Palma de Mallorca is the capital of the Balearic Islands and one of the great Mediterranean cities — a place that combines the Gothic grandeur of one of the largest cathedrals in Europe (La Seu, begun 1229), the narrow lanes of the Jewish quarter (Call), the 13th-century Arab baths, the Moorish Almudaina Palace and the extraordinary collection of contemporary art (the Fundació Miró, designed by Rafael Moneo, holding 5,000 works Joan Miró bequeathed to his native island) in a compact, walkable old city of 400,000 people. Mallorca (the Balearic Islands) has a complex history: it was part of the Islamic al-Andalus (902–1229), then conquered by the Aragonese James I and settled with mainland Spanish colonists, then absorbed by the Spanish Crown; the language is Catalan (specifically Mallorquín, a Catalan variant), the cuisine is distinct from mainland Spain (ensaimada pastry, sobrassada sausage, tumbet vegetable casserole, pa amb oli bread with oil and tomato) and the island identity asserts itself through culture, language and a tourist industry that is simultaneously the island's economic engine and its greatest environmental challenge. Palma itself is regularly rated one of the world's best cities to live in — the Passeig des Born (the city's promenade), the marina with its megayachts and traditional llaut fishing boats, the terracotta-roofed old city behind the Cathedral and the 12 km of city beach at Playa de Palma make the quality-of-life argument self-evident. The Cathedral La Seu — illuminated by Antoni Gaudí's rose window above the Portal del Mirador — is visible from far out to sea and from every beach as the defining silhouette of Palma.
The Cathedral of Santa María, known locally as La Seu, was begun by James I of Aragon in 1229 after his conquest of Mallorca. It stands on the site of the main mosque of Islamic Madina Mayurqa, and building continued until 1601. It is 121 m long, and its central nave vault rises about 44 m on slender octagonal pillars, which makes it one of the tallest Gothic naves in Europe. Antoni Gaudí reworked the interior between 1904 and 1914. He moved the choir stalls out of the nave, added the unfinished wrought-iron baldachin over the altar and brought in electric lighting. In the Chapel of Sant Pere, Miquel Barceló's ceramic wall (2001–2006) of fish, fruit and loaves is a startling contemporary counterpoint. The main rose window, about 13 m across and made of 1,236 pieces of glass, throws pools of coloured light across the nave on bright mornings. On 2 February and 11 November, around 8:30 am, the sun projects the window's image beneath the rose window on the opposite wall. This is the Fiesta de la Luz, and locals queue for it. Visiting hours are Monday to Friday 10:00–17:15 (to 18:15 June–September, to 15:15 November–March) and Saturday 10:00–14:15. It is closed to visitors on Sundays. General admission is about €10 and includes the museum. From April to October a guided rooftop terraces tour costs around €20 and should be booked ahead. Insider tip: for the best view of the south façade, walk down to the Parc de la Mar at sunset, when the flying buttresses are reflected in the artificial lake. Next door is the Almudaina Palace, and a short walk leads to the Banys Àrabs and the lanes of the old quarter. Finish at Can Joan de s'Aigo (founded 1700) with an ensaïmada and almond ice cream.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePalma's Arab Baths (Banys Àrabs) date from the 10th–12th century, when the city was the Islamic Madina Mayurqa. No architect is recorded. They are the only Islamic-era building in Palma that still stands largely intact. You reach them through the courtyard of Can Serra, a former noble house at Carrer de Can Serra 7. The main attraction is the caldarium, the hot room. It is a small square room with a brick half-dome pierced by round skylights. Twelve columns hold up its horseshoe arches, and their capitals don't match because the builders took them from older Roman and Byzantine buildings. A visit takes about 20 minutes. The walled garden of palms, cacti and bougainvillea is one of the quietest places in the old town. The baths usually open daily from 9:30 to 19:00 in summer and close at 18:00 in winter. Entry costs about €3.50, and it's best to carry cash. Just west of the baths is the Call, Palma's medieval Jewish quarter. It is centred on Carrer de Monti-sion and Carrer del Call. The community was one of the most important in the Crown of Aragon until 1435, when its members were forced to convert. The Jesuit church of Monti-sion was built on the site of the old main synagogue. Look for the lintels and the narrow, crooked lanes, which still follow the medieval street plan. The descendants of the converts, known as xuetes, faced discrimination for centuries. Their silversmith trade lives on in the jewellery shops on Carrer de l'Argenteria. Insider tip: arrive right at opening, before the tour groups coming up from the cathedral. Afterwards, walk five minutes to Ca'n Joan de s'Aigo on Carrer de Can Sanç, a café founded in 1700. Order an ensaïmada with almond ice cream or a thick hot chocolate. Then go on to the Gothic cloister of the Basílica de Sant Francesc and the quiet streets of the Sa Calatrava neighbourhood.