Situated on the first floor at the junction of two narrow lanes in the heart of the Old Quarter (‘Casco Antiguo’) of Palma City, the brand-new (July 2006) apartment has a double bedroom, a fold-out double bed-settee in the large lounge, a fully fitted kitchen with gas cooker and fridge, and a shower room with washbasin, bidet and toilet. It also enjoys the full use of the roof terrace, ideal for sunbathing.

Even though the apartment is only on the first floor, it has the benefit of access by a private lift (shared only with two other apartments) or a short single flight of stairs. It has a new door entryphone, and the brand new lift has a telephone that connects direct to a helpcentre in the event of any problem.

The apartment is furnished in Swedish Ikea-style, with luxurious sofas, modern paintings by the famous Mallorcan artist Joan Miro, two large LCD flat-screen televisions (showing SKY satellite channels) and luxury fittings throughout.

The apartment has towels, soap, sheets and pillowcases. There is no need for blankets (although there are two continental quilts in the bedroom cupboard), and in the unlikely event you’re cold, the air conditioning also doubles as warm air heating. There is a new washing machine and tumble drier in the shower room. Sheets and towels can be draped over the balcony rail to dry.

There are so many local ‘eating out’ places (and they are all so cheap!) that we guess you won’t need the facilities of the apartment’s kitchen, although it is currently equipped with pots and pans, crockery, drinking glasses, coffee mugs, cutlery and a kettle.

Next-door-but one on the lane is a baker (‘Panaderia’), who makes fresh bread and croissants daily. To the other side is a greengrocers and general store (‘Botiga’), selling everything from wines and spirits, fresh meats, cleaning materials, batteries, to strawberries and cream!

The lane opens out into Placa Salvador Coll, only 10 metres away: Here, if you can’t be bothered with self-catering you will find a quaint bar called Café Riparo that also doubles as an Italian restaurant who make their own pasta called ”St Ambros”, and a vibrant buzzing scene with eight other quality bars, cafes and bistros., a trendy café bar with live DJ music called Noodle Bar, a bicycle rental shop and various others outlets. One end of Placa Coll is a road, from where you can catch a taxi or a bus (Route no. 2 bus stop is right outside Noodle Bar, only about 25 metres from the apartment!), or if you’ve rented a car, the entrance ramp to the main underground car park is here also.

If you’ve taken a cab (or you’re using one to return to the apartment), make sure the driver knows you want “Placa Salvador Coll” and not “Placa Cort”. Placa Cort is another lovely open square, with an ancient giant gnarled olive tree in the centre, and the imposing and picturesque Ajuntament de Palma (‘Palma Urban District Council’) Town Hall. If the taximan gets it wrong, Placa Cort is literally only two minutes walk away, and well worth a sightseeing visit anyway!

But you don’t need to get a bus or taxi for shopping: the narrow bustling shopping lanes of Calle San Miguel and Calle Sindicat are adjacent, as is Placa Major, with its street entertainers, craft markets and live music presentations. There is an entire shopping centre under the ground below Placa Major, including a supermarket, and the fashion shopping boulevards of Avenida Jaimie 111 (pronounced ‘Hymie terth-air-o’) and Paseo del Born are five minutes walk. Towards the top of Calle San Miguel is Placa Olivar: well worth a visit for the huge indoor fish, fruit and vegetable market.

The apartment is at No. 2 Carrer Can Sanç (pronounced Car-air Can Sanch): take the lift to the first floor. The door in front of you is the apartment, and the door to your right accesses the stairwell that will take you back downstairs to the other entrance. If you prefer to enter the building via the stairs rather than the lift, then use the door at No. 12 Calle Carnisseria (5 metres round the corner): from there, climb the stairs to the first floor, and the door on your left accesses the lift lobby. The door now on your right enters the apartment.
 

Further down the otherwise unimposing lane called Carrer Can Sanç is Teatre Sans, which is a very popular youth theatre school, and a coffee and ice cream lounge called Can Juan de S’aigo: well worth a visit for Ensaimadas and Café Cortado: legend has it that back in the nineteenth century the original S’aigo used to use donkeys to carry snow and ice down from the tramuntana mountains at the north of Mallorca, to chill their ice cream!

A taxi from the airport will deliver you almost to the door of the apartment for around 20 euros. Alternatively, Bus no. 1 from the airport (one of only two buses at the airport, so it is difficult to get the wrong one and it has only one fare, so the only Spanish you might need at this stage is “uno, por favor”!) will drop you off at Granz Magatzans (right outside Palma’s equivalent of Debenhams, called El Corte Ingles), from where Bus no. 2 will deliver you (via Paseo Mallorca and Avenida Jaimie 111 and Paseo del Born) to Placa Salvador Coll. The total cost of the bus is less than 3 euros, and the buses are very clean and air-conditioned.