Visiting Palma Mallorca Spain

Top Sights in Palma de Mallorca, Spain

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.

View of cruise ships in Palma de Mallorca’s harbor.
Location of Palma on Mallorca.

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.

Palma’s 13th century Gothic Cathedral is an iconic landmark, visible from many locations around the city and bay.
Views from the rooftop of Palma’s Cathedral – definitely worth a visit.
Interior views of Palma’s Cathedral. the chandelier over the altar in the center image is the work of Gaudi from the late 1800’s.
The Royal Palace of La Almudaina, which dates back to the 14th century, is the official residence of the King and Queen during their stays in Mallorca. The palace is next to the Cathedral and may be visited.
There are massive walls on the seafront of Palma’s old town. The Cathedral is in the distance.
Views of Palma’s old town, which boasts some beautiful architecture.

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.

This view of Bellver Castle demonstrates its circular shape.
You get a fantastic view of central Palma from the rooftop of Bellver Castle.
Other exterior views of Bellver Castle.
The castle’s interior has some historical displays and the large courtyard is used for various performances.

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.

The exterior of the Arab Baths, believed to be part of a noble person’s residence 1,000 years ago.
Interior of the Baths. The columns are believed to have been “recycled” from Roman-era buildings. These baths used the same engineering principles as Roman-era baths.
Other views of the Baths.
One of my favorite images of the Baths.
The small Bishop’s Museum (Museu Diocesà) is in the 13th century Bishop’s Palace behind the Cathedral and also near the Arab Baths. It is worth a visit. The Cathedral ticket covers the entrance fee for this museum as well. The image shown is an amazing wooden mural containing scenes from Christ’s life.
One can never pass up the amazing gelato available in Palma and many other places on Mallorca!

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.

The Melia Palma Hotel has a great setting, right next to the beach, with views of the city, bay and cruise ship port. The pool was an enjoyable, relaxing experience at the end of a good day of touring this beautiful island.

In our next post, we’ll explore the north/west coast of Mallorca.