Palma de Mallorca is a fabled city. Walking the labyrinthine streets, into pretty squares, you can almost sense its epic, often violent history. The capital of the Balearic Islands sits on a wide bay overlooking the waters of the western Mediterranean. Its entire history is bound to the ocean and the waves of conquest that have swept over it. Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians, Byzantines, Moors and medieval Christian kingdoms all called it home and enriched its culture.
Those earlier waves are dwarfed by the volume of tourists that wash over the town and island today. Almost 16 million people visited in 2024, and they too are leaving an imprint on the culture of the town. Some 4 million came from Germany, 2 million from the UK, another 2 million from other northern European countries. Tourist numbers have broken records for the last few years.
In the streets, we heard German, English and French spoken far more often than Spanish. It’s like nowhere else I have ever been in Spain, and northern habits are rubbing off on local customs. Many places were closed for the winter, but tapas bars were hard to find. Those we found were often reserved or had queues outside. The tapas bar is essentially a democratic institution, free of privatisation through reservations. Restaurants served dinner early and closed early.
Add to this the number of northern Europeans who have bought property and land and live here, and no wonder more than 50,000 Mallorcans took part in protests in Palma last summer. The crush of tourism may be the reason this is the only place in Spain where I almost got pickpocketed. A fake ‘husband and wife’ combo pretending to be tourists followed me around and very nearly got my wallet.
Despite this weirdness, it is a lovely town and we had a great time. Although, I’m glad that we stayed in the barrio of Santa Catalina. The historic centre felt semi-abandoned after 9pm, while Santa Catalina buzzed with life until late. We arrived in Palma late on a Friday night, and once in Santa Catalina found a little restaurant serving tasty roast lamb, which was accompanied by a few glasses of local wine.
We woke the following day to blue skies and warm temperatures to discover that Santa Catalina’s covered market was across the street. We window-shopped around food stalls selling fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, bread and meat before picking one of the many stalls that serve food for breakfast. It’s an interesting place to do a bit of people watching, locals doing food shopping mingle with camera-wielding tourists.
Fortified with good coffee and pan con tomate, we had only one destination in mind, Palma’s majestic cathedral. The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma dominates the waterfront of the ancient city. It’s the most iconic building on the island, and utterly stunning at sunset reflected in the still waters of the Parc de la Mar. The area around the cathedral and adjacent Palace of La Almudaina, was one we returned to several times.
Started under King James I of Aragon in 1229 after the capture of the island from the Moors, the cathedral, or La Seu as it is known, was only finished in 1601. The view from La Seu over the ocean is magnificent. From here we dived into the densely packed streets of the old town and strolled around streets lined with medieval houses and centuries-old churches.
It is a place that rewards wandering without much of a sense of where you’re going. The narrow streets often give way to pretty squares and, while the historic centre isn’t big the warren of streets could take days to explore fully. Away from the tourist areas near the cathedral, the streets could be quiet and empty. At night they were often deserted, the only sound the echo of our footsteps. It was quite magical.
