Wander into
The Main Square of Palma
Enclosed on four sides by ochre arcades and green shutters, Palma’s main square sits on ground once held by the Inquisition, and now hosts craft stalls, street performers and café tables.
Read About the SquareMore of Palma—A short walk from the square.
This 360° panorama was captured in the Plaça Major in the old town of Palma de Mallorca, among the market stalls in the middle of the arcaded square.
The square closes in on every side. Four storeys of ochre and orange façades, every window fitted with green shutters, stand on a continuous ring of arches, and the floor is laid in a big chequered pattern of stone. In the middle a cluster of market stalls is set up under striped awnings, selling crafts and souvenirs, while café tables fill the arcades.
The Plaça Major is the main square of Palma’s old town, a short walk from the cathedral and the shopping streets around Jaume III. For centuries the site was occupied by the headquarters of the Inquisition, and the square took its present arcaded form in the nineteenth century after that building was demolished.
Today the square is a place to pass through and to linger. Artisan stalls set up here, musicians and street performers work the crowd, and steps lead down from the square to a shopping arcade built beneath it.
How do you get to the Plaça Major? The square is in the pedestrian heart of Palma’s old town, a short walk up from Plaça d’Espanya, where the airport bus and the island’s trains arrive. Entrances lead in through the arches on each side. The artisan stalls set up during the day, and the square is at its liveliest in the late afternoon and evening.