If you hoping to spend Easter in Mallorca in 2023, then this article will tell you everything you need to know to plan your holiday to the island and what to expect to see at the Easter parades.

I will look at the Easter parades, where you can see them, what the weather will be like, if you can go to the beach, and if you can expect to find shops, restaurants and bars open over Easter week.

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What to Expect – Easter in Mallorca

Mallorca is world-renowned for its cultural fiestas and celebrations which bring communities to the streets to celebrate. But you will find Easter to be a more solemn affair.

It is the most important date for many in the religious calendar so for this reason, you will get a chance to witness the Easter parades in Mallorca, but be aware that these celebrations do not have the same atmosphere as the other lively and joyous events that take place throughout the year.

It is also a time when you will see some shops and businesses close on various days during Easter, but more on that later.

When is Easter in 2023?

Easter Sunday in 2023 will be celebrated on the 9 April which means celebrations will take place from Palma Sunday on the 2 April 2023.

This will signal the beginning of Holy Week in Mallorca.

Mallorca will then celebrate these Holy Week public holidays on Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo) on the 6 April, Good Friday on the 7 April, Easter Sunday on the 9 April and Easter Monday on 10 April 2023.

What to see at Easter in Mallorca

Palm Sunday on the 2 April signals the beginning of Holy Week in Mallorca and church services will take place all over the island with the distribution of palm leaves.

Many parishioners will take these palm leaves home to put on display.

The most spectacular events during Easter in Mallorca are the religious parades where brotherhoods take to the streets.

The first notable evening to witness these parades is on Holy Thursday before Easter Sunday as the parades start to make their way through Palma city. You will find these taking place in the villages and towns all over the island.

If you are visiting Palma on the run-up to Holy Thursday, then you may see some “practise parades” taking place too.

These parades on Holy Thursday are better known as the Crist de Sang (or Blood of Christ) procession and it is most impressive in Mallorca’s capital Palma.

This is possibly the most significant religious parade in Mallorca which has been celebrated since 1564.

Expect to see some 5,000 members from Palma’s 33 brotherhoods walk solemnly in these penance processions through the streets and squares.

You will see brotherhoods or nazarenos dressed in distinctive penitential robes with iconic pointed hooded cloaks, designed according to the church to which they belong.

For those seeing these parades for the first time, do not confuse these religious processions with the far-right hate group – the KKK or Ku Klux Klan- in the USA.

You can read more about how the Easter parades have caused confusion with tourists and the history behind the robes in this really interesting article here.

It’s quite likely you will see some nazarenos parade barefoot or with their ankles shackled as penance. As I have said, this Easter tradition is taken very seriously in Spain.

And this is a great family tradition in Spain and you will often see children following in their parent’s footsteps giving out sweets in this Crist de Sang parade (blood of Christ).

Huge heavy religious effigies are carried through the streets on pasos or floats – it is a sight – and quite an eerie sight too – for anyone visiting Mallorca at Easter.

These floats are works of art and show scenes from the Bible. In some parades, you will also see marching bands following these processions playing sombre music.

Good Friday signals another day of religious events, especially in Palma and the area around Palma Cathedral at midday and also in the evening.

Easter Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection and there is a huge midday mass at Palma’s La Seu Cathedral.

In previous years, it was customary that the King of Spain celebrated Easter in Mallorca with his family, attending the mass at the Cathedral. It is unknown whether they will be attending in 2023.

When and where are the Easter parades held in Palma de Mallorca?

You can find a full programme of the Easter parades on the Palma town hall website on this link here.

The Easter parades in Mallorca start two days before Palm Sunday and run every day until Good Friday, so there is plenty of opportunity to soak up the atmosphere.

Guides to when the parades start and end are also included.

In this Easter programme, there is also a full guide to the traditional robes worn in the parades and which churches they represent.

The programme also has times of services held throughout Easter week too.

Traditional foods to try during Easter in Mallorca

Easter in Mallorca means being able to enjoy some traditional foods in restaurants and bakeries.

Here is what you must try if you are visiting the island.

If you are visiting a bakery, then pick up an Easter empanada which is a small savoury pie stuffed with meat (usually lamb) and peas.

Also popular at Easter are sweet treats Rosquillas de Semana Santa which are doughnut-style pastries.

I remember years ago in Palma Old Town, the bakeries used to make pine nut and pastry-covered marzipan treats.

They are quite distinctive (you will see the tiny pastries covered in pine nuts) so be sure to try them. Ask the bakery what they are called and comment below if I don’t find out first!

Update: Many thanks to Robert Dixon who let me know in the comments below that these sweet treats are called panellets so be sure to ask for them at a local bakery!

Which hotels are open at Easter in Mallorca?

Although there are some hotels open throughout the winter, we usually start to see many hotels opening up in many resorts around the final week of March. Many other hotels open on the week leading up to the start of the week preceding Easter in Mallorca.

Some resorts such as Palmanova and Magaluf will be busier than Alcudia Beach resort for example. And Port de Soller will be busy as it is a year-round working town.

We will see many of the East Coast hotels opening too around Cala Millor too.

To search for your perfect stay, check out availability in hotels right across Mallorca here and package holidays here.

What’s the weather like at Easter in Mallorca?

Expect the weather will be a great time to visit Mallorca which has plenty of sunshine and warmer temperatures as Spring will be officially underway.

However, it is a little too early in the season to expect the very high temperatures that you would get during the Summer months.

It’s perfectly likely to experience cloudy days and possible showers too, so if you are visiting Mallorca at Easter, please bring clothing for all weathers.

However, this is fantastic weather for sightseeing and getting out and about around the island before the high temperatures hit.

If you are visiting Palma then make sure you take the Hop-on Hop Off sightseeing bus which will take you to all the essential sights. You can book it here.

You can read more about Spring weather in Mallorca in this article here or watch the video playing on this page.

If you do visit over Easter and it does rain, then check out this article here about all the great things you can do on a rainy day.

When will the Summer Season in Mallorca start in 2023

The official start to Mallorca’s summer season is on the 1 May and runs until the 31 October. However, it is highly anticipated that because of Easter in 2023 falling early on 9 April, and the school holidays starting on the week beginning 2 April that many hotels, bars and restaurants will throw their doors open as early as the beginning or mid-March.

Following the post-pandemic surge in travel bookings, expect Easter in Mallorca to be an extremely popular time of year to holiday on the island.

With prices for holidays reported to have risen during the Summer months, Easter may well be a great time to get in an early Summer break.

To read what Magaluf was like right at the beginning of Spring last year, check out this article here.

Can I swim in the sea at Easter in Mallorca?

Yes, you can. While air temperatures will be warming up nicely in April, it will be a chilly swim because the sea will not have had a chance to warm up from the Winter.

You will also be able to go to the beach. In fact, you can go to the beach all year in Mallorca, but in April, you may have to find a sheltered spot, because it can get windy along the coastline.

Will shops and restaurants open over Easter in Mallorca?

Since Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are all public holidays in Mallorca you may find some privately owned shops or businesses will be closed.

However, bars, restaurants and supermarkets will be open on these days, since the island will be expecting a pre-summer short-term surge in visitors, do not worry about being able to go out for food and drink and get in supplies.

Shopping centres will close on Easter Sunday as well as many supermarkets. I suspect Lidel and Aldi will be open as usual.

You can check the Fan shopping centre opening times here, the Porto Pi shopping centre opening times here, and the Festival Park opening times here.

On public holidays, public transport will run a reduced schedule. So find out more about getting around Mallorca here.

Don’t forget if you are travelling to Mallorca, and you need to rent a car, you can get a competitive quote here. You can also pick up your holiday essentials here.