Palma’s newer districts: Nou Llevant and the north

Why look beyond the old town

Palma’s old town and Santa Catalina get most of the attention, but many people who live in the city all year choose newer districts. They offer flats with lifts, garages and communal pools, easier access by car and everyday shops and schools close at hand. Three very different areas show the range: Nou Llevant on the eastern seafront, the Northern Eixample just beyond the old town, and Son Sardina and Establiments on the city’s rural northern edge.

Nou Llevant: new blocks by the sea

Nou Llevant, long known as the Polígon de Llevant, is a grid of wide streets in Palma’s Llevant district, about 2 km from the cathedral. Most of it was built from the 1970s, but the eastern part stayed largely empty until the Palau de Congressos opened on the seafront in 2017. The first new luxury blocks followed in 2019, and cranes were still busy in 2025.

• New apartments and penthouses with communal gardens and pools, many facing the sea; houses are rare.
• Can Pere Antoni beach and Portixol about 15 minutes’ walk away, across the Ma-19.
• The airport about 15 minutes by car, and Son Llàtzer hospital about 10.
• A public health centre, state primary and secondary schools and several parks, including Parc Krekovic.

The contrasts are sharp. Older blocks, some in poor repair, stand next to new towers with security and pools, and the barri has fewer street-level shops than older ones. Motorways run along two sides. Just to the west, the council plans to turn the empty Gesa building into a central library and arts centre, due by the end of 2029 if the works keep to schedule. Before buying, ask what is planned on the plots around you.

The Northern Eixample: city life with everything close

The Northern Eixample is our name for eight barris north of the Avingudes, the ring of avenues that follows the old city walls. The inner part, around Arxiduc, Bons Aires and Plaça de Toros, was laid out under the Pla Calvet of 1901, Palma’s first planned expansion. Further out, Camp Redó, Son Oliva and L’Olivera were built up from the 1950s onwards, and L’Olivera’s centre only since 2005.

The appeal is practical. Shops, schools and health centres are within walking distance, Carrer de Blanquerna is a pedestrian street of cafés and shops, and Plaça d’Espanya, with the metro, trains and island buses, is close by. Son Espases, the islands’ main public hospital, is about 10 minutes away by car. The stock is mostly flats from many decades, with a few older villas around Plaça de Toros and a low-density pocket of houses with gardens in Amanecer.

Son Sardina and Establiments: villages inside the city

On Palma’s northern edge, where the city meets the foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana, Son Sardina and Establiments are old farming villages that still have their own centres. Son Sardina sits on the Sóller road with a parish church, a state primary school and a small health unit. Establiments, a separate municipality until it joined Palma in the early 20th century, is mostly single-family houses.

Between and around the villages are country properties, from old estate houses to newer villas with gardens and views towards the mountains. The university campus, the ParcBit technology park and Son Espases are a few minutes away. The M1 metro stops in Son Sardina, and city bus lines serve both villages, but outside the village cores a car is needed.

How the three compare

All three are lived in all year, and all three are in a city that no longer grants new holiday-rental licences: flats have been excluded since 2018, and a final council vote in May 2026 extended the ban on new places to houses. They suit buyers looking for a home to live in rather than holiday-rental income.

Areas in this post

Nou Llevant · Northern Eixample (Arxiduc & Plaça de Toros) · Son Sardina, Establiments & Son Espanyol