Mercat de l'Olivar
Mercat de l'Olivar is the beating culinary heart of Palma — a vast covered market built in 1951 where locals still do their serious daily shopping alongside curious travellers. The seafood hall alone, with its glistening towers of red prawns and whole dentex, is worth the visit.
Three floors of Mallorcan abundance
The ground floor is divided into distinct worlds: a fish hall where the day's catch from the Badia de Palma arrives before 8 am, a meat section hung with sobrassada sausages and black-pepper llonganissa, and produce stalls piled with local almonds, dried figs and tomàtigues de ramellet — the small, intensely flavoured tomatoes rubbed on pa amb oli.
Upstairs, a row of informal tapas bars opens at 8 am and serves market workers and early-rising tourists side by side. Order a plate of boquerones, a glass of local Binissalem white wine and a front-row seat watching the traders negotiate.
What to buy and take home
Sobrassada — the spreadable, paprika-cured pork sausage that is Mallorca's most iconic food product — is sold vacuum-packed and travels well in checked luggage. Look for the Indicació Geogràfica Protegida (IGP) label to guarantee authenticity.
Mallorcan olive oil, almond-based confectionery called gató and herb liqueur Hierbas Ibicencas (widely drunk on Mallorca too) are all sold here at prices well below the tourist shops on Passeig del Born.
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