A perfectly restored walled city on the site of a Roman settlement, with remains of Roman houses and an amphitheatre.  This is a gem of a place, a maze of narrow streets enclosed by medieval ramparts, carefully restored as a mode of Mallorca's new tourist image. There were Phoenician and Greek settlements here, but the town reached its heyday in the 2nd century BC, when the Roman invaders made it their capital, Pollentia, meaning 'power'.

Destroyed by Vandals in the 6th century, the town returned to greatness under the Moors, who built alkudia ('the town on the hill'). The walls you see today were added after the Spanish conquest in the 14th century.  You enter the city through one of the two town gates. The Portal de Moll, with two square towers and two massive palm trees standing guard, is the symbol of Alcudia. The narrow streets of the old town, especially Carrer d'en Serra, are resonant of Palma's Arab quarter. Look for the Ca'n Torro library, at Carrer d'en Serra 15, opened in 1990 in a former mansion.  A short walk from the parish church of Sant Jaume takes you to three interesting sights, connected by signposted footpaths. Closest to town are the remains of Roman houses at Pollentia, near here are the well preserved Teatro Romano (Roman amphitheatre), and the Orator de Santa Anna, one of Mallorca's oldest churches. After exploring the Roman remains, interpret them at the Museu Monografic de Pollentia beside the parish church.