Alcúdia

People lived here from the Bronze Age, but the town's recorded history begins with the Romans, who landed on the beaches of the bay when they conquered Mallorca in 123 BC. They founded Pollentia on this neck of land between two bays; it became a port for Mediterranean trade, while Palma served Africa and Hispania. When Roman power faded, Pollentia was attacked by pirates and several times by the Vandals, until its people abandoned it for a better protected site inland, the town that became Pollença.

The name Alcúdia comes from the Arabic for "on the hill", after a Muslim farmstead near the Roman ruins. James I of Aragon took the area in 1229, and in 1298 James II bought the farmstead and founded a new town, with a church, a cemetery, a priests' house and a square laid out in the same year. Its walls, begun at the same time, were finished in 1362 in the reign of Peter IV, protecting both the town and the north of the island. During the Black Death of 1348–50 the disease reached the port, and nobles and wealthy Mallorcans took refuge behind the walls.

Pirate attacks in the 16th century made the town's population shrink; in 1551 a Turkish landing at Cap des Pinar was beaten off by a local captain with 150 men. A second, outer wall was planned in 1598 and later demolished. A new harbour, decided in 1779, saved the town's economy, though it stayed small and poor. The first tourists came in the 1920s; from the early 1970s tourism took over, and within fifteen years the port had become a major European resort.

Alcúdia's culture centres on its walled town and its festivals. The patron festival of Sant Jaume runs for nine days in July: each street chooses a theme for its decorations, there are outdoor theatre performances, sports tournaments and exhibitions, and on the Night of the Romans locals fill the streets in ancient Roman dress. It ends with fireworks and a concert by the old walls. In early July comes the pilgrimage to the hermitage of the Virgin of Victory on the headland, and on 29 June Port d'Alcúdia honours its patron, Saint Peter.

The most solemn tradition is the Triennial of Sant Crist, held every three years, when townspeople walk barefoot and in silence through the streets for several hours. It dates back to 1507, when, according to tradition, an image of Christ sweated blood and water and ended a drought. Other celebrations include a summer jazz festival lasting a month, the cuttlefish fair in April, an agricultural fair in October, and summer evenings of dramatised tours of the old town and plays in the Roman theatre.

Mallorcan Catalan is the language of daily life. The port has become a venue for international sport, including an Ironman triathlon, beach volleyball and beach rugby, and the local football club, UD Alcúdia, plays at the small Els Arcs ground.

About 21,900 people lived in the municipality in 2025, in the old town, the port and the resorts strung along the bay, including Mal Pas-Bonaire. The population rises sharply in summer, when the beach strip and the port's hotels and apartments are full.

Tourism is almost the whole economy. After the building boom of the 1970s and 1980s, the 1990s brought regulations to raise the quality of the resort, and the old town was preserved and pedestrianised, becoming one of the most visited villages in Mallorca. The port mainly handles passenger ferries, but also some bulk cargo and gas carriers.

The year divides sharply into seasons. From spring to autumn the restaurants of the port and the beach strip are busy; most of the port's restaurants open only in the tourist season. In winter many of them close, and life returns to the old town, its markets on Sunday and Tuesday mornings and its squares.

Alcúdia's cooking is Mallorcan, and the sea plays a large part: the town holds a fair each April built around the cuttlefish, and most of the port's restaurants are around the marina. Fish and seafood feature prominently in Balearic cooking, from arròs de peix, rice cooked in a fish broth with pieces of fish, to frita de calamar, fried squid with potatoes, and baked fish such as grouper.

From the land come tombet, layers of fried potatoes, aubergines and red peppers, found in almost every local restaurant and often served beside fish or meat; sobrassada, the island's raw cured pork sausage seasoned with paprika; and arròs brut, saffron rice cooked with chicken, pork and vegetables. Sopes mallorquines are made of vegetables, broth and slices of bread.

The bakeries sell the ensaïmada, a spiral pastry made with saïm, a reduced pork lard, and dusted with sugar, and coques, flat breads similar to pizza but without cheese. Olive oil is the everyday cooking fat, and the island's red wines come from the Binissalem and Pla i Llevant areas. The Sunday and Tuesday market beside the Porta del Moll is the place to find local produce.