La Llotja in Palma: exchange, Consolat de Mar and Passeig de Sagrera

From shoreline to exchange

According to the official city chronicler, after 1229 this was the Ribera de Mar, a strip of shoreline in front of the Islamic city wall. Around 1300 it was enclosed with a new wall down to the sea. In the night leading into 14 October 1403, a flood of the Riera destroyed large parts of the neighbourhood. Rebuilding began afterwards.

During this period, in 1409, the merchants received the right from the King to found a college and build an exchange. The result was Sa Llotja, a building by the master builder Guillem Sagrera, who was also working on the cathedral at the time.

Source: Ajuntament de Palma: Cròniques de Palma, Bartomeu Bestard, Cronista oficial (2011), chapter Santa Catalina and es Jonquet, checked on 3 October 2026

Sa Llotja

According to the chronicle, construction began in 1421. Inside, the Llotja is a single large hall with three naves, carried by six twisted pillars beneath a rib vault. Above the main portal, the merchants’ guardian angel keeps watch. Sagrera left Mallorca before the work was finished, as the King called him to Naples.

Today the Llotja belongs to the Balearic government. According to the Ajuntament, the inside is only open when an exhibition is on.

Source: Ajuntament de Palma: Cròniques de Palma, Bartomeu Bestard, Cronista oficial (2011), chapter Santa Catalina and es Jonquet, checked on 3 October 2026 · Ajuntament de Palma, Palma Virtual: La Llotja, checked on 3 October 2026

Consolat de Mar

Right next to the Llotja on Passeig de Sagrera stands the Consolat de Mar, today the seat of the Presidency of the Balearic government. The name is a little misleading: according to the chronicle, the old maritime court sat in the Llotja until the 18th century. The 17th century building served as a warehouse for a long time. Only the Reial Consolat de Mar i Terra, founded in 1800, moved in here.

Between the Consolat and the Llotja stands the Porta del Moll from 1620, a gate in the old city wall. The wall facing the sea was demolished in 1873.

Source: Ajuntament de Palma: Cròniques de Palma, Bartomeu Bestard, Cronista oficial (2011), chapter Santa Catalina and es Jonquet, checked on 3 October 2026

Market, museum and buses

From May to September, craftspeople and artists on Passeig de Sagrera show ceramics, painting, photography, jewellery, leather bags and woodwork. On the edge of the neighbourhood towards Santa Catalina lies Es Baluard. The museum is housed in the Renaissance bastion of Sant Pere.

The bus details come from the scheduled timetables of EMT Palma (retrieved 1 October 2026), not real time.

• Passeig de Sagrera: May to September, Thu to Sun, 19:00 to 0:30.
• Es Baluard: Tue to Sat 10:00 to 20:00, Sun 10:00 to 15:00, closed Mon, closed on 1 January and 25 December. On Fridays, according to the museum, you pay what you like.
• pl. de la Reina, Catedral: lines 25, 35 and CC. Parc de la Mar, Catedral: lines 25 and 30.
• From the airport: line A1 to passeig Mallorca, Jaume III (about 25 min), then on foot.

Source: Ajuntament de Palma: Mercado artesanal del Passeig de Sagrera, checked on 3 October 2026 · Es Baluard Museu d’Art Contemporani de Palma (operator): visiting and opening hours, checked on 3 October 2026 · EMT Palma: lines and timetables (Open Data), checked on 3 October 2026

QUICK ANSWERS

Frequently asked questions