Mallorca is easily the most diverse, something which is, of course, no secret to millions of tourists

"K2T Wisata"

Mallorca is easily the most diverse, something which is, of course, no secret to millions of tourists. Through an ambitious program of self-improvement, it has successfully raised its profile from the mass-tourism morass of a decade or so ago. Palma gets slicker by the minute as new galleries, museums, boutiques and restaurants fling their doors open. The inevitable label of “the new Barcelona” has been mooted, but, for the moment, this city of 335,000 souls has a long way to go.

Many measures have been successful, not least the traffic flow through this town that sweeps proprietorially around a generous bay. A vast marina, spiked with thousands of masts, fronts rows of high-rise apartment blocks, typical of the 1960s and 1970s when development was in full swing. Palm trees – no surprise in a town with this name – are of course, omnipresent. From here, over 20 km of seafront hotels and apartments extend west to the mass-tourism black spots of Magaluf and Palmanova, and east to quieter beaches much favored by capital-dwellers.

It was in these waters where, in 12929, the Aragonese king captured Mallorca after 400 years of Muslim rule and kick-started a strange history that at one time united Mallorca with Montpellier and Roussillon in France. A striking relic of those days is the circular Castell de Belver overlooking the harbor; this medieval building built by Jaime II served as both a royal residence and royal prison – somehow typical of Mallorca’s schizophrenic nature. Palma’s heyday came in the 16th to 18th centuries when Mallorca was part of the powerful Mediterranean empire which united Barcelona and Valencia with Naples and Sicily. In time, the resultant population of wealthy merchants left a clear and distinguished seigneurial stamp on the old town.