Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca. It is also the capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands (part of Spain, the other islands are Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera and the smallest, Cabrera).
Palma is situated on the south coast of the island on the Bay of Palma and, in its urban area, hosts a population of almost 520,000 inhabitants. Almost 400,000 are those who live in the official boundaries of the city.
The official language of the Island (and of all the Balearic Island community) is Catalan. Spanish (Castellano) is also regurarly spoken and official communications and forms can usually be found in both versions (this is not a rule, I found on my door a notice about works in progress in my street, and it was completely and solely written in Catalan).
The third most spoken language is German, due to the high number of tourists and Germans who have elected this Island as their place to live.
In shops, bars and restaurants, English is also frequently spoken although a basic knowledge of Spanish, or at least an effort to speak it, is pretty much appreciated everywhere (and can change the attitude of the locals towards you).
Palma is connected to the rest of Europe through a port, where you can find ferries for Spain (Barcelona, Valencia ect) and for the other Balearic Islands, and an airport situated at almost 8 km from the city.
The currency in the Balearic Islands is the Euro and mind that the economy of Palma does not rely exclusively on tourists, therefore the southern part of town is the one dedicated to hotels and entertainment, while the northern part is reserved to locals and their businesses. This also means that an accurate choice is needed before deciding where to live.
These are few info about the climate in Palma (month - av. high °C - av. low °C )
Jan - 14 - 3
Feb - 15 - 4
Mar - 16 - 5
Apr - 18 - 7
May - 22 - 10
Jun - 26 - 15
Jul - 30 - 17
Aug - 30 - 18
Sep - 27 - 16
Oct - 22 - 12
Nov - 18 - 7
Dec - 15 - 5
