What's on in Palma (Mallorca), Spain through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Spain, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Sant Sebastia

  17–21 JanMajor festival

  Palma's patron saint, and the one night the city is entirely its own: bonfires in half a dozen squares on 19 January, people grilling sausages over them, free stages until the small hours. Source ↗

• Nature

  Almond blossom

  25 Jan – 28 Feb · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The plain behind the city goes white and pink for about a month in late winter, usually peaking in the first half of February. Best seen from the Santa Maria and Bunyola back roads.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Cycling season in the Tramuntana

  1 Feb – 15 May · usuallyTrail seasonBook early

  Pro teams and thousands of amateurs use the island as a late-winter training camp, so the Sa Calobra hairpins are busy and Palma hotel rooms fill well before the beach season starts.

Still on: Almond blossom (25 Jan – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa (Easter) holidays in Spain, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Cycling season in the Tramuntana (1 Feb – 15 May (usually))

Busy — Semana Santa (Easter) holidays in Spain, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cycling season in the Tramuntana (1 Feb – 15 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Rule

  Tourist tax at full rate

  1 May – 31 Oct

  The Balearic sustainable tourism tax is charged per person per night at its full rate from 1 May to 31 October and at a quarter of it the rest of the year, with a further cut after eight nights. Source ↗

Still on: Cycling season in the Tramuntana (1 Feb – 15 May (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Spain, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  15 Jun – 15 Oct · usually

  The bay warms through June and holds it to mid-October, which is why the island's best swimming weeks are the ones after the schools go back.

Still on: Tourist tax at full rate (1 May – 31 Oct)

Peak crowds — Copa del Rey sailing week, Summer holidays in Spain

• Festival

  Copa del Rey sailing week

  28 Jul – 8 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The Mediterranean's biggest keelboat regatta takes over the Bay of Palma at the turn of August. Good watching from the Paseo Maritimo, and the reason the marina berths are gone by spring. Source ↗

Still on: Tourist tax at full rate (1 May – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Copa del Rey sailing week, Spanish August

• Season

  Spanish August

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Peninsular Spain arrives on top of the northern European season and the airport runs at close to a thousand flights a day. Hire cars are the thing that runs out first.

Still on: Tourist tax at full rate (1 May – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)), Copa del Rey sailing week (28 Jul – 8 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Nit de l'Art, Summer holidays in Spain

• Festival

  Nit de l'Art

  15–22 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  On one Saturday in mid-September the galleries and half the old town's courtyards open late for a single night, and the whole city walks between them with a plastic cup. Source ↗

Still on: Tourist tax at full rate (1 May – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Tourist tax at full rate (1 May – 31 Oct), Sea warm enough to swim (15 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Christmas holidays in Spain

• Festival

  Festa de l'Estendard

  31 DecMajor festival

  A civic ceremony held every 31 December since the thirteenth century, marking Jaume I's entry into the city: the standard is carried out, there is a mass at La Seu and the day is a local holiday. Source ↗