From the moment the troops of James I disembarked on the coast of Majorca (September, 1229) until they entered Madina Mayurqa (December 31, the same year), they travelled a path that combines both history and legend, which is interesting and easy to follow, since it covers the current municipalities of Andratx and Calvià, next to Palma. The main points of interest are:

1. Sant Elm. The ships were anchored between the island of sa Dragonera and the coast of Sant Elm. According to local tradition, the first insular mass history speaks of was celebrated on the Pantaleu islet, located right in front of the beach, very close to dry land. A water fountain, where the king is said to have watered his horse, was preserved but later destroyed by revolutionaries in 1868, who sought to erase all remains of the island’s feudal past. Here, the king received the Muslim visitor, Ali, who swam to the islet to inform the king of the island’s situation, quoted in the chronicles of James I and Bernat Desclot. A story talks about an eagle that carried a sword and dropped it over the king, thus becoming known as “royal eagle”.  It is worth visiting the 13th century tower standing tall on top of a mountain next to the beach.
2. Santa Ponça. A cross on Gran Via de la Cruz commemorates the disembarkation. It was unveiled in 1929 for the commemoration of the Seven-Hundredth Anniversary of the conquest. In 1975 it was destroyed by lightning and subsequently rebuilt.
3. Chapel of sa Pedra Sagrada, on the road from Palma to Andratx, at Km 15, between Palma Nova and Santa Ponça. It was also erected in 1929, and its interior shelters a stone that, legend has it, was used to improvise an altar in the first mass celebrated on Majorcan land. It is possible that this stone has been worshipped since time immemorial.
4. Hill of sa Batalla, at the same point, where the most significant clash between Muslim and Catalan troops took place.
5. King’s Mount, also located in the same place, behind the chapel, and related to the battle.
6. Cross of the Montcadas, located outside Palma Nova, right by the dual carriageway, on the right-hand side towards Palma. It commemorates the death of Guillem and Ramon de Montcada, uncle and nephew, and great Catalan feudal lords who died in battle. It is very stylized and beautiful, made of wrought iron, sponsored by Archduke Luis Salvador and unveiled in 1887. A folk story relates it to a pine tree that stood in the surroundings, where the Montcadas are said to have died.
7. Castle of Bendinat, next to the motorway going from Palma to Palma Nova, on the right-hand side towards Palma. It is an ancient estate, dating from the Islamic period (although the current castle has a Neo-Gothic style), and related to a well-known Majorcan legend. It owes its name to the fact that the king’s troops ate there. However, due to the lack of food, all they ate was garlic and, when they finished, the king said: “well dined” (ben dinat in Catalan). In reality, the toponym has an Islamic root, and it was Catalanised.
8. Na Burguesa Mountain Range. It has a view over the whole city; the king makes reference to this place and its magnificent view over the medina. It can be reached either on foot, through a great number of forest paths, or by car, through the road leading to the restaurant-viewpoint at the top.
9. Royal Monastery, already mentioned in the Lullian itinerary. Apparently, this is where the king camped during the siege, although it is still uncertain. According to tradition, the place owes its name to this story, but it does not correspond with the facts. This is where the so-called King’s Road starts, reaching the sa Batalla hill, although many of its old sections have either not been preserved or been reused to build new roads.
10. Conquest Gate, already in Palma, located at the convergence of San Miguel Street and the Avenidas (more specifically, Marie Curie Street). Here stood a gate pertaining to the Muslim wall (called door of Bab-al-Kofol or Bab-al-Kalh), through which the Catalan troops entered the medina, from then onwards known as Conquest Gate, or Gate of St. Margaret, or of Esvaïdor, or Painted Gate. According to James I’s chronicles, a knight riding a white horse, identified as St. George, had participated, a legend often found in Christian-Muslim clashes. After the conquest, the door was rebuilt and subsequently demolished at the beginning of the 20th century.