Things to Do at Palma Old Town

Palma Old Town sits inside medieval walls where honey-coloured limestone buildings lean into lanes barely wide for a scooter. La Seu cathedral owns the skyline from every angle, its sandstone glowing apricot at sunset while swifts loop the buttresses. The smell of ensaïmadas drifts from Carrer del Forn des Teatre doorways, and somewhere a knife taps a board behind a courtyard gate. Acoustics catch you off guard: church bells from Santa Eulàlia carry further than expected, footsteps echo off shuttered Mallorquin façades, snippets of Catalan remind you this is not quite Spain the way Madrid is Spain. The quarter splits into three moods. Around the cathedral and Almudaina, everything turns grand and ceremonial, Gothic arches above palm-shaded plazas. East of there, La Lonja and Sant Jaume feel lived-in, checkered-tile entryways and small bars where old men nurse brandy at eleven in the morning. Head north past Plaça Major and you reach the artisan workshops on the edge of Santa Catalina, leather sandal-makers and ceramic studios still shuttering for afternoon siestas. It is touristy, mid-morning when cruise ships unload. But the crowds thin by 2pm when locals vanish for lunch. The magic is that Palma Old Town rewards aimlessness. You will bump into Arab baths behind a private garden, a 14th-century courtyard now pouring cortados, a hidden patio with a stone wellhead and lemon trees. It is compact enough to cover on foot in a day. But that would be a mistake. Two slow days, with a long lunch each afternoon, hit the sweet spot.

From Palma airport, the EMT bus number 1 runs to Plaça d'Espanya at the edge of the Old Town every 15 minutes or so, takes about 30 minutes, and costs barely anything. Taxis are mid-range and quicker if you have luggage. From the cruise port, it is a 25-minute walk along the seafront or a quick taxi. Once you are in the Old Town, forget the car entirely: most of it is pedestrianised or restricted, parking is a nightmare, and everything worth seeing is within a 15-minute walk of the cathedral. The closest public parking is Parc de la Mar underground, just below La Seu.