Mallorca, one of the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean Ocean tops Europe’s summer holiday as a popular travel destination and this is for many reasons such as Mallorca’s amazing beaches, beautiful coastline, crystal blue water, the possibility of eating tapas and drinking sangria every night, and the cute little cities around the island for guests to visit. In this guide, I am giving you a full-on tour and a complete guide to Mallorca, Spain – where to eat, what to see, and what to do. Find more of my travel guides here.
Palma
Palma is the biggest city in Mallorca and it is definitely a must to go here for at least a day or two to experience Palma’s city life, shopping opportunities, and see the old town.
Cafés, restaurants, and bars in Palma
Abaco – a beautiful bar inside of a Majorcan palace
Located in an old Palma palace, Abaco sets a good standard for in which environment you should get your drinks served. The bar is majestically decorated with chandeliers, old furniture, and big flower ornaments everywhere your eye sees. The even better part is their courtyard with amazing wall paintings, a bird cage with colorful birds, and an overdose of plants. Abaco is a great place to go for a drink after dinner.
Calle San Juan, 1, 07012 Palma de Mallorca,Islas Baleares
Quina Creu – the real deal when it comes to Spanish-style dinner
This tapas restaurant is the kind of place you have seen in movies and always wanted to experience yourself. It is loud, crowded, and everything goes very fast – but in the perfect, charming, Spanish way. Different tapas are lined up along the bar, and you simply order by pointing at what you want. It is also possible to get a table, depending on if you want the restaurant experience or the tapas bar experience. Quina Creu has retro furniture with creative and funny details like old movie wallpapers on the wall, the ambiance is authentic and the food is great.
Carrer de la Corderia, 24, 07001 Palma, Illes Balears
El Pilón – tapas in big amounts
Tucked in a little side street, El Pilón is not overly overcrowded by hungry tourists. The restaurant is located inside a little celler with rounded ceilings, and there are few outdoor tables. Their tapas menu knows no boundaries, and whatever you desire, you can find it on their menu which contains everything from potatoes, fish, and meats – grilled or fried. Do yourself a favor and try El Pilón’s garlic bread!
Carrer de Can Cifré, 4, 07012 Palma, Illes Balears
Cappuccino – a chain with cute decorations and good drinks
This worldwide chain is indeed very popular in Mallorca, and you will find several Cappuccino cafés around the island three of them are located around Palma. Cappuccino serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then they make good juices and drinks, and their indoor decoration is very cute.
Carrer de Sant Miquel, 53, 07002 Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares
La Molienda – the best coffee and breakfast in Mallorca
This place goes as being the café in Mallorca that serves the best coffee, and I can only stand behind that. The coffee is great, we had a flat white and espresso and were more than happy with them. La Molienda is a typical coffee-café-hang out spot with possibilities for both bringing your own laptop to work, people watching from the bar in the window, or just chilling with friends or family while trying La Molienda’s great breakfast/brunch which includes options like pancakes, porridge, granola, sandwiches, and eggs.
Carrer del Bisbe Campins, 11, 07012 Palma, Islas Baleares
Patron Lunares – a restaurant that will give you a new experience
This restaurant has it all – an amazing ambiance and atmosphere, great decoration, happy staff, good drinks, and excellent food. The restaurant is located within a big, very high ceiling room and there is so much to look at such as the portrait paintings of fishermen, the world map behind the bar, or the big globe. The menu is very innovative and contains options like guacamole – but the innovative part is that they bring you all the ingredients in a bowl and then you are to mix it yourself, chicken in a can, fish that is flamed in front of you by the waiter, or calamari served on a stick. The menu changes a few times a year. Dinner at Patron Lunares is definitely an experience on many levels.
Carrer de la Fàbrica, 30, 07013 Palma, Illes Balears
Bros – aesthetic restaurant with the best food and the nicest ambiance
As the name of this restaurant implies, Bros was opened a year and a half ago by the brothers Jose and Juan of course with a location in the hip and more local area of Palma, Santa Catalina. The brothers have together managed to open a place that is a treat to all of your senses. That means that the decoration is beautiful with creative handmade plywood furniture, green plants and Eames chairs, the food tastes amazing, and the staff is the most friendly we came across in Palma. Bros’ menu is rustic with a mix of traditional and innovative options and contains everything from a Angus burger to Iberian ham and grilled octopus. We were especially fond of the trumpet shrimps and the fried sausage.
Carrer de Cotoner, 54, 07013 Palma, Illes Balears
Bianco e Rosso – authentic Italian dinner with great outdoor seating
If you at some point might tire a bit of tapas, I understand. Therefore it is very optimal that there are restaurants in Palma that also serve other food, like Bianco e Rosso, an authentic Italian restaurant – the staff speaks Italian! Maybe that is just a simple trick to acting like they are real Italians, but I doubt it. The menu contains everything Italian, pizza, pasta, fish, steak, endless bottles of red wine, and tiramisu as dolce. Bianco e Rosso has outdoor seating on the pedestrian street and it is a very cosy place to have a late-night dinner.
Carrer de la Fàbrica, 6, 07013 Palma, Illes Balears
Vermuteria La Rosa– the coolest tapas restaurant in Palma
Recently opened, this restaurant has already experienced a great amount of success, and that is for good reason! The place is specially packed in the evening, but since Vermuteria doesn’t do reservations, it is fairly easy to get a table, there might just be a little waiting time if you come for dinner. Luckily the place is also open for lunch. The place has absolutely beautiful decor, and it is very modern meets Spanish style with metro tiles, chalkboards and ham and sausages hanging behind the bar. The food served at Vemuteria is tapas and their menu is huge, so they literally have every tapas you could wish for. They also serve big dishes so if you are not so much up for tapas and sharing, you can also get your own plate with a huge steak or fish or kind of whatever you wish for. Besides good food, the restaurant also has great drinks and a lot of vermouth drinks, as their name describes.
