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Palma is as sophisticated and cultured as they come. Don't let the fact that nearly 10 million tourists pass through its airport every year put you off.

 

The vast majority of holidaymakers - 2 million of them Brits - who make straight for the beaches of Arenal, Can Pastilla and Magaluf pay scant attention to the island's capital. For those who do, there's a rich seam of art and history to be explored, restaurants which sparkle and shine, and pretty good shopping. The one thing that is shared with the throng is the weather - almost permanent sunshine throughout a summer which seems to last for 9 months of the year.

 

And 'Mallorca' is simply the correct spelling - we Brits hijacked the pronunciation many years ago and made it our very own with a "j".

 

How to get to Palma

 

Easy. Of the dozens of daily flights throughout the year from virtually every airport in the UK, Monarch has expanded from charter to include scheduled services too. They now have among the cheapest fares (from £50) and a no frills but enjoyable and friendly service.

 

They differ from the competition in several ways, for a start the basic fare allocates you a numbered seat, which Ryanair and Easyjet don't. More leg room? A seat in the more spacious rows up front will cost an extra fifteen quid, the nearest you'll get to Club Class here. A hot meal for £9 is actually not bad all things considered and there are snacks and drinks from £2. Their website couldn't be clearer, more upfront and simple to navigate. Particularly when you consider the tricks the opposition gets up to. They're cheap and cheerful with daily flights from Gatwick and Manchester all year, Luton and Birmingham in the summer.

 

In downtown Palma a car is not necessary, although underground parking is plentiful and costs about €1 per hour. For a citybreak only, almost everything is within walking distance but if you do rent a car to explore the countryside then among the outlets at Palma Airport you'll find Atesa, a Spanish chain with good prices if you book in advance.

 

(Beware: in Palma there's a resident's parking scheme called ACIRE. If you park your rental car within certain areas, even if you purchase a ticket from the nearby machine, you'll be fined €90 (50% discount if you pay within 20 days). These areas are not clearly marked.)

 

The airport is connected to downtown Palma (Plaza Espana) by buses every 20 minutes, the journey costs just €2. A taxi will cost somewhere between €15/25

And there's now a new free bike scheme in Palma, bicipalma, with a network of docking stations and 330 bikes for your use.

 

 

OK. WE'RE HERE.

 

Large parts of old Palma have been pedestrianised for your benefit. Cars haven't exactly been banned but their presence is now suffered rather than welcomed. Around the Cathedral (you can't miss it - it's HUGE and dominates the whole skyline) makes for very pleasant walking down narrow streets and alleyways which, even in bright sunshine cast shadows to keep things cool. Take a map but getting lost in here is no big deal and actually quite enjoyable.

 

The recession has hit Spain hard but Mallorca's mass tourism has shielded it from the worst - the streets don't have closed down cafes and shops, there's still money here although everyone grumbles about missing the good times. Tourists flock here from Northern Europe to enjoy the sun and their revenues have created a prosperity to see the economy through harsh times.

 

If you like the architecture of Catholicism then make sure you spend some time inside the Cathedral as well as circumnavigating it.  

 

Outside in the streets you can glimpse Mallorca's evidently glorious history where merchants built themselves grandiose courtyards to signify their wealth. The shops divide into malls (underground for all weather) and local artisans (see below). Best deals are for shoes and summer fashions.

 

Spanish artists flocked to Mallorca for the light and the sunshine, and Palma is the best place to explore the works of Joan Miro, who lived here for 40 years. Picasso and Dali are evident too, as well as Spanish artists of national acclaim who may have passed you by.

 

For eating out, there is a myriad of tapas bars which have carpeted Spain for years now, long since these little dishes stopped being Andalucian nibbles to go with drinks, but there are now sophisticated restaurants too in among the plentiful four language tourist menus.

 

And, as you might expect, foreign newspapers, British and German especially, are available everywhere, on the day, from early morning.

 

For further information online Mallorca Tourism is helpful, and there are two good websites, Balearic Discovery who organise tailor made independent breaks on the island and this new one for entertainment, events and places to go.

 

Timetables and public transport maps try here or here.

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STAY WHERE?

 

If there's one thing Mallorca is not short of its hotel rooms. But the beachfront tower blocks are not what we're talking here. For cool sophistication and one of the best locations in Palma, Hotel Tres can't be beat. It's in a little cobbled alleyway just off the main drag and consists of a traditional, untouched exterior with patio courtyard, followed by a designer interior which is achingly cool and modern.

 

The facade is part of historic Palma, in plain honey yellow stone with ornate touches here and there; a grand wrought iron gate leads off the cobbled alleyway. It's safe and relatively quiet, with a tapas cafe right outside the front door and several other restaurants a few steps away. It's across the road from the Cathedral. 