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePa amb oli is Mallorca's version of bread, tomato and olive oil, and locals treat it as a full meal rather than a starter. The base is dense, lightly salted *pa moreno* (brown bread). It is rubbed with *tomàtiga de ramellet*, a local tomato variety hung in bunches to keep through winter, then soaked in Oli de Mallorca (the island's protected-origin olive oil). A proper lunch plate adds toppings: soft, paprika-red sobrassada, Mallorcan cured ham, Mahón cheese from neighbouring Menorca, cracked green olives (*olives trencades*) and pickled sea fennel (*fonoll marí*). Expect to pay about €9–16 per plate. A glass of red wine from Binissalem, the island's main wine region, costs another €3–5. Most traditional restaurants serve lunch from about 13:00 to 16:00, and many close on Sundays, so check before you go. The best places are near Palma's two big food markets. The 1951 Mercat de l'Olivar has a counter bar where you can put together a plate from the stalls' own sobrassada and cheese. In Santa Catalina, the old fishermen's quarter west of the centre, family-run *cellers* (old wine-cellar taverns) are tucked between the newer bistros. In the old town, the lanes between Plaça Major and Carrer de Sant Miquel are a better bet than the Passeig des Born and the cathedral waterfront, where menus with photos usually mean factory bread and imported tomatoes. Insider tip: ask whether the tomatoes are *de ramellet*, and ask for bread you can rub yourself. Restaurants that take care over their pa amb oli will bring the tomato halves, the oil bottle and a salt dish to the table so you can dress the bread as Mallorcans do at home.
Passeig des Born runs over what was once the bed of Sa Riera, the seasonal stream that split medieval Palma until it was diverted outside the walls in 1613. The dry channel became the city's jousting ground, which is where the name "Born" comes from, and by the 17th century it had turned into the promenade where people came to see and be seen. Two stone sphinxes from 1833 guard the top end. Under the plane trees stand noble mansions, the best of them Casal Solleric at no. 27, a baroque palace that now holds free contemporary art exhibitions (typically Tue–Sat 11:00–14:00 and 15:30–20:00, Sun 11:00–14:30). At the top, Bar Bosch on Plaça Rei Joan Carles I has been serving the llonguet, a crusty Mallorcan roll with sobrassada or ham, for decades. Expect to pay around €5–8 and eat it on the terrace. At the lower end, cross Avinguda d'Antoni Maura to the Moll Vell and the marina. Superyachts are moored there beside the wooden llaüts, the lateen-rigged boats Mallorcan fishermen used for centuries. Just east is Parc de la Mar, laid out in 1984 over reclaimed seafront below the old walls. Its saltwater lake mirrors La Seu Cathedral (about €10 entry, Mon–Fri roughly 10:00–17:15, later in summer, Sat mornings only), and a large ceramic mural by Joan Miró faces the water. The Palau de l'Almudaina (about €7) sits between the two. Insider tip: arrive at sunrise or in the last hour before sunset. The cathedral's sandstone glows amber and the lake reflection is sharpest before the wind picks up. Stand at the lake's western corner for the full reflection. The Born is at its liveliest during the evening paseo, around 19:00–21:00. The promenade itself is open around the clock.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideVermut in Palma is a weekend ritual. Between about 12:00 and 14:30 on Saturdays and Sundays, locals crowd the bars of Sa Llotja, the old fishermen's and merchants' quarter behind the waterfront. The district takes its name from Sa Llotja, the Gothic merchants' exchange designed by Guillem Sagrera and built from 1426. Its slender spiral columns set the tone for the lanes around Plaça de la Drassana and Carrer de Sant Joan, where bodegas share the street with sandstone mansions. Order a vermut de grifo (vermouth on tap, €3–5), served over ice with a slice of orange and a green olive. For something distinctly Mallorcan, ask for palo, the bittersweet carob-and-gentian liqueur, mixed with soda water. Pair it with pa amb oli (€7–11): country bread rubbed with tomato, drizzled with olive oil and topped with jamón or local cheese. Add a plate of variats (mixed tapas) or frit mallorquí, the island's fried offal and vegetable dish. Evenings are livelier: most Sa Llotja bars open around 19:00 and stay busy until midnight or later. For something sweet, walk 15 minutes inland to Ca'n Joan de s'Aigo on Carrer de Can Sanç. Its origins go back to 1700, and it serves ensaimadas (€2–3), the spiral lard pastry dusted with icing sugar. Dip one in thick hot chocolate or eat it with almond ice cream. Opening hours are roughly 08:00–21:00, but they change with the season, so check before you go. Insider tip: ask for a lisa (plain) ensaimada first to judge the pastry, then try one with cabell d'àngel (pumpkin-strand jam). If you want to take some home, bakeries sell them in flat octagonal boxes made for carrying on the plane. Seats at the good vermut bars run out by 13:00, so arrive early or stand at the bar like the regulars.