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Palma is the capital city of the Balearic Islands, located on the island of Mallorca. The city was established as a Roman Camp, on top of an abandoned settlement from the Bronze Age. It was one of the two main cities on the island, the other being Pollentia , in the East. It was successively under Byzantine and Muslim rule. The Muslims called it Medina Mayurqa and for the first one and a half century the city "de facto" enjoyed absolute autonomy. However, unable to defend from Viking raids it was incorporated in the Emirate of Córdoba. Palma was conquered by James I of Aragon in 1299 and became the capital of the Kingdom of Mallorca. In the following years, many of the most emblematic monuments were built, such as the Bellver Castle and the La Seu Cathedral . In 1714 the end of the war of succession also brought the end of the Kingdom of Aragon. The government of the city was separated from the government of the rest of the island and it was only in 1833 that Palma ...

The Banys Arabs are the only remaining Moorish built building in Palma de Mallorca. The baths date back to the 10th century and were built by recycling capitals from previous periods (Byzantine and Roman). They were probably part of a nobleman's house. Opening hours : 9.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Dec to Mar) Entrance fee (standard): €2.50 Back to Palma

La Seu, or the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, was built on top of a mosque so it faces Mecca rather than Jerusalem. It started being built in 1230 after the conquest of Palma, according to tradition, to pay a promise to the Virgin Mary for Jaume I landing safely in Mallorca after crossing a storm on the way. Work continued for the next 400 years and had to be resumed in 1851 after an earthquake destroyed the west front. In 1901, 50 years after restoration started, Antonio Gaudi was invited to take over the project, which he later abandoned, in 1914, after an argument with the contractor. Opening hours : Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (3 p.m. in winter); Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (summer); closed on Sunday. Entrance fee (standard): €4 Back to Palma

The Bellver Castle was built in the 14th century for king Jaume II and has the peculiarity of being the only circular castle in Spain. It was built as a residence but was rarely used as one. Throughout the 18th to mid 20th century, the castle was used as a prison. Opening hours : APRIL to SEPTEMBER:  Monday: 8.30am to 1 pm. - Tuesday to Saturday: 8.30am to 8pm. - Sundays and bank holidays: 10am to 8pm. OCTOBER to MARCH:  Monday: 8.30 am to 1 pm. - Tuesday to Saturday: 8.30am to 6pm. - Sundays and bank holidays: 10am to 6pm. Entrance fee (standard): €4 How to go: T he nearest you can get to the castle by bus (3, 20 or 46) from the city centre is Plaça de Gomila, about 1km (15 min.) from the castle. Back to Palma