Moving to a new city can be intimidating, especially if you’ve never been there before. You definitely don’t want to put down a deposit on an apartment only to find out it’s in an uncomfortable neighborhood far away from the action and amenities. Before you make the move, you need to know where to live in Palma de Mallorca. Having lived all over Palma myself, these are the six best neighborhoods to look at.

Santa Catalina

For young people who want to make friends and hit the town in the evening, Santa Catalina is the place to be. The neighborhood originally developed as a nightlife area due to its proximity to the bay, making it an easy destination for Palma’s yachties and dock workers to relax when they got into port. It has some of the most popular bars in the city including LAB, Ego and Abaco.

Santa Catalina is on the other side of town from Plaça d’Espanya, meaning transportation is limited, however a number of bus lines do pass through Plaça del Progrés. There are plenty of supermarkets like Eroski and Mercadona, and you’re not far from the Porto Pi shopping center. Just keep in mind that the many bars and clubs mean noise at night.

To be clear, areas of town technically outside of Santa Catalina but near its borders are also great places to live. These include the area just north known as El Pueblo Español as well as the area along the port called El Paseo Maritimo.

Plaça d’Espanya

While the area surrounding Plaça d’Espanya—or Plaza España as you might hear it called—has a number of amenities and restaurants including a Taco Bell, not to mention access to the famous Sant Miquel shopping street, the primary reason people love to live near it is because it’s where the Estacio Intermodal is located. In other words, you can catch dozens of EMT bus lines as well as the TIB trains and buses. You can certainly try to live right on the plaza itself, but if transportation is your main concern, anywhere within a few blocks is great, albeit in high demand.

The Old Town

Real estate companies like Engel & Völkers rate the city center, also referred to as the “old town” or “historic center,” as the most the desirable neighborhood in central Palma. It’s beautiful and walkable with endless streets and alleys in Palma’s gothic style to discover. At the same time, Plaça d’Espanya isn’t too far away and numerous bus routes pass through the disctrict.

Of course, the city center is also the most expensive neighborhood on our list. Buying an apartment here will run you on average €800,000. Plus, it’s filled with tourists in the summer and has a bit more of a family vibe if you’re a young person looking for nightlife. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed living on La Rambla and would recommend it to anyone.

Bons Aires

Bons Aires is a standard residential part of the city, so it’s a lot easier to find apartments in general, not to mention affordable ones. You can look around either Calle General Riera or 31 de Desembre. Both will give you access to the pedestrian street called Blanquerna which has a lot of restaurants and bars and leads to S’Escorxador, a shopping area with restaurants, supermarkets and even dance studios. I lived in this area briefly and found most amenities to be within a few minutes’ walk.

El Fortí

El Fortí, specifically the area near Plaza Barcelona, is where I lived when I first moved to Palma. It’s a beautiful area that’s also much more affordable and, best of all, close to Parc de la Riera, the largest park in all of Mallorca. This park has room to run, areas to play soccer or other sports, and calisthenics equipment.

Additionally, this neighborhood is pretty close to Santa Catalina, so you can enjoy the nightlife without paying Santa Catalina prices. Transportation is a bit more limited, but as a residential area, you have access to lots of amenities like supermarkets, pharmacies, etc.

Pere Garau

Pere Garau is one of the most affordable zones of the city, and though it may not be as hip or vibrant as Santa Catalin, I still think it’s a great place to live. For one thing, you have easy access to the Pere Garau market as well as the Chinese neighborhood, which adds some flare, especially around Chinese New Year. I would suggest living as close to Calle Aragon as possible since this gives you the most transportation options, not to mention amenities like gyms and large grocery stores.