Palma de Mallorca 7-day itinerary

Start at La Seu — Palma's Gothic cathedral with Gaudí's interior and Barceló's ceramic chapel (€9). Walk through the old town to the Banys Àrabs (€3) — a 10th-century Moorish hammam. Continue to the Palau de l'Almudaina (€7) — the Moorish-turned-royal palace opposite the cathedral with harbour views from its gardens.

Lunch at Mercat de l'Olivar — tapas bars, fresh seafood counters, and local produce. Try pa amb oli (€3–5) — Mallorca's iconic bread with tomato and olive oil. Walk to Santa Catalina — the trendiest neighbourhood, once a fishing village. Browse vintage shops on Carrer de Sant Magí and coffee at Mistral for excellent specialty coffee.

La Lonja district for evening tapas. Start with vermut at La Rosa Vermutería (tapas €4–8). Walk past the beautiful 15th-century Llotja building. Dinner at Bar Dia on Carrer d'Apuntadors for montaditos and cold beer. End at Ginbo for craft gin and tonics — Palma has embraced the Spanish gin-tonica culture wholeheartedly.

Es Baluard Museu d'Art Contemporani (€8) is built into Renaissance sea walls — Picasso, Miró, and Barceló inside, panoramic harbour views from the rooftop. Then bus 3 to Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró (€8) — his preserved studio with unfinished canvases still on easels, surrounded by olive and almond groves.

Palma has dozens of aristocratic courtyard houses (casas senyorials) with open gates you can peek through. Walk Carrer de Can Savellà, Carrer de Morey, and Carrer del Sol for the best examples — Renaissance and Baroque patios with fountain courtyards and sweeping staircases. The CaixaForum (free) in a modernist building on Plaça de Weyler has excellent rotating exhibitions.

Sunset from Hotel Nakar's rooftop bar on Avinguda de Jaume III — 360° views over the cathedral, harbour, and Tramuntana mountains. Dinner at Forn de Sant Joan — creative Mediterranean food in a converted bakery with a courtyard (mains €16–24). Walk the Passeig del Born after dinner — Palma's elegant plane-tree boulevard feels very Barcelona.

Take the vintage wooden train from Palma to Sóller (€25 return, 1 hour) — through the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, 13 tunnels, and past orange groves. Sóller's Plaça Constitució has Art Nouveau buildings and excellent cafés. Then the antique tram (€8 return) rattles down to Port de Sóller — a horseshoe harbour surrounded by mountains.

Swim at Port de Sóller's crescent beach — sheltered bay, warm water, mountain backdrop. Walk the coastal path to Cap Gros lighthouse (30 min) for clifftop views. Lunch at a harbour restaurant — fresh grilled fish or seafood paella. The bay is one of Mallorca's most beautiful and sheltered swimming spots.

Train back to Palma. Dinner in Santa Catalina — try Patron Lunares on Carrer de la Fàbrica for inventive tapas (dishes €6–14) in a buzzing atmosphere. Then bar-hop along Carrer de Sant Magí — Hostal Cuba for cocktails with a rooftop terrace, or the more low-key El Camino for mezcal and tacos. Santa Catalina has the best nightlife in Palma.

Bus 3 to Cala Major — a local sandy beach 15 minutes from the centre with clear water. Swim and relax. Then walk to the nearby Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró if you haven't visited — the studios where Miró worked for 30 years are preserved exactly as he left them, with paint-splattered floors and unfinished works on easels.

Continue on bus 3 to Illetas — turquoise water in a sheltered cove backed by Mediterranean pines. Some of the clearest water near Palma. For an adventure, take a bus or taxi to Portals Vells — three secluded coves with cave entrances at the end of a dirt road. The furthest cove (Playa del Mago) is a nudist beach with extraordinary water clarity.

Head to Portixol — a former fishing village east of Palma now home to excellent seafood restaurants with harbour views. Dinner at Naan on Carrer del Vicari Joaquim Fuster for inventive Asian-Mediterranean fusion, or the more traditional Es Portitxol for classic Mallorcan fish dishes (mains €16–25). Walk the Portixol promenade at sunset.

Bus 210 from Palma to Valldemossa (30 min, €2.15) — a stone village clinging to the Tramuntana mountains. Visit the Real Cartuja (€9.50) — the Carthusian monastery where Chopin and George Sand spent a winter in 1838. The village is impossibly photogenic — flower pots, stone walls, and mountain views at every turn. Coffee and coca de patata (sweet potato cake, €2) at a village café.

Bus from Valldemossa to Deià (20 min, €1.85) — the village that enchanted Robert Graves, who lived here from 1929 until his death. His house (Ca n'Alluny, €7) is preserved as a museum. Deià is stunningly set above a rocky cove — walk down to Cala Deià (30 min downhill) for a swim in the turquoise water surrounded by cliffs. Lunch at Ca's Patró March on the cove — seafood on the rocks.

Bus back to Palma from Deià (1 hour, €3.60). For dinner, explore the old town's quieter restaurants — Celler Sa Premsa on Plaça del Bisbe Berenguer de Palou is a traditional Mallorcan cellar restaurant with huge portions and honest prices (mains €10–16). Barrels line the walls, locals fill the tables, and the tumbet (Mallorcan ratatouille) is outstanding.

Rent a car (from €25/day) or take the bus to the east coast. Cala Mondragó is a natural park with two stunning beaches — S'Amarador and Cala Mondragó — connected by a coastal path through pine forest. The water is crystal-clear turquoise with sandy bottoms. Snorkelling is excellent around the rocky edges. Arrive early to claim a spot — these are Mallorca's most photographed beaches.

Drive or bus to the Coves del Drac near Porto Cristo (€16) — spectacular underground caves with one of the world's largest subterranean lakes, complete with a classical music concert performed from boats on the water. Alternatively, continue beach-hopping — Cala Llombards, Es Trenc (Mallorca's longest natural beach), or Cala Figuera (a fjord-like fishing port) are all within reach.

Back in Palma, head to the Mercat de Santa Catalina — a covered market that transforms into a tapas and wine scene in the evenings. Try Aromata (mains €14–20) for contemporary Mallorcan cuisine or El Perrito — a hidden bar behind the market stalls. End with a walk along the harbour as the cathedral glows gold against the night sky.

Walk or bus 50 to Bellver Castle (€4) — Europe's only circular castle, a 14th-century Gothic fortress set in pine woods above the city with 360° views of Palma, the harbour, the Tramuntana mountains, and the sea. The inner courtyard has perfect acoustics and hosts summer concerts. The castle houses a small city history museum in the dungeon.

Pick up souvenirs in the old town — sobrassada sausage (vacuum-packed for travel), ensaimadas from Fornet de la Soca on Plaça de Weyler (the best in Palma), local olive oil, and flor de sal from Ses Salines. Browse the independent boutiques on Carrer de Sant Feliu and Carrer del Sindicat. One last coffee at Can Joan de s'Aigo — the 1700 original.

Final dinner at Marc Fosh on Carrer de la Missió — a Michelin-starred restaurant in a converted convent where the tasting menu starts at €75 (exceptional value for a star). Or keep it local at Celler Sa Premsa for a last tumbet and roast suckling pig. End with a moonlit walk along the Passeig Marítim — the illuminated La Seu cathedral reflected in the harbour water.