A former fishing quarter, Santa Catalina is today one of Palma's most dynamic corners: an epicentre of food and nightlife, of colourful houses and narrow streets, with the city's oldest market at its heart.
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Santa Catalina was Palma's fishing quarter for centuries, and it still keeps that village-within-the-city feel: low colourful houses, narrow streets and, up on the rise, the Es Jonquet windmills, the last witnesses of the seafaring hamlet that once stood here. Today, though, it is above all the neighbourhood to eat and go out in: in just a few years it has filled with restaurants, from Michelin-recommended tables to hidden tapas bars, with a nightlife and an artistic buzz that never let up.
The heart of the barrio is the Mercat de Santa Catalina, Palma's oldest market (the present building dates to 1920). It's the neighbourhood's meeting point and the best place to buy fresh, seasonal produce — but also to graze on the go: stalls of oysters, sushi, tortilla, fresh pasta, a rotisserie… you can breakfast or lunch by snacking from stall to stall. For the evening — or better, the tardeo, the party that starts in the afternoon — the neighbourhood comes alive around Carrer d'Anníbal, Carrer Soler and the pedestrianised Carrer de la Fàbrica.
A couple of practical notes. The market is open Monday to Saturday (roughly 7:00–17:00; the fishmongers close on Mondays), so skip Monday if you're here for the fish. And to dine at the most sought-after tables, book: from Thursday to Sunday the neighbourhood fills from 19:30. The best of Santa Catalina is that it's walked on foot, unhurried, drifting from a market stall to a terrace and on to the tardeo.
