Last updated: September 2026
Palma City holidays offer the most culturally rewarding destination in the Balearic Islands — a magnificent Gothic capital, one of the finest historic old towns in the western Mediterranean, excellent restaurants, world-class architecture and a vibrant year-round city life that gives Palma holidays a completely different dimension from the beach resort programme.
As the capital of Majorca and the Balearic Islands, Palma has a resident population of over 400,000 and functions as a genuine city rather than a tourist resort. The medieval old town, the Gothic cathedral, the Arab baths, Bellver Castle and a thriving contemporary food and arts scene make Palma City holidays among the most rewarding in Spain.
This guide covers the cathedral, the old town, the food scene, day trips from the city, when to visit, getting there, and practical booking information for Palma City holidays.
Palma City holidays offer something that no other Balearic destination can match: a genuine, functioning European capital city with architecture, museums, restaurants, galleries and a cultural calendar of genuine quality — alongside easy access to beaches, mountain walking and the full range of Majorcan excursion options.
The city’s scale gives Palma City holidays a depth that the resort areas cannot provide. A week in Palma can include the cathedral, the Arab baths, the Almudaina palace, multiple museums, the Bellver Castle, the best markets in the Balearics, evening concerts, and the finest restaurant scene in the islands — without repeating any experience or exhausting the options.
Palma City holidays also work extraordinarily well as a base for island exploration. The motorway network from Palma reaches all major resort areas within an hour, and the city is the natural hub from which to explore the Serra de Tramuntana, the east coast coves, the north coast beaches and the historic inland towns. Palma gives Palma City holidays a reach that no beach resort can match.
The city is a year-round destination. Unlike the beach resorts, which close substantially in winter, Palma retains its restaurants, markets, cultural institutions and hotel offer throughout the year. Winter Palma City holidays give mild temperatures, empty streets and the city’s cultural programme at its most accessible without the summer visitor volume.
La Seu — the Gothic cathedral of Palma — is the most impressive building in the Balearic Islands and one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the Mediterranean. Construction began in 1229 after the Christian reconquest of Majorca from the Moors and continued for over three centuries, with the principal nave completed in the early sixteenth century.
The cathedral’s position above the bay — rising directly from the city walls at the water’s edge — gives it one of the most dramatic settings of any cathedral in Europe. Seen from the Parc de la Mar at the base of the walls, the reflection of the illuminated façade in the park’s lake creates the most photographed view in Palma City holidays.
The interior is dominated by the nave’s extraordinary Gothic columns — the tallest Gothic columns in the world at the time of construction — and by the rose window above the main altar, the largest Gothic rose window in the world at 12.5 metres in diameter. The choir, redesigned by Antoni Gaudí in the early twentieth century in a style quite different from the Gothic surroundings, is the most controversial and debated interior feature.
The cathedral museum is housed in the Gothic chapter house and contains treasures accumulated over five centuries: medieval altarpieces, processional silver, vestments, manuscripts and reliquaries. Palma City holidays that include a full cathedral visit — interior, museum and the exterior circuit of the walls — should allow at least two hours.
The old town of Palma is one of the finest historic urban centres in Spain — a dense network of medieval and Renaissance streets, Renaissance palaces with decorated interior courtyards, Gothic churches and Arab-era baths that reflect the city’s successive layers of Moorish, Jewish and Christian settlement.
The Arab Baths (Banys Arabs) in the Casc Antic quarter are the most complete surviving example of Arab-period construction in Majorca — a tenth-century hammam with horseshoe arches and a domed ceiling supported on original stone columns. The adjacent garden is one of the most tranquil spaces in the city centre and a natural stopping point on a Palma City holidays walking tour.
The Can Oleza palace, the Can Berga palace and the Palacio March are among the finest Renaissance palaces in the old town, several of which have interior courtyards visible from the street or open to visitors at certain times. The carved stone doorways and loggia galleries that characterise the old town’s patrician architecture give Palma City holidays a visual richness that no other Balearic destination can offer.
The Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) and the adjacent La Llotja area — Palma’s former merchants’ exchange, now an exhibition space — give the old town a complete historic programme within a compact, walkable area. Most of the major old town sights are within 15 minutes’ walk of the cathedral, making Palma City holidays on foot practical and rewarding.
Palma has one of the best restaurant cities in Spain — a food scene that has attracted international chefs and Michelin recognition alongside a deep tradition of Mallorcan cooking that uses the island’s own produce to good effect. Palma City holidays give access to more restaurant quality per square kilometre than any other destination in the Balearics.
The Mercat de l’Olivar is Palma’s main covered market — a large market hall in the old town with halls devoted to fish, meat, cheese, charcuterie, fresh vegetables and prepared food. The market operates Tuesday to Saturday mornings and is the best single food experience available from Palma City holidays for visitors who want to understand what the island’s cuisine is built on.
