Royal Palace of La Almudaina

From the upper rooms the windows look out over the bay of Palma, with the cathedral next door. Inside, the building still follows its 14th-century plan: the King's Palace, the Queen's Palace, St Anne's Chapel and the baths are the parts to seek out, along with the Great Hall built under James II of Mallorca.

The two floors are dressed differently. The ground floor recreates a medieval setting with works from the 15th to the 20th centuries. The upper floor, added under Charles V in the first half of the 16th century, is still used for official acts of the royal family and holds furniture and objects brought from other royal sites, dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Many rooms are sparsely furnished. The old tapestries and the stone halls, where Moorish and Gothic work meet, are what to look at.

• Bags go through an X-ray security check at the entrance.
• Little information is posted in the rooms. The audio guide carries the history and comes in a half-hour and a one-hour version.
• Many rooms are sparsely furnished; the interest lies in the architecture, the tapestries and the views over the bay.
• Palma Cathedral stands next door. If you want to go inside both, plan the day around the pair.
• The palace has toilets, and free public toilets stand about 158 m away.

La Almudaina stands in the centre of Palma, directly opposite the cathedral, and the approach is a walk through city streets. Two bus stops lie close by: Antoni Maura about 75 m away and Parc de la Mar - Catedral about 158 m away. Arriving by car, there are paid car parks about 90 m and 232 m away. A tourist information office sits about 123 m away.

Best: a clear morning from Tuesday to Sunday, with time left afterwards for the cathedral next door. Avoid: Mondays, when the palace is closed.

The views over the bay from the upper rooms need clear air, and the old centre of a summer island is at its busiest in July and August.