Palma's old town — the Casc Antic — is one of the best-preserved medieval centres in Spain. A maze of alleys running from the Plaça Major down to the sea, with the cathedral of La Seu as its beacon and almost all the city's great monuments within a stroll.
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It all begins at La Seu. Palma's Gothic cathedral was raised from 1229 on the site of the former main mosque, after the Christian conquest, and it is the monument that defines the city. Inside it holds a surprise: the redesign Antoni Gaudí signed between 1904 and 1914, with the spectacular wrought-iron baldachin suspended above the main altar. Right beside it, the Palau de l'Almudaina — a former Arab fortress turned royal residence — blends Islamic and Gothic in an hour's visit.
From there, the neighbourhood is best explored by getting lost. The Passeig del Born, the elegant tree-lined boulevard, is the axis for a stroll; the 10th-century Banys Àrabs, with their horseshoe arches and garden, are one of the few remnants of Islamic Mallorca; and the hidden aristocratic patios along the carrers de l'Almudaina and Can Savella are what stays with visitors longest. A step from the old town, the Mercat de l'Olivar (the city's great covered market, opened in 1951) gathers more than a hundred stalls of fish, meat, cheese and vegetables: the best place to buy local produce.
At the table, two Mallorcan essentials: the ensaïmada, the spiral lard bun made on the island since the 17th century (with its own PGI), and pa amb oli, rustic bread with olive oil, ramallet tomato and salt. The old town also has its great dates: on 20 January, Sant Sebastià, Palma's patron, fills the squares with concerts, bonfires and correfoc (the big verbena is the night of the 19th); and on 31 December, the Festa de l'Estendard commemorates Jaume I's 1229 conquest, one of the oldest civic celebrations in Europe. One tip: walk the quarter early in the morning, when the streets are quiet, or at dusk, when the stone turns golden; budget 2–3 hours for the essentials, plus one more for the Almudaina interior and the Arab Baths.
