Mallorca in January: Three Kings, Sant Antoni and Sant Sebastià

January in Mallorca belongs to the island’s own festivals. The Three Kings ride through Palma on the evening of 5 January, bonfires burn in village squares for Sant Antoni a week later, and on 19 January the whole of Palma turns out for the Revetla de Sant Sebastià, grilling sobrassada over open fires and dancing to live music in the squares of the Old Town. Between the festivals, the island offers clear winter light, mild afternoons and mountain villages without the summer crowds.

Casa Roca stands on Carrer dels Hostals, beside Plaça Major, one of the main squares of the Sant Sebastià celebrations, which makes it an ideal base for Mallorca in January. From the Three Kings to the last sparks of the Correfoc, January in Palma is a month of fire, music and Mallorcan food, with mild days for the mountains in between.

Mallorca in January: Weather and What to Expect

The weather in Mallorca in January is mild by northern European standards. AEMET’s climate averages for Palma’s harbour give a January high of about 15°C and a low of about 8°C, with around 167 hours of sunshine across the month. Many days are bright and still, ideal for walking the Old Town or the seafront in a light jacket, and the low winter sun gives the cathedral and the sandstone streets a warm glow.

January is also one of the wetter months, with rain arriving in brief spells rather than settled weeks, and the Serra de Tramuntana can see snow on its highest peaks. Evenings are cool, so a warm coat is essential for the outdoor festivals, especially the long nights of Sant Antoni and Sant Sebastià. The sea is around 14°C, refreshing for a brave swim but not for lazy afternoons on the beach.

For visitors, Mallorca in January means shorter queues at the sights, easy tables in restaurants and a city that feels lived in by its own people. Museums, markets and most restaurants in Palma stay open all winter, and the winter sales begin after Three Kings. For the full picture month by month, see our Palma weather guide.

Mallorca in January	Average	What it means for your stay
Daytime high	About 15°C	Comfortable for walking in a light jacket
Night-time low	About 8°C	A warm coat for the evening festivals
Sunshine	About 167 hours a month	Plenty of bright days for sightseeing
Sea temperature	About 14°C	Too cool for most swimmers
Daylight	About 9 to 10 hours	Start day trips in the morning

Three Kings in Palma: The Cavalcada de Reis on 5 January

The year in Mallorca opens with the Three Kings. On the evening of 5 January, Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar arrive by boat at the Moll Vell, Palma’s old harbour, where crowds of children wait to greet them. From there the Cavalcada de Reis, the Three Kings parade, sets off through the centre at around 18:00, along the Avinguda d’Antoni Maura, up the Born and on to La Rambla.

The parade is a family occasion, with floats, music and pages throwing sweets into the crowd. The best places to watch are along the Born and La Rambla, where the pavements fill well before the Kings arrive. Families bring bags for the sweets, and young children often carry letters to hand to the royal pages.

The next day, 6 January, is a public holiday across Spain. Children open their presents in the morning, and families gather for lunch and a tortell de Reis, the ring-shaped Three Kings cake with a small figure and a bean hidden inside. Bakeries across the Old Town fill their windows with tortells in the first days of January, so it is easy to share one in your suite.

Sant Antoni in Mallorca: Bonfires, Dimonis and Blessings

Sant Antoni is the most deeply rooted winter festival in Mallorca. It honours Saint Anthony the Abbot, patron saint of animals, and it is celebrated on the night of 16 January and the day of 17 January in towns and villages across the island. For many Mallorcans it is the high point of the year, more personal than Christmas and far older than most of the summer fiestas.

The eve of Sant Antoni, 16 January, is the night of the foguerons, the bonfires. Neighbours build fires in the squares and streets, and dimonis, devils in masks and horned costumes, dance around them to the sound of the xeremies, the Mallorcan bagpipes. Sant Antoni himself appears among them, resisting their temptations, and locals sing glosses, short improvised verses, late into the night while sausages grill over the embers.

On 17 January comes the day of the beneïdes, the blessing of animals. Farmers bring horses, donkeys and goats, and families bring dogs, cats and rabbits, often in decorated carts, to be blessed by the priest. In Palma, animals and their owners gather in front of the cathedral and process through the centre to the church of Sant Antoni, a gentle, cheerful scene in the heart of the Old Town.

