4 Best Sights in Mallorca, Ibiza and the Balearic Islands

West of the city center, this museum rises on a long-neglected archaeological site, parts of which date back to the 12th century. The building is an outstanding convergence of old and new: the exhibition space uses the surviving 16th-century perimeter walls of the fortified city, including a stone courtyard facing the sea and a promenade along the ramparts. There are three floors of galleries, and the collection includes works by Miró, Picasso, and Antoni Tàpies, among other significant artists. To get here, take the narrow Carrer de Sant Pere through the old fishermen's quarter from Plaça de la Drassana.

The permanent collection includes many drawings and studies by Catalan artist Joan Miró, who spent his last years in Mallorca. Still, it exhibits far fewer finished paintings and sculptures than the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona. While the exhibits are pretty limited, the setting and views of Palma are worth the detour.

A few steps from the north archway of the Plaça Major is the Museu Fundación Juan March. This delicate little museum was established to display a private collection of modern Spanish art. The building itself was a sumptuous private home built in the 18th century. The second and third floors were redesigned to accommodate a series of small galleries, with one or two works at most—by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Juan Gris, Salvador Dalí, Antoni Tàpies, and Miquel Barceló, among others—on each wall.

Maintained by the Fundació Tren de l'Art, these galleries have two small but remarkable collections—one of engravings by Miró, whose grandfather was born in Sóller, and the other of ceramics by Picasso.