I can’t believe we haven’t been to Mallorca before. After all the years of travelling, arriving in beautiful ancient Palma de Mallorca (Ciutat de Mallorca) is somewhat of a revelation. Capital of the Balearic Islands, Palma was first founded by the Romans in 123 B.C., but of course given its strategic position in the Mediterranean, has been invaded and conquered many other times across millennia – Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Arab Moors, Catalans and finally, the most invasive of them all, tourists. 

Arriving in Palma Airport you begin to realise just how popular Mallorca has become. At least 80 airlines fly here from all over the world, so it’s no surprise (or is it?) that this island received over 12 million visitors in 2023! We flew in from Gatwick on a packed EasyJet flight, one of many packed flights escaping the great British ‘non-existent’ summer in early June. But once free of the airport chaos and bombing along the highway towards El Casco Antiquo (Palma Old Town) you begin to realise why this town attracts so many people. It’s gorgeous. Though the gigantic cruise liners parked in the port are a worrying sight – more so when you see the thousands of people disgorging from these floating monstrosities throughout the day. 

Just before we arrived in Mallorca, thousands of locals took to the streets to protest against mass tourism (“massification”) and the overcrowding of the islands. Tourism now accounts for 45% of the island’s GDP but locals are angry that the cruise-ship hordes spend very little whilst ashore, that the Instagram generation swarms into previously quiet villages, that homes are being snapped up by foreigners, that holiday rentals are pricing them out, and that their daily lives are simply being overrun. Authorities have recently introduced new regulations, effectively restricting Airbnb and the like, requiring property owners to have a tourism licence. Plus for now this so called private ‘bed exchange’ has been frozen until at least 2026 with no more new licences for holiday rentals to be issued. It’s a start I guess, but for locals it must be infuriating.

The massively imposing 14^th century gothic-style Cathedral known locally as La Seu dominates the Parc de la Mar and the heart of the Old Town. Started in 1229 and finally finished in 1601, it sits on the site of a Moorish-era mosque and, before that, the ancient Roman citadel. We would have gone in (perhaps we should have), but the queues even early in the morning were a put off. Still, plenty of other things to see in the Old Town, not least to get lost in the many narrow medieval passages, elegant squares and avenues such as Passeig del Born which links into the Avenida de Jaime III, packed full of luxury designer shops, galleries, restaurants and bars. 

Surprisingly, Catalan is the language spoken on the island – as it is throughout the Balearic Islands. All signage throughout the city is in dual language so at first it seems at odds with the basic Spanish (Spanglish) that I’ve been learning on Duolingo on and off over the years.

The Old Town is seeped with its ancient past, with layers of history everywhere you walk. The Els Banys Àrabs were built between the 10^th and 12^th centuries are some of the few remains of the Arab city of Medina Mayurqa (a clear link to the island’s modern name). The baths have a well-preserved caldarium and tepidarium with stone columns thought to have been recycled from a Roman building. The baths are tucked away in a maze of narrow passages packed with towering houses, some of them with hidden walled gardens and tinkling fountains. 

I like this quote from Gertrude Stein which kind of sums up Palma de Mallorca: “Mallorca is a paradise, if you can stand it:” We loved our time here and would love to return, but perhaps in a less busy season. Winter here is supposed to be heaven.