Things to do in Alcúdia

Alcúdia occupies the neck of land between two bays at the north-east corner of Mallorca. The Romans made it the capital of the island. The Moors gave it the name, from a word meaning the hill.

Pollentia and the walls

The Roman city was founded in 123 BC and ran the province from here. Three parts of it are open. All sit just outside the medieval gate.

• The theatre. Cut straight into the bedrock, and the smallest Roman theatre still standing in Spain.
• The forum. Temple foundations and shopfronts, with a museum in town holding what came out of them.
• La Portella. A block of Roman houses, close enough together to read the street plan.
• The town walls. Medieval, rebuilt, and walkable on top for most of their circuit.

Inside the walls it is honey-coloured stone and shutters. A large market fills the lanes twice a week, on Sunday and Tuesday mornings.

The bay, the wetland and the cape

Port d'Alcúdia sits two kilometres away and is a different proposition: marina, hotels and a beach that runs for seven kilometres. The water shelves so gently that you can wade a long way out. That is why families come.

• S'Albufera. The largest wetland in the Balearics, behind the beach, with hides and more than 200 bird species recorded.
• Cap des Pinar. The wooded headland closing the bay, with a hermitage part-way up and a military zone beyond.
• Coll Baix. A pebble cove under the cape, reached on foot down a steep path or by boat.
• Boats. Day charters leave the port for the Formentor headland and the coves along the way.

Practical

• Season. The port runs from April to October, and a good share of it closes for winter. The walled town stays awake all year.
• Wind. A hard northerly shuts the boats down and flattens nobody's plans gracefully. Ask about the cancellation terms.
• To Menorca. A fast ferry crosses to Ciutadella from the port in about an hour.
• Cycling. The flat plain behind the bay fills with training cyclists from February to April.
• Mosquitoes. The wetland breeds them, and dusk near the water is when you notice.
• Prices. A guided walk of the old town runs about 130 euros for a small private group. A whole boat for the day is four figures.
• Shade. The Roman site has almost none. Go early or late in summer.