This was the fish chips house from the 13th century and it's still with the bishop stays today…read more The palace dates back to the 13th century. The museum is located in the mansion popularly known as "Casa de la Gran Cristiana". In 2015, a section opened as a museum. It is housed in a segment of the city wall in Palma de Mallorca is the ES Baluard museum. There are exhibition rooms on 3 floors where we admired contemporary art. A highlight is the impressive light installation entitled "Light caught in the belly of the whale".

An interesting find, this decently sized museum is not more than a block or two from the famous…read moreCatedral and is well worth a visit. It includes items dating from the time of the Catalan conquest of 1229 and goes through the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. The museum is on three floors with collections that show the history of Palma and Mallorca, displaying archaeological artifacts, fine arts and a large number of Gothic panels. The museum has works by Francesc Comes and Joan Rosat (Gothic painters), as well as the Spanish-Flemish artists Pere Terrencs and Baltasar Buira, and the Renaissance artist Mateu López , all active in Mallorca. Most of the exhibits had captions and explanations in English, Catalan and Spanish.

Es Baluard is the former armory that has since been converted to Palma's contemporary art museum. I…read morestopped by in the evening and had a lovely time exploring the building and enjoying the artworks. On this particular evening, admission was "you decide" which I thought was a nice concept and I put several Euros into the collection box. The museum was established in 2003 and the permanent collection is based on 400 works that were ceded by the chairman of the foundation. There are also a number of temporary exhibits that tour. The building itself is a former 17th century military fortress and is part of the remaining old city walls that once surrounded all of Palma. It's a very interesting building in the way it incorporates the walls and at the same time allows patrons to take ramps up and down including to the roof level. Lots of Joan Miró but also Léger, Dali and a Mapplethorpe. A unique audio exhibit in the elevator, which is recorded sound. Of the elevator! In many cases, "contemporary art" goes right over my head. Not so much today at Es Baluard. Well worth your time to soak up some culture.

Small modern art collection. Painting and sculpture…read more Nice, but only two small floors. Beautiful domed stairway. Gift shop. Free! Don't try the "take the elevator to the top floor and walk down the stairs" plan. Top floors seem to be work areas.

Down a shopping street, the museum is free and offers an excellent selection of artwork and…read moresculpture ranging from Picasso, Dali and Miro to other less famous artists. Over three floors, it's a great break from the main streets.

Free museum with a workshop, posters, huge oyster shells ending in an expensive gift shop much…read morelarger than the museum.

Mallorca is famous for pearls and so here's this Pearl Museum that has a number of interesting…read moredisplays dedicated to the pearl industry. Among the exhibits are pictures of famous people wearing pearls, a bunch of pearl jewelry and even what looks like a pearl jeweler's workstation complete with machinery, tools and pearls. A looped video showing how pearls are grown and harvested is interesting. The museum is completely free and low key. Unless you cross over to the other side where the (very expensive) pearls are for sale, you'll be clear from any hassle. I thought it was interesting and worth the ten minutes of walking around to check it all out.