Shopping in Palma
Palma de Majorca’s stores are loaded with locally crafted goods such as leather, handicrafts and pearls, as well as all manner of clothing, and there are plenty of specialist stores. The city’s compact size makes it ideal for shopping and visitors can get around all the great avenues and thoroughfares on foot.
Some of the best shopping streets in Palma include Avinguda Jaume III, San Miguel, Carrer Platería, Carrer Sindicat, and Passeig des Born. Avinguda Jaume III is the newest and best known shopping destination in Palma, with its elegant stores, while Passeig des Born is packed with fashionable boutiques.
Quality stores along Avinguda Jaume III include Loewe, with its fine leather for men and women, while Pink offers more in the way of avant garde accessories and Passy has some top leather shoes and handbags on offer.
The shopping streets of Passeig des Born eventually wind their way to the car free Plaça Major, which is full of specialist shops and an outdoor craft market that is held every Monday, Friday and Saturday morning. Nearby Carrer Sindicat is known for its shoe shops.
Carrer Colon near the City Hall square (Plaça de Cort) has many shops that date back over one hundred years, some still sporting their antique shop fronts. Highlights here include the knife shop and the Antigua Casa Banque music shop, while nearby Sant Miquel is the place to go for clothing and pastry shops.
There are many narrow streets and alleyways in Palma with numerous hidden shops, such as the Ereso bookshop off Plaça Joan Carles I. Meanwhile, Carrer Sant Nicolau is a busy commercial district with the attractive Carrer Verl leading off it. This street is known for its high fashion and there are chic boutiques everywhere you look.
Nearby Plaça Federico Chopin 2 harbours the famed 19th century Casa Bonet store that sells some of the finest locally produced tablecloths and napkins made from cotton and linen. These items are not cheap, but the quality of the material and the skill and craftsmanship that goes into making them is second to none.
Other streets for shopping in Palma include the quaint Bonaire, Sant Marty and Maria del Sepulcro, while Carrer Unio is known for Arlequin, the best toy shop in town, with its unique and enticing window displays. For those with a sweet tooth, confectionery can be found in Plaça Sta, while Catalina Thomas and flowers are available in the car free La Rambla.
For department stores, Palma offers the popular Galerias Preciados, a Spanish chain, while Palma also has a C&A and a modern hypermarket complex just outside the town. Not forgetting the prevalent pearl industry in Majorca, Perlas Majorica on Peguera Avenue has authentic Majorcan pearls in various sizes.
Opening and closing times
Most shops in Palma open around 10:00 and then close for a few hours at around 13:30 for the ubiquitous siesta break until they reopen again at about 17:00 and finally close at 20:00. This is the pattern from Monday to Friday, while on Saturdays stores open in the mornings, but do not reopen after siesta. Most shops are closed on Sundays.
