Jan
10
Palma de Majorca Holiday & Sightseeing Guide
Filed Under Spain
A trip to Palma de Majorca
Palma is situated at Majorca’s southern tip and is the seat of the Balearic Islands’ government, as well as being the centre for major hotels, restaurants and the busy nightlife scene. Originally settled by the Moors, Palma was built in the style of a walled city, or casbah. This is a major destination for tourists from northern Europe and has been popular for decades.
Flights to Palma de Majorca
Palma’s airport - Son Sant Joan – handles more than 22 million passengers annually and is an Air Berlin hub. More commonly known as Palma de Mallorca Airport, it is Spain’s third largest air facility, and, during the summer season, one of the busiest airports in Europe. If you are looking for a cheap flight to Palma de Majorca try Expedia.
It’s quite easy to get around the Old Town and the Paseo by foot. To explore other parts of Palma, you’ll probably want to take advantage of the public bus service or a taxi. To venture farther out on the island, buses or hire cars are the only real options.
Sightseeing in Palma de Majorca
The Almudaina Palace at one time was an Arab fortress, but became a royal residence when the island was conquered by King James in the 14th century. Another highlight is the Palma de Majorca Cathedral, primarily Gothic in style, which was erected on top of the walls of the ancient city.
East of the cathedral, you’ll come across the Arab Baths; dating from the 10th century, the baths are tucked away on a small side street and surrounded by well-kept gardens. Spain’s only circular-shaped castle, the Castell de Bellver, is also in the area. Built in 1309, it was originally a summer residence for the royals, and later was converted for use as a prison.
Fun by night – eating drinking and partying
There’s no shortage of bars or dance clubs in Palma. There’s also no shortage of hangouts in the north of the island – but it’s Palma that’s the core of the serious night scene. The city is also a cultural centre, offering up an excellent variety of entertainment options – including cinema, opera, live theatre and rock concerts.
The majority of restaurants are clustered around the cathedral in the old town – as are most bars of interest to tourists. You’ll find foods from around the world available here, but give Majorcan cuisine a try! The most typical local dish - found on every menu - is lomo, or pork loin. Lomo con col is a style of preparation in which the pork is wrapped in cabbage leaves, and served with a tasty sauce of tomatoes, bay leaf, grapes and pine nuts. Another favourite is a local sausage, called sabrosada, made with pure pork and red peppers. If you like soup, try the sopas mallorquinas - a soup with mixed greens and olive oil that’s thickened with bread.
Fun by day - shopping and activities
In particular, elegant leather goods, fine jewellery, Majorcan pearls and needlework are the items to be on the lookout for in Palma. The best shopping is found on and around Carrer Platería, Carrer Sindicato, Jaume II, Jaume III, Passeig des Borne, San Miguel and Vía Roman. If you’re looking for a colourful local market, try the Mercat Artesanal on the Plaça Major.
Daytrips
Marineland features sea lion and dolphin shows and there are several aquariums where all sorts of goodies can be seen, including sharks and exotic fish. There is also a reptile zoo onsite with a number of huge snakes and crocodiles, and other scary creatures. Marineland is 10 minutes west of Palma in the town of Calvia.
Another family-friendly park in Majorca is Aquacity, which can be found to the east in the hugely popular, German-orientated resort of El Arenal. There are scary water slides here as well as a number of pools and good eating options.
Magaluf and Palma Nova are Mallorca’s two main beach destinations and are well within reach of Palma. They have the pick of the entertainment options on the island, and although somewhat loud and brash in the summer, the shoulder seasons are laid back and they make a good daytrip from the capital.
Heading north from Palma de Mallorca are a number of flashy resorts, including Port Sóller, with its cultured counterpart of Sóller up in the hills, Valldemossa, a beautiful mountain town, is also nearby, and the huge resort of Alcúdia is to the north. All these places are within an hour of Palma by car and Sóller can be accessed by narrow gauge railway to boot.
Also worth looking at is the town of Manacor in the centre of the island where a huge factory churns out pearls by the thousand.
Must-see attractions
Palma de Mallorca’s City Beach is well within reach of the city centre and is one of the main highlights of a trip here. However, with numerous better beaches on the island, this beach isn’t the main reason for visiting Palma.
History is all around, with Roman and Muslim buildings dotting the old quarter. Palma Cathedral (La Seu) is a major highlight. It overlooks the harbour and features striking Gothic forms and high vaulted ceilings. Its huge stained glass windows are also impressive, while nearby is the spectacular L’Almudaina Arab palace.
Other must-sees in Palma town are the pedestrianised shopping streets and the associated tapas bars, a Mallorcan experience if there ever was one.
Best time to go
The best time to be in Mallorca is during the hot summer months of June to September. If you are staying in Palma exclusively, however, arriving just before or after this time is your best bet due to the heat. Temperatures in May and September hover around 25ºC.
Be warned that the most rain falls in the autumn. Winters are also a good time to visit for those looking for an escape from the northern European winter. Expect temperatures in Palma de Mallorca to reach 18ºC in the winter and hotels to be cheaper than in the high season.
Rainy day suggestions
Mallorca Museum (Museu de Mallorca), located near the cathedral, is a perfect rainy day experience. It is purported to be the finest museum in the Balearic Islands with its ancient Moorish artefacts and Baroque-style paintings. The Museum of Spanish Contemporary Art (Museu d’Art Espanyol Contemporani) features works by Picasso and Dali and is also worth a look, as is the spectacular and ancient Arab baths.
Comments
2 Responses to “Palma de Majorca Holiday & Sightseeing Guide”
Leave a Reply
-
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
The Jewish quarter itinerary is designed to offer tourist,visitors or residents a chance to discover one of the most important jewish quarters in the medieval Mediterranean, inhabited by sages,doctors, astronomers and cartografers as : Jafuda and Abraham Cresques.
Private Tours Mallorca. Day Tours.Day trips & excursions
Mallorca Tour Guides
We provide services for guided tours and cultural visits around the Island of Mallorca. Our professionals speak several different languages. We are a team of trained licensed tour guides of Mallorca. We have tailored different itineraries of guided tours and day excursions of Mallorca, for those groups and individuals travelers who want to discover this Island with a private guide. Affordable opportunity to get out in small groups tours or private excursions to …
We are Official guides but above all we are very passionate about our job and we would like to share with you showing you around. Mallorca Day Trips, small-group and private shore excursions and tours from …
We also collaborate with travel agent groups and associations with their own visiting schedules. Our guided tours are tailor made private services and can be customized according to your own preferences, interests or requests.
http://www.tourguidescenter.com
Contact directly to your guide Miguel Corral : corralmiguel@hotmail.com