James I of Aragon was in grave danger. On his way to conquer the Balearic Islands in December, 1229, his fleet of ships was overtaken by a violent storm. In peril of foundering, young James swore to God that if he survived and conquered Mallorca, he would build there a great cathedral.

God held him to it. Construction began in 1230 on the Palma Cathedral or La Seu, as it is popularly known. Building went on for 350 years. Finally the nave and the main portal, the last elements, were finished. James had really kept his promise. The dimensions of the church are vast: width, 108 feet; height, 145 feet; length, 361 feet.

The nave, last to be finished, is among the largest in Europe. A Gothic rose window dominates the eastern wall. It has a diameter of 41 feet and it is composed of around 1200 pieces of stained glass. Every sunrise the cathedral interior is flooded with sparkling reflections of colors in the morning light. But there is more to this light.

There is a game, called "Light Game of the Eight." The game occurs just twice a year, on February 2nd and November 11th. At 8am the rays of the sun shine through the rosette window on the eastern wall and project the image of the window exactly on the opposite wall below the rosette of the main facade.

But there is yet more to this light. Twenty days on each side of the winter solstice the sunrise is viewable through both enormous rosettes.

The cathedral shows a range of architectural styles. There are clearly Gothic influences in the seaward facing portal that date from the 13th century. The portal on the opposite side is late Gothic from the 16th century. The Gothic is replaced by the Renaissance. The chapels are Baroque. There is Classicism in the Baptistry.

Two kings, James II and James III, are laid to rest in the Trinity Chapel. The chapel is not open to the public. Visitors are charged a small entrance fee. The cathedral is open after 10 am.

Why You Should Visit:
Here is all uplifting spirit of Mallorca spelled out in stone and light. The great cathedral reaches for the sky as the soul might reach for heaven.

The Royal Palace of La Almudaina is an "alcazar", a fortified palace. In 1309 it was rebuilt by King James II of Majorca. The rebuilt was based on the Royal Palace of Perpignan. La Almudaina today follows a layout established in the 14th century. There are spaces for the ruling family, a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne, and the baths.

The spaces are differentiated into ways. On the ground floor a medieval ambience is maintained with art and furnishings dating from the 15th century. The upper floor is reserved for official Royal acts and it is decorated with objects and art from the 17th, 18th and 20th centuries.

The palace is the official summer residence of the Spanish Royal Family. The family also resides at the Palace of Marivent and the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid when not in Mallorca. The Palace and Palma Cathedral are next door neighbors. Both rise over palma de Mallorca harbor, providing great views of the sea.

The Palace is open Thursdays to Sundays from 10am to 6pm. Hours may be longer in the summer. There is a small admission fee.

Romans, Byzantines and Arabs had settled one after the other in Mallorca before the Catalans arrived. In the Arab days it was called Medina Mayurqa and they really liked to bath. They built their baths, called hammams, using materials left behind by the Romans and Byzantines. They used old bits of columns and capitals and voila! A bath!

The Arabs built well. The baths in Mallorca are over a thousand years old. One may not vouch for the plumbing, but the building materials are still good. Maybe shabby, but ok. The hot room and warm room of the Arab Baths are still extant but the cold room is no more.

The hot room is a square room. It has 12 columns and a domed ceiling. It is a gallery with a barrel vault. The room has 24 holes for ventilation. The dome has five holes to let in light and fresh air. There is a small well-tended garden attached to the baths. The garden has a jasmine archway, subtropical trees and plants. An afternoon enjoyment.

The baths are only a walk of a minute or so from the Palma Cathedral. They open at 9am to 6pm in the evening in winter and until 7:30pm from April to November.

Court Square (Placa de Cort), nestled in the historic heart of Palma de Mallorca, is a captivating meeting point that unites local life with centuries of tradition. Known in Catalan as “Plaça Cort”, the plaza takes its name from its medieval role as the gathering place for the royal and judicial court or “Cort” of the Kingdom of Mallorca. Today, it forms the vibrant center of civic life, often hosting public events such as Christmas celebrations or the Festa de l’Estendard on December 31st-one of Europe’s oldest civic festivals commemorating the Christian conquest of the city.

Anchoring the square is the striking Palma Town Hall, whose elegant façade blends Baroque and Mannerist elements. This grand building was erected between 1649 and 1680, crafted by renowned local architects Pere Bauçá, Miquel Oliver, and Bartomeu Calafat. Its decorative balcony, the distinctive Rellotge d’en Figuera (Figuera's watch), and the iconic “banc del si no fos” bench are just a few of the highlights that give the Town Hall its character and historical resonance as a symbol of civic pride.

The centerpiece of the Court Square is the ancient “Olivera de Cort,” a gnarled olive tree estimated to be over 600 years old. Transplanted in 1989 from the Pedruixella Petit estate in Pollença, this majestic tree now symbolizes peace and continuity. Visitors delight in searching its twisted trunk for hidden shapes and local legends, including the whimsical "Orella de Mallorca"-an ear-shaped knot in the bark.

Surrounding the plaza are charming cafés, ice‑cream terraces (Giovanni’s being a popular pick), and cozy eateries-the perfect backdrop for a reflective pause under the olive tree with a scoop in hand. A leisurely stop here offers not just refreshment, but immersion into Palma’s social essence, connecting you with locals and the layers of Mallorcan heritage in one picturesque square.

The most important building on Cort Square in Palma is the Town Hall. It is cheek and jowl with the Palace of the Council of Mallorca. They are easy to tell apart. The palace has a neo-Gothic facade with towers and a crenelated roof. The Town Hall looks like a Spanish town hall.

