Words by Sarah Finley
Ideal for a long weekend, Palma’s foodie scene and nightlife is thriving, as well as its cultural side.
Hotel Iberostar Playa de Palma should be your first stop – the five-star hotel is close to not only Palma’s 10K stretch of beach, but a 10-minute drive away from the airport.
Drop your bags off and, if your first thought is relaxation, then you can spend your day next to their main pool on the ground floor or enjoying cocktails as you lounge beside their rooftop pool, which has stunning views.
With 187 rooms you have a huge selection of different rooms to choose from, but the balcony rooms on the first floor are spacious, with sunbeds overlooking the pool.
If you’re staying for dinner, try its Marea restaurant for freshly grilled fish, tapas and Mallorcan dishes, but not before you’ve sipped on a few cocktails in their sunset bar.
Once you are relaxed, venture out to the city centre where you can explore its cathedral and Palma’s city beach, stopping for sangria and tapas along the way.
In the Santa Catalina district you’ll find the market – one of Palma’s oldest food markets, it was built in 1920 and predating L’Olivar and Pere Garau.
Its position explains its popularity among the yachting community today- in what has now become a culinary meeting place within a cosmopolitan neighbourhood, full of restaurants and bars mixing locals with foreign residents as well as visitors to the island from around the world.
Packed with fresh fish sellers, wine shops, ham from the bone and even gelato, wander round the market and get a feel for the scene. Buy some fresh fish then ask one of the many restaurants to cook it for you while you enjoy a glass of wine.
If beach clubs are more your thing then Purobeach should be your next stop. With its amazing views, right on the sea front, fresh food and drinks – you could spend a whole day here in the sun. If it’s a party vibe you’re after then head to Anima Beach club – where you can party long into the early hours.
It’s not hard to find good food and drinking spots in Palma – Patron Lunares Cantina is just one of these. The well-known restaurant, in the Santa Catalina neighbourhood, pays homage to the fishermen who sailed the Mediterranean seas for centuries. Offering a range of seafood as well as organic vegetables and meats.
If it is views you are after then The Es Baluard Restaurant & Lounge is one of the best spots to see the sun setting over the city.
Located within the grounds of the contemporary art museum of the same name, the outdoor bar is located within the perimeter of the Sant Pere bastion, part of the Renaissance wall that surrounded the city of Palma until the beginning of the 20th Century. Cocktails, tapas and views – you can’t really go wrong.
Want to feel like a local? Then visit the Ca Sa Camena bakery, which was established in 1912 and currently run by the 4th generation of the Amengual family. There you can feast on Mallorcan delicacies like ensaïmadas, cocas de trampo Trampò, de verdures, and de pimentos.
Just a 20-minute drive away is Puerto Portals marina. A hub for locals and some holiday seekers – bars are buzzing and clubs stay open until late.
If it’s fine dining you’re looking for, then Iberostar Grand Hotel Portals Nous ticks all the boxes. Their restaurant, Astir, is the only one in Majorca that serves cuts of meat supplied by ‘Bodega El Capricho’ in León, including succulent dishes of cecina air-dried beef, carpaccio, burgers, sirloin and rib eye steaks of outstanding quality.
To round the night off sip on champagne and cocktails in its Selini Lobby Bar just next door, based on the terrace, overlooking the beach its design and atmosphere brings the hotel alive in the evenings.
For more information on rooms and reservations at Iberostar Playa de Palma and Iberostar Grand Hotel Portals Nous go to iberostar.com/en/hotels/majorca
Iberostar Playa de Palma
Address: Carrer de Marbella, 36, 07610 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain
Phone: +34 971 26 64 50
