What to see: a harmonious embrace between history and modernity

Cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria

There are three most important periods that have led Palma to be the city it is: the Roman period that lasted over 5 centuries, the Arab period starting from the year 1000, after the years of the Vandal devastation and the Christian period, when in the 13th century the King of Aragon drove out the Arabs. The architectural testimonies that have reached us, however, mostly date back to the Gothic period and, among these, the most obvious is the Cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria, built over a period of over 300 years starting from 1329.

Built in a slightly elevated position, the Cathedral houses, inside and outside, interventions and additions from every historical moment, up to the present day.

To Antonio Gaudí, for example, were entrusted some restoration works between 1904 and 191, while in one of the lateral apses there is a large ceramic work made by Miquel Barceló, the most famous contemporary artist in Mallorca.

There are two special days to visit the cathedral and enjoy a rare spectacle: on February 2 and November 11, in fact, the orientation of the sun's rays causes the crystals to reflect under the rose window of the main portal, tracing a perfect 8.

La Lonja

La Lonja also represents the desire to keep past and present together, without forcing. It is an imposing building built in the Gothic era by the architect Guillem Sagrera to accommodate commercial activities.

It is located, in fact, a few steps from the sea: the point of arrival of fishing and all other types of goods for several centuries.

One of the rare examples of civil Gothic, it has a rectangular plan with four facades delimited by octagonal towers and, on the upper part of the walls, battlements and gargoyles.

Today used for exhibitions, during this period it offers free (until February 15, 2025) the opportunity to admire the work Mirall (mirror in Catalan) by Jaume Pensa. These are two ethereal steel sculptures, placed one in front of the other as if to reflect each other and invite visitors to reflect.

Es Baluard

The Es Baluard Museum of Contemporary Art is located on the perimeter of one of the bastions of the Renaissance wall that surrounded the city of Palma until the beginning of the 20th century.

The Sant Pere neighborhood, where the museum is located, actually dates back to the Islamic era: it was probably an open space, or an area of ​​gardens and funerary spaces that extended to the outskirts of the former fortress of Almudaina.

Inaugurated in 2004, it is still the largest space for the conservation and dissemination of contemporary art in the Balearic Islands.

Fundaciò Mirò Maiorca

Since 1956 Joan Miró has established his residence on the island of Mallorca, where he created a considerable collection of creative works and where he died in 1983.

A visit to the foundation, located just outside the city center, is a small journey into the life of the painter through his works and the possibility of physically entering the places where he lived and worked. The museum is divided between three buildings connected by a park also created to create a sort of distance from the surrounding neighborhood, overwhelmed by the building boom of the 70s and 80s.

"My dream when I settle somewhere is to have a large laboratory, not so much for reasons of lighting, but to have space and many canvases, because the more I work the more I want to work."

Between visits: where to eat and sleep

Where to eat

To enjoy local Spanish food at its best, you can choose one of the many tapas bars or browse the markets. Palma has four fantastic food markets: Mercat de l'Olivar, Mercat de Santa Catalina, Mercat San Juan and Mercat 1930.

For a contemporary alternative, try the recently opened Beatnik Restaurant & Bar, interesting for its cuisine based on gastronomic influences from all over the world, a mix of exotic and Mediterranean food, with Asian and even Latin American touches, in a New York-in-Palma de Mallorca atmosphere, without being pretentious.

And the coffee? Mistral is the coffee shop with roastery that brought specialty coffee to Mallorca in 2017: today there are two locations open in the historic center. The wide range of coffees, from different origins, the attention to detail in the roasting process, and the possibility of consuming drinks with different types of extraction, make this coffee shop truly exceptional.

Where to sleep

The Puro Hotels brand, part of the Puro group founded in Palma de Mallorca in 2004, offers three luxury hotels in the heart of the city.

Palacio Can Marqués, the 5-star Grand Luxe by Puro, is the result of the renovation of a historical building, inhabited by illustrious local families for over 300 years.

Visitors are welcomed by the large entrance characterized by the central staircase in Baroque style that branches off on both sides to serve both wings of the building.

The hotel offers 13 suites, each different in style and size: the largest, the Riad Suite, extends over a surface area of ​​380 m2 with a private terrace of 40 m2. Guests also have access to a restaurant, a gym, a charming courtyard, a 200 m2 garden and a rooftop terrace.

The spaces of the Puro Grand Hotel, another 5-star proposal, are characterized by works of art and decorations that personalize the rooms of the building. 16 suites available, spacious and unique, warmed by the color palette based on sand tones with touches of Mediterranean blue.

For those looking for a more informal and cosmopolitan proposal, the solution is the Puro Hotel Oasis Urbano, with award-winning rooms and suites. Just opposite, finally, the group has opened the Puro House, a dependance with 11 rooms and common areas, perfect for families, groups of friends and business trips looking for privacy and personalized experiences.