Our first stop in Mallorca was Palma de Mallorca, the main city, port, cruise ship and tourist hub on the island. Palma has a lovely old quarter with a classic Gothic cathedral, old city walls, a wonderful bike path running along the harbor for about 9 miles and sandy beaches within a short distance. Visiting the Palma area alone could be great one-stop vacation since it has so much to offer.
We used Palma as our base for exploring not only the town, but also the western part of the island, which worked out great. We didn’t spend time on the beaches right near Palma simply because much of the rest of our visit around the island was going to be focused on exploring and relaxing on a variety of Mallorca’s many beaches.
Listed below are a few key sights in Palma.
Palma’s Old Quarter and Cathedral
While Palma is a big city, like most European cities the old town is compact and very easy to access. The “Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca” is the postcard image of Palma, with a stunning setting on Palma’s beautiful harbor.
Bellver Castle
This is an interesting 14th century castle located on the western edge of central Palma, with its unique circular construction it is the only existing castle in Spain with this shape. The castle has served as a royal palace and a prison. There are few castles in Mallorca and Bellver Castle is by far the grandest.
Arab Baths (Banys Arab)
Not far from the Cathedral are the 10th century Arab Baths, believed to be part of wealthy person’s home in the original Moorish city that was the foundation of Palma. Although small, they are definitely worth a visit. It’s interesting (and fortunate) that these baths have survived so long in central Palma, as they are above ground and right in the heart of the old town. To get here, we just walked there by following the signs on the sides of the buildings on the narrow streets east of the Cathedral. We made a couple wrong turns, but found the Baths without much difficulty.
Melia Palma Bay Hotel
We stayed at the Meliá Palma Bay hotel, just a few minutes from the old town and across the street from the beach and biking path.
Here are a couple photos taken from the rooftop pool and lounge area. The hotel also has a bicycle rental shop, which I highly recommend. It was fun biking along the path right next to the beach.
In our next post, we’ll explore the north/west coast of Mallorca.