Santa Catalina & Es Jonquet
Just beyond the old city walls, Santa Catalina is Palma's most energetic neighbourhood — a former fishing district that has reinvented itself as the city's food and creative heart without losing the cobblestone soul that makes it worth wandering. Next door, the tiny windmill quarter of Es Jonquet offers bay views and a village-within-a-city calm.
Food, Market & Bars
Mercat de Santa Catalina on Carrer d'Annibal is the neighbourhood's anchor — Palma's oldest market, open since 1920, where sobrassada, local cheese, seasonal fruit, and fresh seafood share space with tapas bars that fill up fast at lunchtime.
The streets radiating from the market are lined with wine bars, seafood restaurants, and the kind of corner café where the espresso arrives without you having to ask twice.
Come at the early-evening tardeo — the Spanish pre-dinner social hour — when locals spill onto terraces with a glass of Mallorcan white and small plates of whatever is good that day.
Es Jonquet & the Windmills
A five-minute walk from the market brings you to Es Jonquet, one of Palma's oldest barrios, where a cluster of historic windmills rises above cobblestone streets and whitewashed fishermen's houses.
The windmills are the last physical reminder of the fishing village that once stood here; walking up to them rewards you with open views over Palma Bay and the cathedral.
The neighbourhood has a certain village nostalgia that contrasts sharply with the buzz of Santa Catalina just behind it — a genuinely photogenic contrast.
Art Nouveau & Street Art
Strolling Santa Catalina's streets, keep an eye out for Art Nouveau buildings: Can Pujol, Can Palmer, La Central, and Hostal Cuba are four beautifully preserved facades that most visitors walk straight past.
Street art appears on unexpected corners, and boutique shops selling handmade ceramics, jewellery, and island-made décor fill the gaps between the restaurants.
The neighbourhood accommodates everyone from chic to bohemian, and retains a distinctly Mallorcan charm that the tourist-heavy old town can sometimes lose.
Santa Catalina & Es Jonquet on video
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