Carrer de la Rosa, 5, 07003 Palma, Illes Balears
Garito Café – drinks, fun and snacks
This café is located in the party district of Palma right next to Club Pacha and Tito’s. The café offers outdoor seating. Here you can enjoy good drinks and cocktails, and snack food, which is also really yummy. Later at night, Garito lights up inside where it looks like a 70s disco club.
Dársena de Can Barbara, s/n, 07015 Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares
To do in Palma:
Puro Beach Club – relax in a classy location
Located just a short trip from Palma, this beach club is perfect to spend a day or some hours when you just want to relax. The beach club itself is located on a cliff platform in the ocean. If you dare, you can jump in the water from there. If not, Puro Beach Club also has a bool. The beach club is chic and in luxury Ibiza style with white cabana tanning beds. Basically, everything is white and luxury-looking here. Nothing to disturb your day of relaxation. Their food menu has standard options such as sandwiches, quesadillas, simple tapas, and burgers, but the food is actually good!
Carrer de Pagell, 1, 07610 Can Pastilla, Islas Baleares
Rent bikes
Biking is most of the time my absolute favorite way to get around a city. You get around fast and easily all while you get to see the city and work out at the same time. What is not to like? Bike rental is possible in Mallorca. There is even a very long bike ride along the boardwalk that you can bike for hours.
Explore the Old Town – and get lost there
Palma has an Old Town area where lots of the old, classic, and historical buildings are located. Examples are the stunning cathedral and the Gaudi building. They are nestled in the little crooked streets and alleyways that are all very old and romantic. The Old Town is the kind of place where you should take a couple of hours off to just go off the beaten track, get lost, and explore on your own.
Other places to see around Mallorca
Port Andratx and beach club Gran Folies – fancy fisherman’s town and beach club
Even though Port Andratx is an ancient city, it has today become one of the hotspots in Europe. This is where the rich, fancy, and famous are on vacation. Go there in the daytime to hang out at the beach club Gran Folies. Gran Folies is a beach club hanging on the side of a cliff. It features a good restaurant, cute umbrellas, and a saltwater pool. It is also possible to jump in the water from the cliffs, but some days the water can be pretty rough. Since Port Andratx is a fisherman’s town, it has an outstanding selection of seafood restaurants. Take a walk along the waterside restaurant all situated along the beach and marina with a great view of the mountain and sunset to pick out a restaurant to have dinner at.
Gran Follies, Cala Llamp, Calle Tintorera, 07157 Puerto Andratx, Islas
Valldemossa – the prettiest and most picturesque place in Mallorca
Valldemossa goes as being the prettiest city in Mallorca. The city itself is tiny, situated on top of a hill, so the little streets in the city are narrow and crooked. Around the city is a stunning view over the mountain valley landscape with almond and olive fields and little rural houses. The houses of the city are all made with the same stones. They all have the same light brown color. You are going to want to take a lot of pictures of this beautiful little town. Around the city are many little cafés and restaurants where you can enjoy the view and atmosphere of Valldemossa. Valldemossa also has a Chopin museum that holds a piano of the composer that for some could be worth seeing.
Day trip to Sóller – fun train ride through the mountains
Sóller is an old historic town located within an hour from Palma. From Placa Espanya in Palma, there is an old, historic railway. This takes you on a beautiful train ride through the landscapes of Mallorca from Palma to Sóller. On the one-hour train ride, the train will take you through olive and lemon fields. High mountains. Astonishingly long tunnels through the mountains. And little local cities until its arrival in Sóller. In Sóller you can take a walk and enjoy the atmosphere and sit down in the city square for a drink. Later during the day, you can take the historic tram to Port de Sóller and spend the day by the beach.
Cala Pi, Cala des Moro, Cala Llombards, and Cala s’Almunia – picture link
These are all little beaches with clear blue water and cliffs on each side that are absolutely gorgeous. They are situated on the Northeast side of the island. They look like the true version of the kind of beach with the kind of blue, blue water you have always dreamed about. The calas are reachable within an hour’s drive from Palma.
Cap Rocat – resort with a view and great lunch – picture link
Cap Rocat is first of all an old fortress that has now been refurbished into a luxury resort. Everything here is as if taken out of a dream. The old buildings, the nature that surrounds the fort that is situated on top of a cliff, and the view. The view is beyond stunning, and the best place to enjoy it is by the restaurant where visitors can enjoy a great lunch. After lunch, you can walk ten meters down the staircase and jump into the blue water straight from the cliffs.
Ctra. d’enderrocat, s/n, 07609 Cala Blava-Llucmajor, Illes Balears
General tips for Mallorca
Rent a car – the easiest way to see a lot
If you are looking to explore the island of Mallorca, a car is vital. Though Mallorca does have busses that go around the island every day, this takes the double amount of time. Renting a car just gives you more freedom to do and see what you want when you want it.
Remember siesta
Some places in Mallorca still hold on to the Spanish tradition of closing down stores and restaurants during the day because of the heat. Siesta is approximately around 12 to 3/4 pm. Though you can never be too sure of this. We looked up a restaurant online and it said it was closed already. Randomly, we passed it and it was still open. The owner said that the best way to figure out if a restaurant is open or closed is to simply go there or call them first.