New Year’s Eve in Palma: Nochevieja in the Old Town 2026/27

At midnight on 31 December the old clock on Palma’s town hall strikes twelve, and in Plaça de Cort a crowd of locals and visitors races to eat a grape on every chime. Then the cava comes out, fireworks rise over the rooftops and the bay, and the bars of the Old Town fill until the small hours. New Year’s Eve in Palma is a celebration of the old city, with tradition by day and a street party by night.

Casa Roca is on Carrer dels Hostals in the Old Town, about eight minutes on foot from Plaça de Cort, which makes it an ideal base for Nochevieja, as New Year’s Eve is called in Spanish. New Year’s Eve in Palma runs from the Festa de l’Estendard in the morning to the twelve grapes at midnight, with a long dinner, fireworks over the bay and the Three Kings parade a few days later.

New Year’s Eve in Palma: The Day at a Glance

New Year’s Eve in Palma begins in the morning. On 31 December the city celebrates the Festa de l’Estendard, marking the Christian conquest of Mallorca in 1229, with a civic and religious ceremony at the town hall and the cathedral. The afternoon is for a long lunch, a walk along the seafront or a last look at the Christmas market, and the Old Town shops close early.

The evening follows the Spanish rhythm. Dinner starts late, usually from about 21:00, and many restaurants and hotels serve a special New Year’s Eve menu. Shortly before midnight the crowds gather in Plaça de Cort and Plaça de la Reina for the chimes, and after the twelfth grape the party moves on to the bars of La Lonja and the clubs along the seafront.

The weather on New Year’s Eve in Palma is usually mild and dry. AEMET’s climate averages for the harbour give a December high of about 17°C and a low of about 10°C, so the afternoon can be sunny enough for a terrace, but midnight in the square calls for a warm coat. Rain is possible on any winter night, so check the forecast on the day, and see Palma weather month by month for the full winter picture.

Time on 31 December	New Year’s Eve in Palma	Where
Morning	Festa de l’Estendard ceremony and procession	Plaça de Cort to La Seu
Afternoon	Long lunch, seafront walk, Christmas market	Old Town and Parc de la Mar
From 21:00	New Year’s Eve dinner	Restaurants and hotels across the city
From about 23:30	Live music and the countdown	Plaça de Cort and Plaça de la Reina
Midnight	Twelve chimes, twelve grapes, cava and fireworks	The town hall clock in Plaça de Cort
After midnight	Bars, clubs and parties	La Lonja and the Paseo Marítimo

Festa de l’Estendard: Palma’s New Year’s Eve Tradition

Before the party, Palma marks 31 December with a tradition that goes back nearly eight centuries. The Festa de l’Estendard, the Festival of the Standard, commemorates the day in 1229 when the troops of King Jaume I of Aragon entered Madina Mayurqa, the Islamic city that became Palma. It is often described as one of the oldest civic festivals in Europe.

On the morning of New Year’s Eve, the royal standard is displayed at the town hall in Plaça de Cort, and the city’s authorities process through the Old Town to La Seu for a service of thanksgiving. Musicians, the city’s ceremonial guard and the town’s giants often take part, and the streets between Cort and the cathedral fill with spectators.

For visitors, the Festa de l’Estendard is a chance to see Palma’s civic life at its most traditional, a few hours before the same square becomes the scene of the New Year’s Eve party. Arrive in Plaça de Cort in the mid-morning, follow the procession towards the cathedral, and stop for coffee and an ensaimada afterwards before exploring the highlights of Palma Old Town on the last afternoon of the year.

Where to Celebrate New Year’s Eve in Palma

The heart of New Year’s Eve in Palma is Plaça de Cort, the square in front of the town hall. The city council revived the public celebration here in 2023, and for New Year’s Eve 2025–26 the square held a free party with a DJ from 23:30, the countdown on the Cort clock and music after midnight. Hundreds of people fill the square, so the council has limited capacity and controlled access in recent years.

A second celebration takes place in Plaça de la Reina, at the foot of the Born near the cathedral. In 2025–26 a giant screen showed the chimes broadcast live on IB3, the Balearic television channel, with music in the square until about 02:30. It is the more relaxed option, with more room and a view up the lit Born.

After midnight, the celebration spreads through the city. The bars around the Llotja in La Lonja are busy until late, and the clubs along the Paseo Marítimo hold ticketed New Year’s Eve parties until dawn. For Palma nightlife on New Year’s Eve, buy club tickets in advance, as the best parties sell out.

Where to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Palma	Atmosphere	Cost	Walk from Casa Roca
Plaça de Cort	The main party, chimes from the town hall clock	Free, capacity limited	About 8 minutes
Plaça de la Reina	Giant screen and music, more room	Free	About 12 minutes
La Lonja bars	Lively bars around the Llotja after midnight	Pay as you go	About 12 minutes
Paseo Marítimo clubs	Ticketed parties until dawn	Tickets in advance	10 minutes by taxi
Restaurant or hotel gala	Dinner, entertainment and the chimes	Set price, book early	Varies

Fireworks on New Year’s Eve in Palma

Palma does not usually hold one large official fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. Instead, as the last grape is eaten, fireworks go up from all over the city: from the squares, the rooftops, the hotels along the seafront and the boats in the marina. The effect is a city-wide burst of colour across the bay and the Old Town in the minutes after midnight.

The best places to see the fireworks in Palma are by the sea, where you can look across the whole bay. The old sea walls beside the cathedral, the Parc de la Mar and the Paseo Marítimo give the widest views, with fireworks rising along the waterfront from Portixol to the port. Higher up, the rooftops of the Old Town look over the cathedral to the lights of the bay.