The restaurant scene in the old town ranges from traditional Mallorcan cooking — pa amb oli, tumbet, fresh fish of the day — to internationally recognised creative cuisine. Palma has attracted a significant number of talented chefs who use local produce in contemporary cooking, and several restaurants hold or have held Michelin recognition. For visitors who want to eat well as a central part of their holiday, Palma City holidays consistently outperform any beach resort alternative in the Balearics.
Bellver Castle — a circular Gothic castle on a forested hill above the city, 3 kilometres west of the centre — is the most visited historic site outside the old town. The castle’s unusual circular plan, its panoramic views over the bay and the city, and the museum of local history it contains make it a worthwhile half-day excursion from Palma City holidays.
The Serra de Tramuntana mountains begin at the city’s northern edge. Valldemossa — where Frédéric Chopin composed his Raindrop Prelude during a winter stay at the former monastery — is 17 kilometres north and accessible in 25 minutes. The village is one of the most picturesque in the Balearics and gives Palma City holidays a mountain excursion of real character within easy reach.
The beach resorts of the Bay of Palma — El Arenal to the east, Magaluf and Palma Nova to the west — are all within 20 kilometres of the city centre and accessible in 20 to 30 minutes by hire car. Palma City holidays can include beach days at the southwest coast resorts without making a resort the primary base.
Palma City holidays begin at Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI), 9 kilometres east of the city centre — approximately 15 to 20 minutes by taxi. The airport is one of the busiest in Spain, with direct flights from over 30 UK airports throughout the summer season and reduced but continuing services through the winter months from London and major regional airports.
The city centre is well served by bus from the airport, and hire cars collected at the airport give the flexibility to explore the island from a Palma base. The compact geography of the city means that most sights are walkable from the central hotels, and a hire car is not needed for the city exploration itself — only for excursions beyond the city limits.
Palma City holidays in the shoulder season — April to June and September to October — offer the most rewarding combination of good weather, manageable visitor numbers and the city’s full cultural programme. The cathedral is accessible without queues, the restaurant bookings are easier to obtain at short notice, and the market and old town streets are at their most pleasant without the peak summer crowds.
The marina area of Palma — the Paseo Marítimo — has a range of restaurants and bars along the waterfront that give Palma City holidays an evening dining option with views of the bay and the illuminated cathedral on the hill above. The Paseo Marítimo is the most contemporary face of the city, with design hotels, upmarket bars and the Puerto Portals-influenced marina dining scene extending the eating and social options beyond the old town.
Here are the key facts for planning Palma City holidays.
| Location | Capital of Majorca and the Balearic Islands |
|---|---|
| Distance from Airport | 9km east (15-20 minutes) |
| Key sights | La Seu Cathedral, Arab Baths, Bellver Castle, old town |
| Food scene | Mercat de l’Olivar, Michelin restaurants, traditional Mallorcan |
| Best for | Culture, food, city breaks, year-round travel |
| Nearest beach | El Arenal (7km east) |
| Year-round destination | Yes |
When booking your Palma City holidays, always check that your tour operator carries the right financial protection. Search4Sun lists holidays from a wide range of UK operators — standards vary, so we recommend doing your own due diligence before you pay.
Look for ABTA membership, ATOL protection or ABTOT cover — these schemes protect your money if an operator ceases trading before or during your holiday. For a plain-English guide to what each scheme covers, read our holiday protection guide.
For late availability on Palma City holidays, check LastMinute.com for reduced-price city break packages to Palma.
Yes — Palma City holidays booked as flight-inclusive packages through a UK-licensed tour operator are ATOL protected. If your operator ceases trading before or during your trip, you are entitled to a refund or repatriation at no extra cost. Read our full holiday protection guide for details.
Palma City holidays are among the best city break options in Spain — a genuinely beautiful historic city with world-class architecture, a sophisticated restaurant scene, excellent museums and galleries, and a year-round cultural calendar. The city’s compact scale means that the main sights are walkable, the hotel choice is wide across all budgets, and the mild climate makes visits comfortable outside the summer months. For visitors who want culture and food rather than beach time, Palma City holidays consistently outperform the alternatives in the Balearics and compete favourably with the major Spanish mainland city break destinations.
Palma City holidays work very well as a combination with the southwest coast beach resorts. Palma is 7 kilometres from El Arenal, 17 kilometres from Magaluf and 25 kilometres from Paguera — all accessible in under 30 minutes by hire car. Many visitors split a week between a few nights in Palma city centre and the remainder at a southwest coast beach resort, using the city stay for the cathedral, old town and restaurants and the beach stay for sun and sea. The hire car that makes the beach excursions practical also makes the Palma cultural excursion straightforward from any southwest coast resort.
Palma City holidays in spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) offer the best balance of good weather, comfortable temperatures and manageable visitor numbers. July and August are hot and busy — comfortable in the city’s shaded old town streets but crowded at the most popular sights. Winter Palma City holidays (November-March) give mild temperatures, virtually no queues at the cathedral or museums, and the city functioning as a normal Spanish city rather than a tourist destination — a very different and equally rewarding experience for visitors who specifically want to see Palma without its summer tourist veneer.
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