Palma, with about 435,000 inhabitants, is the capital of Majorca and of the Balearic Islands. Facing a wide bay, it is an elegant, lively city with a charming historic centre and an intense cultural life.
History
Founded by the Romans as Palma in 123 BC, it was later Byzantine and, for over three centuries, Moorish as Madina Mayurqa. On 31 December 1229 it was taken by James I of Aragon, who founded the Kingdom of Majorca. In the Middle Ages it was a great Mediterranean trading port, with a rich Jewish community and a famous school of cartographers.
What to see
- Santa Maria cathedral, La Seu, Gothic, with one of Europe's tallest naves and a huge rose window. In the early twentieth century Gaudí renovated the interior, adding the canopy suspended over the altar; in 2007 Majorcan artist Miquel Barceló decorated the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament with a huge ceramic wall (see Gothic).
- The Almudaina Palace, the old Moorish alcázar that became the palace of the kings of Majorca and is now the Spanish king's official residence on the island.
- The old town, with noble mansions and their columned patios and stairways, the church of Santa Eulàlia, the basilica of Sant Francesc with its Gothic cloister and the Arab baths, among the few remains of the Muslim era.
- The Llotja, the old merchants' exchange, a masterpiece of civic Gothic.
- Fourteenth-century Bellver Castle, unique in Spain for its circular plan, on a hill overlooking the bay, home to the city history museum.
- Es Baluard, the modern and contemporary art museum in the Renaissance bastions, and the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation, with the artist's studio at Cala Major (see Joan Miró).
- The Passeig des Born, Plaça Major and the Olivar and Santa Catalina markets, the latter in a fashionable district of bars and restaurants.
- The Passeig Marítim, the yacht harbour and the seafaring district of Portixol.
Beaches and nearby
The nearest beaches are Ca'n Pere Antoni, next to the centre, Portixol and Ciutat Jardí; further out the long, touristy Platja de Palma and S'Arenal, and the coves of Illetes and Cala Major (see beaches). The Sóller train, a 1912 wooden train crossing the Serra de Tramuntana, leaves from Palma (see nature).
Practical information
The airport is 8 km away, linked to the centre by bus. Palma is pleasant all year; in summer many cruise ships call and the centre is very crowded.