The Arab baths
The wali's original chambers beneath the Gothic palace.
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The Almudaina — from the Arabic al-mudayna, the citadel — was the Muslim wali's palace, became Mallorca's kings', and remains Spain's monarchs' official summer seat today: the king receives here yearly in its halls, making the visit an entry into a working royal palace beside the cathedral itself. The layers show honestly: the Arab qasba's towers and original baths, Jaume II's Gothic halls with Flemish hangings, and Saint Anne's chapel with its rare Romanesque portal — a thousand years of power in connected corridors. From its walls the S'Hort del Rei gardens — the Arabic "garden" in name and origin — step down in fountains towards the sea: with the adjoining cathedral, Palma's complete royal half-day.
The wali's original chambers beneath the Gothic palace.
Royal Gothic hung with Flemish tapestry.
Fountains stepping seaward under a surviving Arabic name.
Carrer del Palau Reial, 07001 Palma
Palma Cathedral (La Seu)La Seu is the Mediterranean's Gothic wonder: a cathedral rising straight from th1 minute walk4.8
Sa LlotjaSa Llotja is Valencia's Lonja's sister and elder teacher: Mallorca's merchant ex3 minutes walk4.6
Arab Baths of PalmaA small bath chamber in the old town of Palma, and the clearest thing to survive4 minutes walk3.4
Can Forteza ReyA residential building in central old Palma, and the city's best-known modernist6 minutes walk4.7
Es Baluard Contemporary Art MuseumEs Baluard is Palma's architectural intelligence: the Sant Pere bastion of the s7 minutes walk4.1The city was Madina Mayurqa for three centuries: these two names (Almudaina, S'Hort), the Banys Àrabs baths in the old quarter — the island's completest Islamic remain — and the qasba's lane network still governing the plan. One morning walk gathers them all.