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Accessibility guide Bellver Castle

March, 2020

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The accessible Bellver Castle is a must-see for your next trip to the island of Mallorca. Read everything you need to know about this complex, how to get there, tickets, and the accessibility in this guide.

About the Bellver Castle

The fantastically preserved 14th-century castle offers beautiful views of the city and gives you a glimpse of Mallorca’s heritage. Dating from the 14th century, the castle radiates proud on top of a hill in the city of Palma. When looking at the castle, the first thing that grabs your attention is its round design. This oval-shaped building was the first of its kind in Spain.
Because of the location, the castle got the name Bellver, which means “beautiful view” in Catalan. From the castle, you have a beautiful view of the bay of Palma, the city, and the mountains of Tramuntana.

History

Stroll through the castle rooms, towers, and halls to learn about the nobility that once lived here. King Jaume, the II, who ordered the construction of the castle, became the first royal inhabitant of the fortress in 1310. After this, it served as a permanent home for two other monarchs: King Sanc in 1314 and Joan I in 1395. Besides serving as a home for monarchs, the castle briefly served as a royal summer residence at a certain point in history. But for almost six centuries, until 1915, the castle’s function was a prison. Today, the castle is used as a historical museum, displaying many archaeological finds and classical sculptures from the different periods of the history of the island of Mallorca. Besides that, concerts regularly take place during the summer in the courtyard.

Structure

The castle is surrounded by a ditch and has a drawbridge, three defensive towers, and a high detached lock tower. This tower is connected to the castle by a small bridge. The circular central courtyard consists of two levels. The lower part is made up of Catalan Romanesque arches and was used by staff and soldiers. The top floor with Gothic arches was intended for the Royal family.

bellver castle hero
bellver castle tower
bellver castle pillars

Permanent exhibitions

When the castle came into the hands of the municipality of Palma, they turned the Bellver Castle into a museum. Fortunately, you can also visit different parts of the castle, such as the old kitchen and the armory. In the castle, you find three permanent exhibitions consisting of the urban development of Palma, the Despuig Collection, and the Jovellanos room. Besides that, you also find temporary exhibitions on the premises.

Urban development of Palma

The urban evolution exhibition consists of different rooms where you see the history of the island of Mallorca. The themes that you find in the rooms are the prehistory, Palma during 123 BC – 902, Madina Mayurqa, 902-1229, Ciutat de Mallorques. 1229 – 1576, Palma 1575 – 1902, and Palma 1902 – 1960.

Despuig Collection

On the ground floor, you find an exhibition of classic sculptures made by Despuig. Despuig was one of the most prominent artists that Mallorca has known.

Jovellanos Room

In this room, you see the political history of the Bellver Castle. Here, you discover which Royal families have lived in the castle. A large part of this exhibition is about the time when the castle was a prison. Many political prisoners spent a lot of time here.

bellver castle gallery
bellver castle hall

Accessibility Bellver Castle

The accessible Bellver Castle offers disabled parking at the main entrance. The ticket office, however, is in the parking place, about 200 meters from the main entrance. We advise you to get your ticket before parking in the foreseen spaces.

The main entrance is accessible with wheelchairs with the help of a moderately sloped ramp. Throughout the whole building, you find ramps when necessary.

The ground floor of the building is accessible for all wheelchairs. The first floor is accessible for manual wheelchairs by means of a lift. The terrace is not accessible.

The complex also provides wheelchair adapted toilets near the ticket office and inside the cafeteria. You can find this toilet in the app Accessaloo. This app shows you all the features of accessible toilets. Click here to download the app and find, add, and share accessible toilets on the go.

To go to certain exposition halls, there is a step of about 15-20 cm. This part of the castle is, unfortunately, not accessible for wheelchair users because of this detail.

bellver castle ramp outside
bellver castle platform lift
Accessible bellver castle step
bellver castle toilet

Wheelchair accessible tours to Mallorca

We offer many accessible tours on the island of Mallorca. Go on an accessible trip to the city of Palma De Mallorca, which also goes to the Bellver Castle. Besides that, we offer a lot more in Mallorca. Discover other historical monuments, explore various cities, do a roundtrip on the island, play accessible golf, or enjoy accessible watersports such as sailing, scuba diving, kayak, or water ski. Experience it all in Mallorca.

Click on the button to find all the information about our tours in Mallorca.

How to get there

There are multiple ways to get to Bellver Castle. First of all, you can take several buses. Bus 50 is a touristic bus where you should get off at the Castell de Bellver Stop. Besides that, you can also take EMT bus 46. This option always includes a short walk before arriving at the castle.

To be sure of proper transportation, you can also reserve adapted private transport through us. This way, you are sure your private adapted vehicle brings you where you need to be. Click on our transfers for more information.

The address of the Bellver Castle is Carrer de Camilo José Cela, s/n, 07014 Palma

Tickets

The tickets for the Bellver Castle are available at the entrance until 45 minutes before closing time. The last admission to the castle is 30 minutes before closing time. Even though the ticket for disabled people is free, you must go to the ticket office with a valid document to collect.

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