Palma de Mallorca has everything one could want from a city; from the rich history stretching back from at least the Romans, the beautiful architecture and views, the wonderful selection of shops, the cultural hotspots and the many special events, Palma has it all.

Palma’s history is most evident in its gothic cathedral, formally named Cathedral of Santa Maria de Palma, although it is mostly simply referred to as Palma cathedral which was started in 1229 but only finished in 1601.

The cathedral boasts a magnificent design with flying buttresses and multiple large towers. It also has the largest rose window (a form of circular stain glass window) in the world. A brief period in the early nineteen hundreds saw the architect Antonio Gaudi working on the restoration of the cathedral, and while it still maintains a traditional appearance many familiar with his work will spot his influence.

Next to the cathedral is the old Royal Palace of La Almundania. While dwarfed by its position right next to the cathedral the palace is actually quite beautiful and servers as a museum of some of Palmas royal history.

Inland from the cathedral is old town Palma. These old winding streets are filled with history, every other building decorated with carvings on the window-frames and overhangs; the tight streets restrict the use of cars making it easy to forget its the 21st century.

Old town Palma contains one of the last hints of the Moorish influence in the city, the Arab baths, just north of the cathedral and a wonderful piece of history surrounded by a lush garden.

While old Palma is mostly concentrated behind the cathedral there are many other historic locations throughout the city.

The old city wall stretches along part of the sea front with the old windmills sitting on top. There are also many churches that appear through the city. By the port at the west of Palma there is the old watch tower of Porto Pi (now a lighthouse) and the fortress of Santa Carlos (now a military museum).

Sitting on a hilltop looking over the entire city is the Castillo Bellver, this castle was the first round walled castle in Europe and it is now a museum to the history of Mallorca.

Stretching down the seafront of Palma is the Paseo Maritimo. This pedestrian and cycle path extends from the west of Palma all the way to El Arenal. The Paseo passes many of the best sights in the city and it is very smooth and very flat making one of the easiest cycle rides on the entire island.

There are many places where it is possible to rent bikes for a trip down the Paseo. It is also very popular with skaters and rollerbladers.

If you time your visit right, you may end up in Palma during one of its festivals. Palma has many great festivals which commemorate local history, folklore and Christian traditions.

The first big festival night of the year is January the 6th with the Reys Magos or Three Kings festival, a Christian festival celebrating the visit of Jesus by the three kings. The festival is usually a parade with the kings in the centre and this is the time when Spanish children receive their Christmas presents.

The next in the calendar is San Sebastien, Palma’s patron saint. This festival usually begins between the 12-14th. of January and lasts about a week. The festivities are many from parades and religious services to a traditional Catalonian correfoc. The correfoc (literally fire run) is a late night event in which locals dress up as devils and chase revellers through the street brandishing pitchforks and fireworks and while the event is quite safe (being about as dangerous as a Guy Fawkes night or bonfire) it can be quite scary to take part in the chase.

The final festival of note is the Moors and Christians in August. This festival is a historic re-enactment of the Moorish capture of the city and the Christian recapture in the middle ages. Participants take to the streets of Palma in medieval armour wielding swords and the two sides then begin to battle. It is of course all good fun with wooden swords and no one gets hurt. The best idea is to watch from behind the barriers as the fun can spill over.

Palma is a city of much variety and beauty with something for everyone. Its been a challenge to fit everything about the city into one page. There is more to come on Palma, such as shopping and night life, because there is way to much information to be shoehorned into a single paragraph….its that kind of city.