SHOPPING & CULTURE in Palma

The old town of Palma de Majorca offers you the ideal conditions combining shopping with a bit of culture. Enjoy your shopping in Palma in a very well-preserved old town. There are houses from the 13th century as well as fantastic facades in Gaudi's typical Catalan Art Nouveau style. In the shopping streets and alleys you will find many smaller shops where Mallorcans also go shopping. Whether traditional Majorcan craftsmanship, artificial pearls from Manacor, a pair of shoes or a handbag or one ot the tipical Majorcan delicacies: you are sure to find what you are looking for.

Start your shopping tour at the parking garage under the Parc De Mar, directly in front of the cathedral. The entrance to the car park is in front of the Park de Mar on the sea side.

Exit the car park heading west and at the end of the park turn right towards Plaza de la Reina and then continue along Paseo Borne Borne. Right at the end of Paseo Borne, where the street joins Avenida Jaime III, is one of the many traditional street cafes in Palma: Bar Bosch. With an espresso or a café cortado (espresso with a small sip of milk) you can enjoy the Mallorcan way of life in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

The exclusive boutiques and fashion stores are located under the arcades of Avenida Jaime III and in the extension of the street to the right (seen from Bar Bosch), Calle Unió. Walk along Calle Unió, past magnificent Art Nouveau facades, the Caixa Bank Cultural Center (with cafeteria and exhibition rooms) and the Teatro Principal.

Then (at the Plaza Mayor car park and at the start of Las Ramblas) climb the stairs to the arcade-lined Plaza Mayor, admire the "living statues" there and continue towards the archway to Calle San Miguel. Right at the beginning there are a few shoe shops there.

Calle San Miguel leads past Plaza Olivar (located on the right), where the large market hall is located, which is divided into 3 areas: a fish hall, a vegetable market and a meat market. A detour to the market hall with its colorful offerings and variety of local fish and seafood is definitely worth it. For people who like cooking and taking photos, a trip to the market halls is a must!

If you continue along Calle San Miguel towards Calle Oms (or Olmos), on the right side you will find one of the most beautiful cafés in Palma, the "Gran Café Capuccino". Whether inside, in the old city palace with round arches or in the garden courtyard of the café: you shouldn't ignore this oasis in the middle of the city.

Well-fortified, you can then start your way back: past the back of the market hall at Plaza Olivar, come to Calle Velazques, then continue strolling through the narrow streets (Calle Sindicat, Calle Carnisseria, Calle Morey) across Plaza Santa Eulalia (with the church of the same name) to Plaza Cort with its thousand-year-old olive tree in the middle of the town hall square.

From Calle Carnisseria, don't forget to take a detour to Calle Can Sanc. There lies Palma's oldest xocolateria, C'an Joan de's Aigo. In this traditional restaurant from the 18th century you can try hot chocolate with ensaimadas (typical Majorcan shortbread in the shape of a snail) in a cozy environment.

If you continue along Calle Santo Domingo from Plaza Cort, you will pass one of the most colorful Majorcan delicias shops, the Colmado Sto. Domingo. In addition to vegetables and spices and many other local delicacies, you can also find the Majorcan sobrasada, a sausage seasoned with lots of paprika and made from the typical black pigs of Mallorca.

Calle Santo Domingo leads up to Calle Conquistador, turn left here and follow the street sharply right until you turn right again into Carrer del Palau Real. You will pass the government building of the Balearic Islands. Then complete your shopping and sightseeing tour with a cultural highlight: a visit to the “La Seu” cathedral. You enter the cathedral outside of church service times via the museum. The entrance fee also includes a visit to the museum. On the Website  from the Cathedral you will find a map as well as visiting times.

After leaving the cathedral, get to your parking garage by continuing towards the sea and then descending the stairs to Parc de Mar.