 

The owners have created a designer ambience which has low lighting, casually arranged soft furnishings, with a bar and restaurant as part of the open plan space. Staff are utterly charming, endlessly helpful (The Weekender asks a lot of questions) and all speak several languages perfectly. The head honcho Sven will meet you every evening at 5pm in the second floor library for a glass of local Mallorcan red and a chat to make sure you're seeing and doing all the right things. He's Norwegian but he knows everything you might need to know about Palma.

 

The bedrooms are spacious and modern, shiny and bright, all white walls softened by floating nets. The bathrooms are 21^st century modern and the wifi extends to every room. In fact there's a TV port to connect your iPad and iPhone to check your phone pix and videos full size.

 

Crowning glory is the rooftop pool, with resplendent views over the ancient part of Palma and the Cathedral in close proximity. Loungers and a ready supply of drinks and snacks mean you have your very own afternoon hangout - just a few steps in reality, but a million miles from the crowded beaches.

 

 

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL, 1, 2, 3....

 

(1) Modern Art

Everywhere you go in Palma you'll be bumping into the work of Joan Miro, he of the giant red blobs of modernism and graphically attractive paintings. Miro and his wife lived in Palma for the last 40 years of his life and his outside sculptures abound. You don't have to look very hard to find his work, it's everywhere (and you'll see lots of reproductions in shops - he may have been born in Barcelona but he's been adopted by Mallorca, the island home of his mother as well as his wife).

 

The Parc de la mar in front of the Cathedral is a good place to start, just wander around. Up in the main shopping area (11 Calle Sant Miquel) you'll find the private foundation of Juan March (free entry) where a resplendent stairway leads to a permanent collection of 20^th century art, including Miro but dominated by a host of others from the 60s onwards and some spectacular works on paper by Picasso.

 

But the place to head (by bus 3 or 46) is the Fondacion Pilar I Joan Miro on the edge of town, the suburban home where Miro lived and worked, now converted and expanded to showcase his work. This is a magnificent place, airy, sunny, overlooking the sea. A showcase gallery is fused with a gentle light to highlight Miro's brightly coloured works, the studio, built by his architect friend Josep Sert is gorgeous, and the mansion where he lived and died is untouched - apart from Miro's own graffiti on the walls. The studio interior looks as if he's just popped out for a moment, leaving a roomful of unfinished works. And, unlike most of the rest of Mallorca, it's open on a Sunday. Check the website for details.  

 

(2) Shopping

Just a few steps away from the Hotel Tres (see above) past Zara, the Spanish global fashion phenomenon, you'll find Rialto Living which perfectly embodies modern Palma - furnishings, a cool cafe, housewares and art gallery - the last show being designer chairs. It even stocks Farrow and Ball paint, but you're unlikely to want that while on holiday.

 

The big hitters are department store El Corte Ingles (good food hall) and the Porto Pi centre at the western end of the port (No 1 bus or 20 minute walk) but the old town is worth wandering. Go down Calle Morey where you'll find Fine Books and Maps, an English Bookshop which sprawls through several rooms, stuffed with second hand books and mags, pictures and old postcards. A treasure trove, but it's surrounded by dozens of others selling all manners of things in the little alleyways and side streets.

 

The markets are good, the best daily ones for food being Santa Catalina and Olivar, with bright displays of local fruit, veg and fish, plus artisan stalls of cured pork and hams of every hue, shape and weight.  Up to date information on weekly markets can be found here.

 

 

(3) Mallorca products

There was a time, not that long ago, when souvenirs of Majorca meant stuffed leather donkeys and a guitar shaped bottle of wine. Those days have gone, but if you do want a cheeky souvenir then "Siurells" are local clay dolls, small figures in white with flashes of mostly red and green, and can be bought everywhere - the shop at the Miro Foundation has a substantial stock among the artist's own reproductions.

 

Locally produced foodstuffs can be found in small stores but have a look online at single estate extra virgin olive oils, Sobrassada de Mallorca, the local sausage made from the Mallorcan Black Pig, wines from vinsnadal in Binissalem half an hour north of Palma and anima negra at Felanitx in the east. Locally harvested sea salt is now available too, in a range of flavours.

 

Gastroteca has an extensive range of produce on offer and when walking around Palma old town, find Calle Morey where Tipika has local foodstuffs and more on show and for sale.

 

 

LET'S DO LUNCH

 

Cheap and cheerful

 

Lazy days demand late breakfasts and on the go snacks. The Mallorca "croissant" is the  ensaimada, available in pastry shops and snack bars everywhere in a variety of qualities. Its French cousin is laden with butter, the ensaimada is made with pork fat but is nonetheless delicious. If you want history with it find C'an Joan de Saigo which is tucked down Calle Can Sanc, a side street in the Old Town.

 

Two inexpensive tapas bars worth seeking out if you want Palma without glitz are Bodega Bellver opposite the theatre (Calle Serinya) or Tast (Calle Union 28).