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideJoan Miró moved to Mallorca in 1956, where his mother's family came from, and worked here until he died in 1983. In 1981 he and his wife Pilar Juncosa founded this museum on their hillside estate in Cala Major, 5 km west of Palma's old town. It has three parts. The white Taller Sert (1956) was designed by his friend Josep Lluís Sert and is kept as Miró left it, with brushes, unfinished canvases and paint-splashed floors. Son Boter is an 18th-century farmhouse he bought in 1959, and he sketched full-size charcoal studies for sculptures straight onto its walls. The third part is Rafael Moneo's angular 1992 building, clad in stone and concrete, with reflecting pools and a jagged roofline. It holds the collection of about 5,000 pieces, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints and personal papers. The exhibits change regularly, so each visit is different. Opening hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10:00–19:00 from mid-May to mid-September, and 10:00–17:00 the rest of the year. Sundays and holidays 10:00–15:00. Closed Mondays. Entry is about €7.50, with a reduced rate of about €4. Entry is free on Saturday afternoons from 15:00 and on International Museum Day (18 May). Check these before you go, because they change. Start at Son Boter while your eyes are fresh. Most visitors walk past the wall drawings on their way to the main galleries. Go to the Sert studio in the morning, when light comes in through the curved ceiling as Sert intended. Cala Major is a plain residential area near Marivent, the royal summer palace. For lunch, walk ten minutes down to the seafront for grilled fish and pa amb oli, the local bread with olive oil, tomato and ham. EMT buses 3 and 46 run from Plaça d'Espanya. Miró is buried in the Cementiri de Palma, if you want to visit his grave.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBellver Castle was built between 1300 and 1311 for King James II of Mallorca, to a design by the architect Pere Salvà. It is one of the very few circular Gothic castles in Europe. It sits on a pine-covered hill 112 metres above the city. A two-storey arcaded courtyard sits at its centre, ringed by three towers set into the walls and a fourth, the free-standing keep, which is joined to the castle by a stone arch over the dry moat. The flat rooftop terrace gives the best panorama in Palma, taking in the bay, the cathedral, the port, and the Tramuntana range to the north. Inside, the city history museum traces Palma from its Talayotic and Roman beginnings to the present. The Despuig collection of classical sculpture fills the upper gallery. Look for graffiti scratched into the walls by prisoners: the castle served as a military jail for centuries, and the statesman Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos was held here from 1802 to 1808. Opening hours from April to September are Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–19:00. From October to March they are Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–18:00. On Sundays and holidays it opens 10:00–15:00 all year, and it is closed on Mondays. General admission costs €4 and reduced admission €2. Entry is free on Sundays, though some areas may have restricted access that day. Insider tip: skip the bus or taxi and walk up from Carrer de Bellver in the old El Terreno district. The shaded path through the woods takes about 25 minutes, and you'll reach the top ready for the view. Arrive at opening time for an empty rooftop, or come late on a clear afternoon to watch the light turn gold over the bay. Afterwards, walk down to Santa Catalina, 15 minutes east. Its covered market serves frit mallorquí, fresh seafood and a glass of local Binissalem wine at the counter bars.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe 27-km narrow-gauge Tren de Sóller opened on 16 April 1912 under engineer Pere Garau. It was paid for by Sóller's orange and citrus merchants, who needed a faster route to Palma than the hairpin road over the Coll de Sóller. The varnished wooden carriages still leave from Plaça d'Espanya. The ride takes about an hour, climbs into the Serra de Tramuntana (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011) and passes through 13 tunnels, the longest of them 2,876 m. There is a photo stop at the Mirador des Pujol d'en Banya before the line drops through terraced olive groves into the valley. From March to October, trains usually leave Palma from 10:10, with the last return from Sóller in the early evening. The winter timetable is reduced, so check trendesoller.com before you go. Fares are roughly €25 one way and €35 return. The 1913 tram to Port de Sóller costs about €9 