before boarding) and head 30 minutes to Mondello Beach: perfect sand, sweet town, regular return buses.

WHAT ELSE?

The art gallery in the Teatro Politeama Garibaldi is crammed with beautiful works including old Palermo views (9am-8pm Tuesday-Saturday; £2.50). A trip to the mosaic-strewn cathedral at hillside Monreale, 8km (5 miles) southwest, is also grand. Catch a 309 or 389 bus from Piazza dell’Indipendenza (pre-purchase tickets).

WHERE TO STAY

The Principe Di Villafranca (00 39 091 611 8523, www.principedivillafranca.it) is a quiet, beautifully decorated and efficient hotel close to Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (where the airport bus drops you off). Doubles from £128. The family-run Hotel Letizia (589110, www.hotelletizia.com) sits cosily in a quiet old town square and has lovely rooms; doubles from £60.

Or you could think more daringly. The Villafranca, and similar Palermo hotels, can be booked by the tailor-made breaks specialist ThinkSicily. It also offers unusual self-catering: for example in La Casa Cuba, built alongside a 12th-century monumental castle, and B&B in an ancient palace (the Palazzo Conte Federico), hosted by a count, doubles £235 a night. Cars, guides, special trips also organised, including airport pick-up: 020-7377 8518, www.thinksicily.com.

FOOD AND FUN

One of the best restaurants in Palermo, Acanto Blu (10 Via Torrearsa, 320444), lies in a perfect, shady courtyard in nondescript streets within northern “new” town (near Teatro Politeama Garibaldi). Four courses cost about £18 plus wine.

Alternatively, head for Piazza Marina, near La Cala (the old port), where a cluster of three restaurants are all pretty good. Try La Cambusa — great curly-fresh fish stored on ice sheets (584574).

An aperitif? Kursaal Kalhesa (Foro Umberto 1; 616 2111) is a fabulous vaulting stone building on the coast road, also near La Cala, which combines a bookshop with a stylish cocktail bar and a restaurant upstairs. It is pricey but huge fun.

NEED TO KNOW

Ryanair (0871 2460000, www.ryanair.com) flies daily from Stansted to Palermo from £100.65 return.

An airport bus (£3.50, pay on board) runs into Palermo every half hour, taking 45 minutes; returning at quarter to and quarter past each hour, pick-up at Central Station and Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (from opposite modern art museum entrance).

Italian State Tourist Board (020-7408 1254, www.enit.it). Also www.sicily.infcom.it and www.palermotourism.com.

NICHOLAS ROE