I left off last time with the hint that we were heading to Palma Cathedral and La Almudaina Palace. I think when you google ‘things to do in Palma de Mallorca’, these will be the two headline acts. You know me, I love a good Spanish Cathedral and my Mum, (being the history nerd she is), was super excited for the Palace.

Our day started with the Palace for which I had booked tickets in advance for approx. £7 each. You can buy tickets on the day, you just have to queue. If you book tickets in advance, skip the queue and head straight to the suited person with a QR code scanner. We opted for the audio guide, (which I would definitely recommend!), which came to £9 for 2 – all in all, the palace visit was £12 each.

The Royal Palace of La Almudaina, (pronounced ‘al-moo-die-na’), is still a royal residence in use today for King Felipe, (a low key silver fox!), when he and his family holiday in Mallorca, to entertain during royal engagements or for the Balearic government meetings. Originally, it was a Roman military camp as it has a great view over the water to lookout for potential naval attacks: the sea actually used to touch the palace, (you can see where it sits now in the first picture). Eventually, it became a castle for the royal family. Whilst it was built under catholic reign, the architects were Muslim, hence the Arabic features running through it. In fact, the word ‘Almudaina’ means ‘citadel’ in Arabic.

The palace, as you can imagine, is beautiful! Huge beams, Arabic arches, special patchwork designs you can see in the ceilings, massive tapestries and paintings adorn the walls – it’s genuinely like a palace and art gallery wrapped into one. My favourite spots were the bath house, (what are now referred to as the ‘Arab baths’ but back in the day would have just been the bathroom), and the main courtyard with its water feature. There’s the inside of the palace to explore but also the surrounding grounds. You can’t take the audio guide outside with you so either test your memory, note down the interesting points from the outside tour whilst you can or just enjoy them at face value.

Just across from the Palace is the Cathedral which was our next stop. Again I bought tickets in advance but you can buy on the day. The facade of the Cathedral that faces the Palace was breath taking! It really reminded me of the university building in Salamanca, with intricate details on a level my brain cannot comprehend. Much like a lot of great structures in Spain, La Seu cathedral began life as a Mosque. Eventually, in c13, construction on the site began to build a church. It was completed in the 17th century but work has continued ever since, with Gaudí even having a hand in the central space.

When we got inside, my eye was immediately drawn to the stain glass windows, (of which, there are 61!). To say I was obsessed is an understatement. I would love to sit in a pew all day and just experience the changing light through that glass. There is a huge amount to explore in the Cathedral, however, it was packed out. There were hordes of people milling about in the Cathedral which made visiting the various additional rooms, reading over all the different tombs or just stopping to enjoy the stain glass windows, (I told you, obsessed!), really difficult. We visited at about 11.30 on a Tuesday so I would recommend going first thing when they open or potentially right before they close to avoid the crowds.

After our morning of activity, we were in search of food. If you search lunch places in Palma on tiktok, BrunchIt, will come up top spot. It’s perfect for the aesthetic seeker, with a flower wall on the outside and a neon signage inside, but the food here actually lived up to the hype too. The portions are very generous so you can probably get away with ordering less than what you think you need. A main dish each, a stack of pancakes and fries to share with coffees came to about £54 total.

Full of food and coffee, we decided to simply wander around: no real direction, no plan, nowhere in mind. We just walked around the buzzing streets, dipping into shops, stopping for an ice cream, buying souvenirs. Being the archetypal Virgo I am, I always feel the need to have everything planned and organised at all times to maximise the time I have somewhere. Whilst going into this plan free was lowkey anxiety inducing for me, once I realised the world wasn’t going to end because I didn’t have a plan, I actually really enjoyed simply existing in another place.

For dinner we decided to go to La Paloma, to get our tapas fix. It seemed a very swanky from the outside, but once you’re in, it’s not pretentious or stuffy in the slightest. The waiters were incredibly friendly and attentive and the restaurant itself had a beautiful interior. Some sangria, bottles of water, 4 tapas dishes and a dessert each came to £47.50 each.

On the way home, we stumbled across another Semana Santa procession. This one was multiple different nazareno brotherhoods, a marching band, a Mary & Jesus float – the works! We pulled ourselves away from the procession and headed back to the hotel.

We had a fairly early start in the morning to visit the Drach caves which are the largest in Mallorca. It took about an hour to reach them from Palma, but the drive was through lush countryside with picturesque windmills dotting the landscape. The caves were discovered in 1896 and are home to the largest underground lake in the world, (Lake Martel), which is about 25m deep. The caves are beautiful with stalactites and stalagmites which look like they’ve been carved by human hand. I booked this specific excursion which included a short classical music concert, (very random), and an optional lil’ boat ride on the lake. If I’m honest, the caves were interesting and if you’ve got a spare day/day where the weather isn’t great/you’re really into caves, then definitely visit. If not, I think you could probably skip them. If you’re on the fence, then visit the caves in Génova – it’s nearer to Palma, so not as much time out of the day, and probably the same experience if I’m honest.

The rest of our final day was spent watching the waves of Playa de Illetas before it was time to head to the airport and say goodbye to Mallorca. Palma is a great city and Mallorca is a beautiful island. I can imagine that in the height of summer, along the coast, (apparently the Cala d’Or are where the best beaches are at), it would make for a perfect, chill summer holiday!