Palma Cathedral (La Seu)
On Gingerguide's self-guided Palma de Mallorca audio tour, Palma Cathedral (La Seu) is a stop worth about ~90 min. Stand in front of it, press play for a short narrated story, and put any follow-up question to the built-in AI guide.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~90 min
- Palma de Mallorca Palma de Mallorca guide
About Palma Cathedral (La Seu)
The Gothic cathedral of Santa Maria, called La Seu, stands on Palma's sea wall where the city's great mosque once rose, its golden stone mirrored in the Parc de la Mar lake below.
La Seu is the Gothic cathedral of Santa Maria and the seat of the Diocese of Mallorca, raised on the seafront between the Royal Palace of La Almudaina and the Episcopal Palace. After King James I took the city in 1229, work began on the site of the largest mosque of Madina Mayurqa and continued into the 17th century. The earliest surviving part, the royal Chapel of the Holy Trinity, was finished in 1327 and the bell tower in 1498. The central nave rises about 44 metres on slender octagonal pillars, among the highest of any Gothic church, and the building runs roughly 121 metres long.
Over the main apse floats the great rose window, the eye of the Gothic, about 13 to 14 metres across and one of the largest Gothic rose windows anywhere. Between 1904 and 1914 Antoni Gaudi led a restoration of the interior, moving the choir stalls to the presbytery walls and hanging a vast canopy of lamps above the altar. The Royal Chapel holds the tombs of Kings James II and James III of Mallorca, and between 2001 and 2006 the Mallorcan artist Miquel Barcelo remade a chapel in rolling ceramic, a famous and contested modern touch.
Did you know? The great rose window is glazed with more than a thousand pieces of coloured glass. Tradition says that twice a year the dawn sun throws its reflection onto the wall below to form a glowing figure of eight.
How much time do you need at Palma Cathedral (La Seu)?
Around ~90 min works well for Palma Cathedral (La Seu) — time to look properly and listen to its story on the spot. Linger if you like; nothing on a self-guided walk is on a clock.
Should you stop at Palma Cathedral (La Seu)?
Yes — Palma Cathedral (La Seu) made the cut as one of 13 places the Gingerguide team researched and narrated across Palma de Mallorca. The story tells you why it is worth the stop, and the AI guide fills in anything you still wonder.
Nearby stops in Palma de Mallorca
Day 1 of the Palma de Mallorca in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Palma Cathedral (La Seu)
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