At Casa Roca, the rooftop terrace looks across the tiled roofs of the Old Town, a private place for guests to watch the sky after the chimes before heading out to the squares. Fireworks are also a highlight of the New Year’s Eve galas held in hotels along the bay, and the yachts in the marina often light up the harbour at midnight.

The Twelve Grapes and New Year’s Eve Traditions in Palma

The most famous New Year’s Eve tradition in Spain is the twelve grapes, las uvas de la suerte. As the clock strikes midnight, you eat one grape on each of the twelve chimes, and finishing them all is said to bring good luck for each month of the coming year. In Palma the chimes come from the clock on the town hall in Plaça de Cort, known locally as En Figuera, and the whole square counts them down together.

Supermarkets sell small tins or packs of twelve peeled, seedless grapes in the days before New Year’s Eve, which makes the race much easier. Some people wear red underwear for luck, a custom across Spain, and many toast the new year with cava, the Spanish sparkling wine. In Mallorca, families often end the night with a cup of hot chocolate and an ensaimada in the early hours.

The twelve grapes are easy to try anywhere: in the square, in a restaurant, or at home with the chimes on television. Restaurants and hotels serving a New Year’s Eve dinner usually hand out the grapes and cava just before midnight, so guests can take part at the table.

New Year’s Eve tradition in Palma	What it means	How to join in
Twelve grapes	One grape on each chime for luck in each month	Buy a ready pack at a supermarket
The Cort clock chimes	The city’s countdown to the new year	Join the crowd in Plaça de Cort
Cava toast	A sparkling start to the year	Raise a glass after the twelfth grape
Red underwear	A Spanish custom for luck and love	Wear something red on the night
Chocolate and ensaimada	A Mallorcan end to the night	Find a café or bakery open early

New Year’s Eve Dinner in Palma

New Year’s Eve dinner, the cena de Nochevieja, is the main event of the night for most people in Palma. Restaurants across the Old Town, La Lonja and the seafront serve a set New Year’s Eve menu, often with several courses, wine, the twelve grapes and cava at midnight. Prices are set per person and are higher than a normal evening, and almost every good restaurant is fully booked well before the date.

Hotels along the bay hold New Year’s Eve galas with dinner, live music and dancing past midnight, which suit anyone who wants the whole evening in one place. For a more relaxed night, a tapas dinner in La Lonja followed by the party in Plaça de Cort gives you the best of both, and dinner in an apartment with produce from the Olivar market lets you join the square only for the chimes.

Whatever you choose, book early, ideally in November. The best restaurants in Palma Old Town include traditional cellers and modern kitchens within a short walk of Plaça de Cort, and our team at Casa Roca is happy to book a table for you.

New Year’s Eve dinner in Palma	Best for	Book
Restaurant set menu in the Old Town	A long dinner close to the square	Several weeks ahead
Hotel gala on the bay	Dinner, music and dancing in one place	Several weeks ahead
Tapas in La Lonja	A relaxed meal before the street party	Arrive early or reserve
Dinner in your apartment	Families and groups	Shop at the Olivar market by 31 December

New Year’s Day and the Three Kings in Palma

New Year’s Day in Palma starts late. It is a public holiday, and most shops, markets and museums are closed, so the day is for a slow breakfast, a walk along the seafront and a long lunch. The flat promenade from the cathedral to Portixol is a favourite New Year’s Day walk, with the sea on one side and the city on the other.

The holidays continue into January. On the evening of 5 January, the Three Kings arrive at the Moll Vell, the old harbour, and ride through the centre in the cabalgata, the Three Kings parade, along the Avinguda d’Antoni Maura, the Born and the Rambla, throwing sweets to the children in the crowd. The following day, 6 January, is a public holiday, when families exchange presents and share a roscón de Reyes.

Staying on into the first week of January gives you both the New Year and the Three Kings, with the Christmas lights still up and the Parc de Nadal market open until 6 January. The best things to do in Palma de Mallorca fill the days between, from Bellver Castle to the museums of the Old Town.

Where to Stay for New Year’s Eve in Palma

The Old Town is the best place to stay for New Year’s Eve in Palma, because everything happens on foot: the Festa de l’Estendard in the morning, dinner in the evening, the chimes in Plaça de Cort at midnight and the bars of La Lonja afterwards. There is no need for a taxi at the busiest time of night, and the walk home through the lit streets is part of the celebration.

Casa Roca is on Carrer dels Hostals, about eight minutes on foot from Plaça de Cort, in the restored 1847 house of Francisco Roca’s paper and stationery business. Suites suit couples, apartments with kitchens suit families and friends planning a dinner of their own, and the three-bedroom Francisco Roca Penthouse sleeps six, with its own space for a private New Year’s Eve before heading out for the chimes.

New Year is one of the most popular weeks of the winter in Palma, so book early. Email hello@casaroca.com with your dates and we will help you plan the night, from dinner reservations to the best spot for the fireworks. The best areas to stay in Palma compares the Old Town with the rest of the city for anyone choosing between neighbourhoods.

Casa Roca Gallery: New Year in Palma Old Town

Begin the new year in the heart of the Old Town, with a rooftop over the city and the Capitulo bar downstairs for a glass of Mallorcan wine before the chimes.

Image credits: Festa de l’Estendard at Cort by Joan Gené (CC BY-SA 4.0); Cort town hall by Maria Rosa Ferre (CC BY-SA 2.0); Llotja by Joan Gené (CC BY-SA 4.0); roscón de Reyes by MallorcaPast (CC BY-SA 4.0). Via Wikimedia Commons.