per trip, cash or card, and runs roughly every 30 minutes. Sóller station is in Can Mayol, a 17th-century manor house that holds a small free exhibition of Miró and Picasso ceramics. In Plaça de sa Constitució, look up at the Modernista façade of Sant Bartomeu (1904–1912) and at the Banco de Sóller next door. Both are by Joan Rubió i Bellver, a pupil of Gaudí. Can Prunera, a Modernista villa on Carrer de sa Lluna, has period interiors (entry about €8). Order fresh orange juice or orange ice cream at Sa Fàbrica de Gelats. In the port, try the local Sóller red prawns (gamba vermella) along the seafront. Insider tip: buy a one-way train ticket and return on the TIB bus L204 through the road tunnel for under €5. It takes 35 minutes and saves both money and the afternoon queue. Going out, sit on the right-hand side for the best valley views. Avoid the 10:10 train, which cruise groups fill. If you have two spare hours, walk the old stone mule track from Sóller to the hamlet of Biniaraix and into the Barranc gorge.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePalma's cellers are old wine cellars turned into dining rooms. Celler Sa Premsa opened in 1958 in a vaulted hall on Plaça del Bisbe Berenguer de Palou and is the most atmospheric one still running. Huge oak barrels line the walls, old bullfighting posters hang between them, and waiters in white shirts serve long shared tables. Start with tumbet, Mallorca's best-known vegetable dish: layers of fried potato, aubergine and red pepper baked under tomato sauce, for about €9–12. Follow it with xot, Mallorcan lamb roasted slowly until soft, usually €18–24. Two other local dishes are worth trying: frit mallorquí, offal and vegetables fried with fennel, and sopes mallorquines, a thick soup of bread and cabbage. The wine matters as much as the food. The Binissalem DO, recognised in 1991, uses mainly the island's own Manto Negro and Callet grapes. Its reds are smooth and spicy and rarely leave Mallorca. A bottle from José L. Ferrer (founded 1931) or Macià Batle costs roughly €18–30, and a jug of house wine costs much less. Hours are usually 12:30–16:00 and 19:30–23:30, Monday to Saturday, closed on Sunday. They change with the season, so check before you go. Insider tip: arrive at 13:00, before the office workers come in, or after 21:30, once the early tourist crowd has left. Tables for small groups are hard to book, so timing matters more than planning ahead. The celler is a few minutes' walk from Plaça d'Espanya and the Mercat de l'Olivar. Spend the morning at the market's olive and sobrassada stalls, then walk over for a long lunch.
Cap de Formentor is the rocky spur at Mallorca's north-eastern end, about 90 km from Palma beyond the harbour town of Port de Pollença. The Ma-2210 runs along its ridge through Aleppo pines. The Italian engineer Antonio Parietti laid it out in the late 1920s, the same man who built the hairpins down to Sa Calobra. Stop 6 km in at the Mirador d'Es Colomer, where stone steps lead to railings above cliffs that drop 200 m to the islet of Es Colomer. A steep 20-minute climb on the other side of the road takes you to the 16th-century Talaia d'Albercutx watchtower, which has the widest view on the peninsula, over both the Bay of Pollença and the Bay of Alcúdia. Halfway along is Platja de Formentor, a narrow pine-shaded beach facing the Hotel Formentor. The Argentine Adan Diehl opened the hotel in 1929, and Churchill, Chaplin and Grace Kelly all stayed there. The road ends at the lighthouse, first lit in 1863 and 210 m above the sea. It now has a small free interpretation centre and a café, usually open about 10:00–18:00 in season. From mid-June to mid-September, private cars are banned for most of the day, typically 10:00–19:00, so check the Consell de Mallorca's current dates first. In those hours, TIB bus 353 runs from Port de Pollença and Alcúdia for about €2–3 each way. The beach car park charges around €2.50 per hour. Afterwards, eat grilled cuttlefish or fresh fish on the waterfront in Port de Pollença. Or go on to Pollença old town for tapas below the 365 Calvari steps. Insider tip: drive out before 10:00, or come back in the evening for sunset at the lighthouse. The cliffs turn copper, the tour buses have gone, and Eleonora's falcons often circle the headland.