Bay of Palma Tourism Guide - Palma Arts & Crafts Shopping

Placa Major

Placa Major, just south of the Museum of Contemporary Spanish art off C/Jaume II, is a rather large square worth a look particularly for it's handicrafts daily market. Bit twee though, with daft mime artists. Move up towards C/Sant Miquel which is all pedestrianised and you'll discover shops galore here leading upto the art museum. For a good food market check out Mercat d'Olivar past Placa Olivar. Lots of tapas bars here too.

Palma Markets

There are an assortment of markets across Palma, from food markets to arts and crafts. Check with Palma Tourist Information centre for details of times, or contact the markets direct. Sample some of the real Spain.

Check out the following Palma Markets:

Camp Redo, Cotlliure 24, Tel. (971) 208960, 601545. Can Pastilla (near Palma), Pl. Pius IX . Llevant, Manuel Azana 46, Tel (971) 467136. Mercapalma,, c/ Cardenal Rossell, 182 (Coll d'en Rabassa) 07007-Palma, Tel. (971) 745401. Olivar, Pl. Olivar 4, Tel. (971) 720314. Pere Garau, Pl. Pere Garau, Tel. (971) 273283. Sant Ferran, Av. Sant Ferran s/n. Santa Catalina, Pl. Navegacio, Tel. (971) 730710.

Palma de Majorca Shopping Experience

George Sand, if she landed in Palma de Mallorca today would certainly find plenty to amuse herself in the shops in Palma. It's quite simply a shopping mecca. Quite big as Spanish cities go so you'll need a good street map for shopping in Palma. A lot of tourist info books on Mallorca point you to this shop and that, but pottering around Palma is best, as little gems pop up that you might otherwise had missed had you been on some rigorous military shopping exercise. It's a pleasure wandering around Palma anyway, just for the architecture, with plenty of charming cafes in many hub squares, large and small, to collapse in.

Shopping in Palma offers the full range, from top designer names to specialist ceramic shops, or clothes shops. Palma is a city conscious of it's style and edge, with age old architectural buildings, but a leaning somehow to the contemporary in both art and culture. You could spend some serious money here, and there are extremely expensive places to shop and frequent, but you can do the other bohemian thing as well, cooing over some of the best shoe shops on the planet. Camper shoes of course being prevalent, with their headquarters and history integral to Majorca.

The many art galleries and museums are cheap to get in, all with good shops I might add and check out the cafe come restaurant at Es Baluard. This superb contemporary art gallery on Placa Porta de Santa Catalina s/n in Palma has a fantastic terrace with superb views of Palma's port and across to Bellver Castle. Great coffee here too, and close to the main shopping area in Palma. Around the superb Museu d'Art Espanyol Contemporani behind Placa Major are a choice of little narrow cobbled streets lined with some pretty exquisite specialist shops. Looking for something quirky and different, you'll find it in this area. Just make sure you've got a good upto date street map on you when shopping in Palma. Get your bearings by some of the main attractions like the obvious one, the cathedral on the coast and one of the largest squares, Placa Major if you're pushing into the heart of the city. Palma is a prime shopping city!