 

If you want a sunny, seaside lunch which won't set you back or have you mixing with the hoi poloi, then head for Portixol, a fifteen minute walk from the cathedral or a five minute cab ride. A gentrified, cute area of small cottages, the shore is lined with cool cafes and bars, from Yam Café to Kaskai. The Weekender's favourite was The Tapas Club, a laid back, open space where the tapas were dirt cheap, delicious and the total bill came to €20 for two with wine. 

 

Cheap and local

 

Slightly more touristy but not too obvious is the very pleasant square Placa Coll where you'll find a handful of tapas bars and cafes frequented by Mallorcans (which means some expats too) whiling away the day. There's a perfectly good Italian (St Ambros) in one corner which does serviceable food - enormous bowls of pasta if you're hungry - with a three course set menu that's good value. Of the other squares around Old Palma, Placa St Eulalia is very pretty.

 

The Best

 

Tapas proliferate all over Spain now, not just Mallorca, and possibly the best modern varieties are to be found at Tasca de Blanquerna, which is beyond the Old Town off Avenue Comte de Sallent. Inside you can watch staff in the open kitchen prepare tapas with quality - mini Spanish omelette is cooked to order in individual portions -  along with healthy salads and a full menu for lunch and dinner. They pride themselves on the purity and quality of the local ingredients used, from the Pata Negra hams to the ultra fresh fish caught that morning offshore. It's relatively cheap too - little ‘pintxitos' such as scrambled eggs with salt cod and piquillo pepper or crispy pork belly with roasted apple start at €2 and the daily special - a substantial white bean stew with chorizo, pork belly and sausage is €9.90 which includes a glass of house wine.

 

They'll even sell you some of the local produce which they now market under their own label, Fosh products, flavoured sea salts, pastas and rice and if you've tooled up in your yacht and just want the ideal caterers, they'll do that too.

 

WHAT'S YOURS?

 

You no longer need to suffer those sweet Spanish stickies (the green one is called Herbes, the dark one Palo) to appreciate a local tipple.

 

Mallorca wine has been around for a long time, some of the vineyards up around Binissalem, half an hour away by car, have been in production for 80 years or more, but history tells of wines here in the 1^st century. Quality has improved greatly since then. The grapes here are particular - Manto Negro, Callet and Prensal - but they're mostly blended with Merlot and Cabernet to make satisfying, fruity reds  while chilled whites and roses are plentiful. The best white is reputed to be Torre des Canonge, made entirely from another Mallorcan grape Giro Blanc.

 

Very little is exported since demand outstrips supply so enjoy it while you're here. The weekender tasted several along the way the most strikingly memorable being Alba Flor Reserva from Vins Nadal, a deeply hued red blend which  positively shrieked of red berries, with an overwhelming bouquet of fine distinction. Try AN (Anima Negra) too, made almost entirely from Callet, a very distinctive wine.  

 

DINNER IS SERVED

 

Modern Palma is best illustrated by dinner at Simply Fosh, a superb restaurant waay off the tourist trail and run by English Chef Marc Fosh and his two partners. They've all been in Mallorca for years and now run several establishments (including Tasca, see lunch, above) which take local produce, mostly organic, and prepare it with flair and attention to detail. Their signature among the clientele who mostly live here - visitors are very much in the minority - is quality, taste and presentation even when the most humble ingredients are involved.

 

The tasting menu is a bargain at €58 for five courses. The wine list is excellent but their young Mallorcan sommelier is winning medals already and will suggest local and European wines to match the flavours of each course.

 

An amuse bouche on the weekender's visit bid farewell to winter flavours with a pumpkin cappuccino topped by sesame foam but said hello to spring with fresh local beans chopped tiny and hidden in the depths.

 

A silky smooth Gazpacho was poured at table around a puck of Soller prawns (caught just up the coast) and avocado. The addition of fresh strawberry perfumed the whole dish beautifully.

 

An adventurous dish of Bomba rice with fennel, granny smith apple and manchego cheese was followed by the most beautifully prepared and presented red mullet fillets imaginable, served with delicate clams and a little soupcon of scented  ‘bouillabaisse sauce'.

 

Braised beef cheeks were cooked long, hours and hours and hours, but finished with a deep caramelised sheen which created a flavour and texture best described as the way beef used to be, the way it used to taste. It was a spectacular dish in every respect, with fresh market vegetables, pear and bacon adding different textures and notes. I can still taste this dish now.

 

Spanish cheeses with quince are available but after the tasting menu only dessert was manageable - a tiny selection of passion fruit mousse, coconut panna cotta and raspberry sorbet, sweetly satisfying and the perfect end to a light but complex dinner.

 

The ancient premises are impressive; once a convent, the bare walls and stark décor have been given a darkly modern industrialised feel, with a spacious reception area giving way to an art gallery and then the bar to the right. If this place opened in Madrid, Barcelona or London, it would have foodlovers queuing around the block.

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