The walled town of Alcudia is one of the better-preserved medieval towns in Mallorca, and the fact that a functioning community still lives inside the walls makes it feel less like an exhibit than many comparable places. Two of the original gates survive — the Porta de Mallorca and the Porta de Xara — and the circuit of walls is almost complete, rebuilt substantially in the 14th century after earlier fortifications were demolished.
Inside, the streets are narrow and shaded, lined with ochre stone houses with heavy wooden doors and the occasional courtyard glimpsed through an open gate. There's a good concentration of small shops, cafes, and restaurants catering to visitors without entirely losing sight of the fact that real people live here. The Tuesday and Sunday markets spill out from the square around the church and along the main streets, drawing people from across the northern part of the island.
The old town is easily walkable in an hour, though you can spend considerably longer if you linger in a cafe or poke into the side streets. It's at its best in the early morning before the day-trippers arrive, or in the evening when the light falls across the stone in long shadows.