We spent all three days of our trip to Mallorca in Palma, and with the exception of the airport bus, we explored on foot.
Right across the street from our hotel was a lovely view of the the Torrent de Sa Riera.
Each time we went through the nearby Parc de Sa Feixina something different was happening, whether kids playing soccer, dogs running around, or the fountains going. It really is a nicely shaded park.
Also nearby our hotel was the Es Baluard Museu d’Art Contemporani de Palma, which has several outdoor sculptures free for viewing.
Toward the harbor is the famous Palma sign, and near the sign is the Llotja de Palma, which was open on Friday.
After just a few more minutes walk you come upon some extraordinary views of the Palau Reial de l’Almudaina and Catedral de Mallorca across the lagoon (see our separate post on the amazing cathedral interior).
There are also some Miró pieces around the area as well.
And the views at night are equally impressive.
We were overall pleasantly surprised by the amount of public art in various parts of the city.
While were in town the Jardí del Bisbe was always closed! But we did walk around the cathedral, then down Costa de la Seu to the S’Hort del Rei. This was another wonderfully shaded park and a good place to rest our feet and people watch.
The Mercat de l’Olivar is a popular stop with a mix of stores, restaurants and vendors. The fish market was especially large and bustling on a Saturday. We also checked out the Mercat de Santa Catalina which was smaller than de l’Olivar, with more tapas stalls, and quite busy near lunch time. Both island markets seemed more expensive compared to our ‘local’ Rusafa market.
Between the harbor and Santa Catalina is the old El Jonquet neighborhood, which has several windmills plus street art and views of the harbor.
From there it was a 30 min walk to Castell de Bellver. It is rather strenuous at the end, approximately 450 steps to get to the top, but the views are worth it! The sun was intense, but the breeze was cool and we found enough shade. Plus it’s free on Sundays.
Some of our favorite experiences in Palma were simply getting off the main roads and wandering the shady alleyways and multi-level lanes.
Alleys were also a good spot to find street art.
Altogether, we found plenty to explore in Palma for the weekend.