Town Hall is a three-story building with a Baroque style facade. There are also hints of Gothic and Mannerist motifs. It was built in 1649 and again in 1680 by the architects Re Bauca, Miguel Oliver and Bartomeu Calafat.

The Town Hall has some curious elements. First is an enormous wooden roof overhanging the facade by more than nine feet. Talk about eavesdropping. There is also a long balcony with six windows and a glass door. It has a watch (Figuera). It was originally in the clock tower but was moved after a tornado in 1848.

The watch was replaced by a new one in 1863. The watch could strike to announce the curfew, which was ended in 1865. From 1865 to the mid 1950s the bells were rung for fires and public announcements. The watch was electrified in 1964.

Inside the building is a collection of giant mannequins or dolls. They represent legendary historical figures and they are paraded during festivals and events.

Visits to the Town Hall are limited to groups having reservations.

The old convent of San Felipe Neri in Palma de Mallorca was torn down in 1823. That was a good thing. Few people, if any, were nostalgic for the Inquisition and the old convent in the city had been essentially Inquisition Central. Ten years after the convent and associated buildings were pulled down, work on the Main Square began.

Work continued, off and on, until the 20th century. When completed, the square featured an underground car park, businesses and commercial galleries.

The square is a big rectangle. Porticoed three and four-storied houses line the edges. The square is close to the Churches of San Miguel and Santa Eulalia. Other important buildings nearby include the Town Hall and the Main Theater. The streets of San Miguel, Jaime II, Colon and Sindicato stretch from the Main Square to the city limits.

Restaurants, cafes, art galleries and street performers abound in the square. An artisan market is held every week. Streets leading out of the square are also jammed with cafes and shops. The square tiled and closed to motor traffic. Main Square is a social and cultural watering hole for visitors and locals alike.

In the center of Palma de Mallorca sits the Olivar Market. If you like food, all kinds of food, this is definitely the place to be. How does one who has never been here know this? Watch the locals. See where they go for snacks, take-away, shopping, and meals-in-place. Follow them. Do as they do and enjoy.

Olivar Market has been in place since 1951. It has a full range of stalls, bars, restaurants and cafes and cafeterias. There are few supermarkets in Palma, so this is the go to place for residents and tourists. Sea food, sushi, meats, fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy products are all here.

On the ground floor (first floor in USA) find stalls for vegetables, meats and gourmet foods. There are escalators and elevators to the upper floor and the parking area. On the upper floor is a shopping arcade, a cooking school, hairdressing salon, restaurants and bars and boutiques, plus a supermarket, a children's area and a library.

A statue of James I, 13th century King of Aragon, aka The Conqueror, rides high in the Spain Square in Palma de Mallorca. James took Mallorca from Aba Yahya, the Almohad governor, on September 5, 1229. The bronze statue of James, mounted on his steed, was made by sculptor Enrique Claraso y Daudi.

James' life was not always peaceful and neither is the square he oversees. There are cafes and places to sit and watch the world go by. There are also buses, cars, electric scooters buzzing about and people meeting and parting under the watchful bronze eyes of King James.

The square is like a nerve center of Mallorca. The Plaza is the location of the city's modern Estacion Intermodal, the terminal for most buses and trains. The buses connect with towns around the island. Trains go to Inca san Pablo, Manacor and Marratxi.

The Station Park is behind the station terminal. It offers a landscaped refuge from the hustle and bustle of the square and a children's play park. The square itself is across the road from the station. There are cafes and restaurants and open air terraces and of course, King James.

There is a confluence of streets in the square. Alexandre Roselio Avenue leads to El Corte Ingles, Spain's largest department store. The food market Olivar Market is here. Other streets are La Rambla, Avenida Juan March Avenue, Eusebio Estada Street and San Miguel.

The Gran Hotel of La Palma, Mallorca is a modernist former hotel built in 1903 and designed by Master architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner. Lluis was a pioneering proponent of Catalan Modernisme style architecture. A style made famous by Antoni Gaudi's Cathedral of the Holy Family in Barcelona.

The Gran Hotel is a perfect example of modernisme, showing a facade lushly adorned in a Arte Nouveau way with sculptures and ornate ceramic elements. The hotel was the forerunner of luxury hotels in Mallorca and was judged to be the most sumptuous hotel in Spain.

The hotel closed in 1941 and was reborn as the home of the National Institute of Social Security. Since 1993 It has been turned into a cultural center of the Caixa Foundation. The foundation, a creation of Caixa Bank of Spain, underwrites art and cultural activities throughout the country and abroad.

The hotel is today a venue for exhibitions, concerts and conferences. It also houses a permanent pictorial collection of the works of Anglada Camarasa and an oceanic exhibit. Not to be ignored is a comfortable, quiet cafe and book store.

For more than one hundred years, the tree-lined Born Passage has held feasts, demos, events and peaceful strollers. There is a wide promenade and two traffic lanes on either side of the promenade. The promenade was built over the riverbed of the Riera torrent which once divided the city.

The two traffic lanes were laid out for traffic in each direction but now one is mostly pedestrian. The old Born cinema is now a Zara store. The cinema shares space on the promenade with Casal Solleric, an exhibition space formerly a palace. The grand old houses have galleries at street level.

The promenade extends to the Queen's Square and joins the Paseo Maritimo. Jaime III Aenue leads to Juan Carlos I Square, a main commercial spot of Palma. Union Street joins the promenade with Las Ramblas.

Pretend to be stranded and spend an evening walk on the Born Passage. See the Royal Palace of La Almudaina and the Palma Cathedral at night. Then sample some vegan ice cream at a place called Dolce.

In his obsession to possess everything, Francisco Franco called the Born Passage "Paseo Franco" but everyone else preferred "Born".