Planning a trip? Monocle’s City Guides know far more than Google ever will 

It’s perhaps not an obvious milestone to celebrate but Monocle now has 23 bang up-to-date city guides (including downloadable maps) and we are adding to our collection of destinations at pace – Dubai and Sydney are being polished as we speak. Why not wait to celebrate until we hit 25? Self-interest: I wrote number 23, Palma, and would like to get it in front of as many people as possible.

Monocle has a long relationship with city guides. We used to have a digital collection called 25/25, which featured 25 cities and 25 snow and beach resorts. Then we produced a series of guides in print (should they return?). But when we relaunched monocle.com last year, we decided that it was time to rethink our digital guides and make use of the website to deliver concise information, considered recommendations and a handy map. And judging by the numbers that our head of digital shares with me every day, they have been a great success.

Our readers trust Monocle to guide them around London, Jakarta, Lisbon and beyond. And they should – we use our network of bureaux staff and trusty correspondents to create these passes to a city’s inner workings, to walk you around neighbourhoods that are, well, proper neighbourhoods. It’s our Asia editor based in Thailand, James Chambers, who wrote the Bangkok City Guide, Monocle editor Josh Fehnert who put together London and our Vienna correspondent, Alexei Korolyov, who names the best places to dine and drink in his hometown. And, of course, Fiona Wilson, our senior Asia editor and a resident in the city long before Monocle launched, opens her address book for Tokyo.

Then suddenly it was my turn. I have a home in Palma and have lived a life there for some years. But the connection long predates me getting the keys to my apartment. In the early days of Monocle, we held a summer pop-up shop in the city’s Santa Catalina neighbourhood and I had a stint as its shopkeeper. I loved it – both the retail experience and the city. I then started spending more time on the island. I met architects, potters, designers and so many others who opened doors for me. Friendships were forged. Mallorca and Palma slowly revealed themselves. But it still keeps many secrets behind those shuttered windows and high-walled courtyards. And so it should.

When it came to sharing my address book, I wanted to do right by the city and spotlight the people and places that I have come to know and admire. Nothing is ever conclusive but I hope that our guide to Palma will allow people to enjoy getting lost in the Old Town, find architectural gems not in most guidebooks, have the best ice cream going and even find their way inside a private palace. I will keep adding to the guide, reflecting how Palma changes, as will all our network of contributors for their cities.

By the end of the year, we should be approaching the 50-guide milestone and will have created a valuable and fun set of directories for people who want to shop, eat well and see places afresh. These are guides for people who love cities.The Monocle City Guide series is free to all subscribers. Want in? Subscribe here.