Where to See Sant Antoni in Mallorca

Sa Pobla, in the north of the island, is the heart of Sant Antoni in Mallorca. On the evening of 16 January the dimonis come out, the town hall square erupts in fireworks and dozens of bonfires burn through the streets, with singers gathering around them until the early hours. It is the time to try an espinagada, Sa Pobla’s savoury pastry of spinach and eel, sold across the town during the festival.

Manacor, Artà and Muro hold some of the island’s most traditional celebrations, each with its own dimonis, dances and songs. In Pollença, a tall pine is carried down from the woods of Ternelles and raised in the town, and young men race to climb its trunk to the prize at the top. Each town publishes its programme in early January, and the main events fall on the evening of the 16th and the morning of the 17th.

From Palma, Sa Pobla and Manacor are both on the island’s train lines from the Plaça d’Espanya station, a short walk from Casa Roca, and the journey takes about an hour. Many visitors book a taxi or a private driver for the return so they can stay by the bonfires late into the night.

Where to see Sant Antoni in Mallorca	Highlights	From Palma
Sa Pobla	Bonfires, dimonis, fireworks and espinagades	About 1 hour by train
Manacor	Dimonis, a solemn mass and the beneïdes	About 1 hour by train
Artà	Traditional dimonis dances and foguerons	About 1 hour by car
Pollença	The pine of Sant Antoni and a bonfire contest	About 50 minutes by car
Palma	The blessing of animals from the cathedral	On foot from Casa Roca

Sant Sebastià in Palma: The Revetla on 19 January

Sant Sebastià is Palma’s own festival. The city’s patron saint is celebrated on 20 January, a public holiday in Palma, and the night before, the Revetla de Sant Sebastià, is the biggest street party of the winter. The squares of the Old Town fill with bonfires, communal grills and stages, and the whole city comes out to eat, drink and dance.

The evening traditionally begins with the giants and big-heads, the gegants and capgrossos, parading from the town hall to Plaça Major, where the Drac de na Coca, the city’s dragon, lights the official bonfire. The council sets up hundreds of torradores, communal grills, in the main squares, with 400 in 2025 across Plaça Major, Plaça de Cort, Plaça d’Espanya and Plaça Joan Carles I. Concerts begin at around 20:30 on several stages, and the 2025 Revetla drew more than 50,000 people, according to Palma city council.

For guests at Casa Roca, the Revetla de Sant Sebastià is on the doorstep. Plaça Major is around the corner from Carrer dels Hostals, Plaça de Cort is a short walk away, and the stages in Plaça d’Espanya and Joan Carles I are easy to reach on foot. Bring your own sausages for the grills, or pick up sobrassada and botifarró from the Olivar market in the morning. The festivities run for around two weeks, and the council publishes the full programme in early January.

Revetla de Sant Sebastià in Palma	What happens	Walk from Casa Roca
Plaça Major	The official bonfire, grills and a stage	About 2 minutes
Plaça de Cort	Grills and live music by the town hall	About 8 minutes
Plaça Joan Carles I	Grills and a stage at the top of the Born	About 8 minutes
Plaça d’Espanya	Grills and the main concert stage	About 10 minutes

What to Eat in Mallorca in January

Food is at the centre of every January festival in Mallorca. The torrada, a grill over the embers of a bonfire, is the classic meal of Sant Antoni and Sant Sebastià, and the menu rarely changes: sobrassada, the island’s soft paprika-cured sausage, botifarró, a spiced blood sausage, llonganissa, pancetta and lamb chops, eaten with bread, alioli and a glass of local red wine.

Winter is also the season for hearty Mallorcan dishes. Sopes mallorquines, a thick vegetable and bread soup, frit mallorquí, a fry-up of offal, potatoes and peppers, and arròs brut, a rich, spiced rice with meat and game, appear on menus across the island. For something sweet, there are espinagades and cocarrois, savoury pastries, and the first ensaimadas of the year with a cup of thick hot chocolate.

In Palma, the Olivar market is the best place to shop for a torrada, with butchers selling sobrassada, botifarró and meat ready for the grill. For a sit-down meal, the cellers of the Old Town serve traditional Mallorcan food all winter, and our guide to the best restaurants in Palma de Mallorca lists our favourites within walking distance of Casa Roca.

