The following day we began a tour of Palma at the Gothic style Castell de Bellver on a hill 3km to the west of the city centre. Built in the 14th century the castle first served as a royal residence then was long used as a military prison before passing under civilian control in the mid-20th century and becoming the seat of the city’s museum and one of the main tourist attractions. The castle offers superb views over the city and the bay of Palma.

Our next stop was the magnificent Gothic cathedral (La Seu) with its golden sandstone walls and flying buttresses. Climbing above the old city walls it demonstrated the might of Mallorca’s Christian conquerors to all who arrived by sea. The foundation stone was symbolically laid in the 13th century on the site of the city's main mosque. The rose window is one of the world’s largest, 12m across and studded with 1,236 pieces of stained glass. The columns are ringed with wrought-iron candelabra designed by Gaudi. The unfinished Crown of Thorns suspended above the altar, fashioned from cardboard and cork is his most controversial addition.

We toured the adjacent Palacio Real de la Almudaina built as an Arabian Fort until the crown claimed it as a royal residence in the early 14th century and now used for ceremonies and State receptions. We finished our day with a visit to the 10th century Arab Baths found in the beautifully tended orchard of the Can Fontirroig manor house which are virtually all that remain of the Arabian city of Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma). The tepidarium has a dome in the shape of a half orange, with 25 round shafts for sunlight, supported by a dozen columns. The baths were a meeting place as well as a wash-house, and the courtyard with its cactus, palm and orange trees would have made a pleasant place to cool off after a hot bath.

On our final day we travelled to the Albufera Nature Reserve a protected wetland park on 1,647 hectares with a visitor centre, bird hides and observation platforms. The name derives from the Arabic for ‘lagoon’ but the site has been exploited since Roman times. The wetlands were drained for agriculture in the l9th century by a British company which subsequently went bankrupt and a network of canals date from this time. This is possibly the most extensive and bird-rich wetland to be found on any Mediterranean Island.

We continued to Sa Torre Cega, a recreational villa built in the early 20th century on the site of an ancient watchtower and representative of both Modernist and Regionalist styles. The gardens of this beautiful spot on the coast are home to modern sculptures, with both figurative and abstract works. We concluded with a visit to the Museu su Bassa Blanca, a foundation dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Spanish heritage, where we saw a selection of works of contemporary art and photographic portraits of fundamental artists from the 20th and 21st centuries. Located in the gardens are large granite stone sculptures of diverse animals inspired by archaeological pieces to be found in several museums around the world.