About Mallorca

10 things to do and see in Mallorca

There is so much to do in Mallorca... Begoña Márquez has 10 suggestions for you.

Palma Cathedral • all photos © Begoña Márquez

1. Visit some of its wonderful monuments

Palma is a wonderful city in which to just wander around, but it also has a number of monuments that you should be sure to visit.

The gothic Cathedral (picture, above) with its stained-glass windows is the best known landmark of the city. The cathedral dominates the waterfront and backs onto the oldest part of the city where churches of medieval, gothic and baroque periods are found along with Renaissance style buildings (like the City Hall) and stately homes with beautiful patios. The maze of streets at the back of the cathedral leads to the beautiful Banys Àrabs, the old Moorish bath house which is worth a visit.

The Palau de l'Almudaina stands opposite the cathedral entrance. L'Almudaina used to be the palace of the Moorish governors and later of the Mallorcan Kings.

The Castell de Bellver (the Castle of Bellver) is a beautiful well-preserved fortress dating back to the 14th century. It is located west of the city centre, on the top of a wooded hill and has spectacular views over Palma Bay.

2. Take a tour around old Palma

The Conselleria de Turisme of the Govern de les Illes Balears (Council of Tourism of the Balearic Government) runs four guided tours through the old quarter of Palma: Palma and the sea, the Jewish Quarter, The “las Capuchinas” Convent and Modernist Palma.

In addition, the Ajuntament (city Council) offers a tour around some of Palma's most impressive patios. The patios – courtyards of the stately homes of the old quarter (see image, above) - were central to city life during the 16th and 18th centuries.

Both the Ruta dels patis (courtyard route) and the four Govern itineraries offered are a fascinating, beautiful way of walking back through the history of Palma.

3. Join the fiesta

Apart from the festivities shared with the rest of Spain such as Holy Week or Christmas, Mallorca has its own. Although each festival is different, they all have music, dancing, traditional costume and, in many cases, bonfires or fireworks.

On the 19th January, Palma celebrates the Revetlla de Sant Sebastià (the patron saint of Palma) by lighting foguerons (bonfires), grilling meat on them and then going from square to square listening to and dancing with the different bands playing (pictured, above).

Sa Rua (carnival) takes place in February with big fancy dress parades along the main streets of Palma.

Sant Joan, on 23rd June, celebrates the coming of summer with bonfires on the beach or fireworks and dimonis (people dressed up as the devil) in the city.

Both Port de Sóller and Pollença have mock battles between Moors and Christians to commemorate the victory of Mallorcans over the Moor pirates who attacked these towns in the 16th Century.

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