January food in Mallorca	What it is	When to try it
Sobrassada	Soft paprika-cured pork sausage	On the grill at the Revetla
Botifarró	Spiced Mallorcan blood sausage	At any January torrada
Espinagada	Pastry with spinach and eel	Sant Antoni in Sa Pobla
Tortell de Reis	Ring-shaped Three Kings cake	6 January
Sopes mallorquines	Vegetable and bread soup	A winter lunch in a celler

Correfoc de Sant Sebastià: Palma’s Night of Fire

The Sant Sebastià festivities end with the Correfoc, the fire run, usually held on the last weekend of the festival in late January. Groups of dimonis and fire beasts, the bèsties de foc, carry fireworks and spinning sparklers through the streets of the centre, showering sparks over the crowds as drums beat around them. In 2025, more than 300 people in eleven groups took part, dressed as devils.

The Correfoc starts at around 19:00 from several points at once, including Plaça de la Reina, the Pont de la Riera and the Avinguda de Jaume III, and the groups converge on Plaça Joan Carles I and the Born for a final drumming display. It is loud, smoky and thrilling, and the crowds who join in run alongside the devils under the sparks.

For those who prefer to watch, the edges of the Born and the side streets offer a safer view. Regular spectators wear old cotton clothes with long sleeves, a hat and closed shoes, and protect their eyes and ears. Children watch best from a doorway or a balcony, well away from the front of the crowd.

Things to Do in Palma in January

Between the festivals, January is an excellent month to discover Palma at an easy pace. The cathedral, the Almudaina Palace and Bellver Castle are open all winter, and the Old Town’s museums, from Es Baluard to the Fundació Miró, are ideal on a cooler afternoon. The top things to do in Palma Old Town are all within a short walk of Casa Roca.

Clear winter days are perfect for the Serra de Tramuntana. Valldemossa and Deià are about half an hour from Palma by car, the vintage train to Sóller runs through the winter, and the mountain trails are at their best for walking in the cool, bright weather. Our guide to day trips from Palma de Mallorca covers the easiest routes.

Back in the city, January brings the winter sales after Three Kings, long lunches in the sun on the terraces of Plaça Major and evenings of Mallorcan wine in the bars of La Lonja. The best things to do in Palma de Mallorca fill the days between the fiestas, from the Olivar market to the seafront walk to Portixol.

Things to do in Palma in January	Best for	Time needed
Palma Cathedral and the Almudaina	History and architecture	Half a day
Bellver Castle	Views over the city and the bay	2 to 3 hours
Es Baluard and the Fundació Miró	Modern art on a cool afternoon	2 hours each
The train to Sóller	A classic Tramuntana day out	A full day
Valldemossa and Deià	Mountain villages and walks	A full day

Where to Stay in Palma in January

The Old Town is the best place to stay in Palma in January, because the festivals happen in its streets and squares. From Casa Roca on Carrer dels Hostals, the Revetla de Sant Sebastià is around the corner in Plaça Major, the Three Kings parade passes along the Born, and the train station for Sant Antoni in Sa Pobla is a short walk away in Plaça d’Espanya.

Casa Roca occupies the restored 1847 home of Francisco Roca’s paper and stationery business, with suites for couples, apartments with kitchens for families and friends, and the three-bedroom Francisco Roca Penthouse for groups of up to six. After a cold evening at the bonfires, the Capítulo wine bar downstairs serves Mallorcan wines by the glass, and the rooftop terrace with its hot tub looks out over the tiled roofs of the Old Town.

Rooms for the Sant Sebastià weekend go early, so book ahead. Email hello@casaroca.com with your dates and our team will help you plan the festivals, from the best spot for the Three Kings to a driver for Sant Antoni in Sa Pobla. Browse our suites and apartments in Palma Old Town to choose your room.

Casa Roca Gallery: Winter in Palma Old Town

Warm rooms, Mallorcan wine and a rooftop over the Old Town, a short walk from the bonfires of Sant Sebastià.

Image credits: Three Kings crowd in Palma by Pérez (CC BY-SA 4.0); dimonis in Sant Llorenç des Cardassar by mvelascos (CC BY-SA 4.0); Sant Antoni in Sa Pobla by Morfheos (CC BY-SA 2.0); Sant Sebastià concert by Joan Gené (CC0); correfoc in Palma by SBauçà (CC0); sobrassada by Juan Emilio Prades Bel (CC BY 4.0); Valldemossa by dronepicr (CC BY 2.0). Via Wikimedia Commons.