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Coves del Drac sit on the edge of Porto Cristo, the harbour town of Manacor, about 62 km east of Palma (roughly an hour's drive on the Ma-15). The French speleologist Édouard-Alfred Martel mapped the system in 1896 and found the underground lake later named after him. Lake Martel is about 177 m long and ranks among the largest underground lakes in the world. In 1935 the Catalan engineer Carles Buïgas, who also designed the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc in Barcelona, created the lighting, and the lake concerts began the same year. The guided route is about 1.2 km long and takes an hour. It passes chambers of stalactites and stalagmites at a steady 21 °C and ends in a natural amphitheatre. There a small ensemble plays classical pieces from illuminated boats that drift slowly across the dark water. Afterwards you can cross the lake by rowing boat or walk out. From mid-March to October, tours usually run every hour from 10:00 to 17:00. In winter there are fewer fixed slots, typically 10:45, 12:00, 14:00 and 15:30. Adult tickets cost around €20–22 and children's around €12–13, with a small discount for booking online. Check current times and prices on the official website before you go. Insider tip: book the first slot of the day, before the coach tours arrive. Walk steadily so you reach the lower front rows of the amphitheatre, which have the clearest view of the lake. Photography is not allowed during the concert. Porto Cristo is worth a few extra hours. Eat grilled fish or arròs brut at one of the harbour restaurants, or have a frito mallorquín at a bar in the old town. Swim at the sheltered town beach or at Cala Anguila, 3 km south. If you have time, the Coves dels Hams nearby is a smaller, quieter alternative, and Manacor's pearl workshops fit well on the drive back.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideEs Trenc has no founding year and no architect. It is a 3 km stretch of undeveloped coast in Campos municipality, about 50 km southeast of Palma. Local campaigners stopped a planned resort here in the 1970s, and in 2014 it became the Parc Natural Marítimo-Terrestre Es Trenc–Salobrar de Campos. The beach is open around the clock and entry is free. You pay only for parking: the lots at Ses Covetes and at the Es Trenc end towards Colònia de Sant Jordi charge roughly €8–10 per day in high season. A pair of sunbeds with a parasol costs about €20–25, and there are few of them, which is how it should be. The sand is fine and pale, the water shades from turquoise to deep blue over the seagrass, and the dunes are fenced to protect sea lilies and juniper. The quieter middle section has long been used by naturists. Behind the beach lie the Salines d'Es Trenc salt pans, where Flor de Sal d'Es Trenc harvests salt by hand; its shop sells herb-flavoured salts. Further inland, the Salobrar de Campos wetland draws herons, stilts and, in some seasons, flamingos. There are only a few simple beach bars, so for lunch drive 10 minutes to Colònia de Sant Jordi, a working fishing village with seafront restaurants serving grilled catch of the day and arròs brut. Boats also leave there for Cabrera National Park. Insider tip: park at Colònia de Sant Jordi and walk the coastal path north past Platja des Carbó. You arrive at the southern end on foot, skip the queues at the car park and find the emptiest sand. In July and August arrive before 10:00, bring your own shade and use insect repellent near the salt flats at dusk. September and early October have warm water and half the crowds. In spring the shoreline can carry banks of dried Posidonia seagrass. It is protected, and it is part of why the water stays so clear.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideClose out your last evening in Palma where the old town opens onto the Passeig des Born. The promenade was laid out over a filled-in torrent bed and was used for jousting in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today it is a plane-tree boulevard framed by the 1833 Font de les Tortugues obelisk and the Palau Solleric, and it's the city's favourite spot for an evening walk. Start with Mallorca's two most emblematic flavours. For the ensaimada, walk five minutes east to Ca'n Joan de s'Aigo (Carrer de Can Sanç 10). It was founded in 1700 and is Palma's oldest café, with tiled floors and marble tables. It's open daily from about 8:00 to 21:00. A plain ensaimada lisa costs around €2.50–3. Pair it with the thick hot chocolate (roughly €3) or the house almond ice cream. The spiral is made from lard (saïm, which gives the pastry its name), and it's been recorded on the island since at least the 17th century. Its Sephardic origin is still debated. To take one home, Forn des Teatre on Plaça Weyler sells them in the traditional hexagonal box behind its modernista shopfront. Plain ones run about €12–25 depending on size, and cabello de ángel (pumpkin-strand) filling costs a few euros more. For the digestif, order Hierbas de Mallorca at a terrace on the Born or in nearby Plaça de la Reina. A glass costs about €3–5. It's an anise-based liqueur macerated with local herbs such as fennel, rosemary, lemon verbena and camomile. It comes in three styles: dulces (sweet), secas (dry) and mezcladas (half-and-half). Locals usually drink mezcladas over ice. Tunel, distilled in Mallorca since the late 19th century, is the benchmark brand. Insider tip: buy your boxed ensaimada the morning you fly, not the night before, and ask for it in a sealed bag. Airlines allow it as hand luggage, and Palma airport prices are almost double. Also check that it's made with real saïm and carries the "Ensaïmada de Mallorca" protected-origin label.
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