Mallorca

One of the Mediterranean's most popular islands, with Palma Cathedral, the roads of the Serra de Tramuntana and turquoise coves; Chopin and George Sand once lived here in seclusion.

Mallorca is the largest of Spain's Balearic Islands, covering about 3,640 km² of the Mediterranean some 200 km southeast of Barcelona; its capital, Palma, is home to nearly half the island's population. The island divides into four parts: ① Palma in the southwest — the Cathedral, the Almudaina Palace, the old town and Bellver Castle; ② the Serra de Tramuntana along the northwest coast (a cultural landscape inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2011), with stone mountain villages such as Valldemossa, Deià and Sóller, terraced olive groves and clifftop roads, ending at Cap de Formentor in the north; ③ the east and southeast coasts — the Caves of Drach and turquoise coves (calas) such as Mondragó; ④ the wine and market towns of the central plain. The climate is Mediterranean: May–Jun and Sep–Oct are the best times, when the sea is already warm and crowds are thinner; Jul–Aug is Europe's peak holiday season, when hotels, rental cars and cove parking are in very short supply; winters are mild, but many seaside hotels and restaurants close, and almond trees blossom in February. Getting there: Palma Airport is one of Spain's busiest, with frequent direct flights from across Europe; the A1 airport bus reaches the city in about 20 minutes. Ferries run from Barcelona and Valencia (about 7–8 hours, often overnight). TIB long-distance buses serve the main towns, but driving is the easiest way to reach the coves and mountains; mountain roads are narrow and winding and busy with cyclists in summer, so drive carefully. Allow 4–6 days: 1–2 in Palma, 2 in the Tramuntana and 1–2 on the east coast. Current notes: the Balearic Islands levy a 'sustainable tourism tax' on visitors of a few euros per person per night depending on the accommodation category, collected by hotels; the Formentor road has summer traffic restrictions (see the sight details) — check that year's official announcements. Entry requires a Schengen visa. Must-tries: the spiral pastry ensaïmada, roast suckling pig and sobrassada spicy sausage.

Top sights

• Palma Cathedral (La Seu) – A massive Gothic cathedral standing by the sea, with one of the largest Gothic rose windows in the world. Its interior bears modern transfo…
• Valldemossa – A stone village in the Serra de Tramuntana where Chopin and George Sand spent a winter at the Carthusian monastery.
• Sóller & Vintage Train – A wooden vintage train, in service since 1912, crosses the Serra de Tramuntana through 13 tunnels to the orange-grove valley of Sóller.
• Cap de Formentor – A cliff-edged cape at the northernmost tip of Mallorca, where the winding road ends at an 1863 lighthouse with spectacular views over the “…
• Sa Calobra & Torrent de Pareis – A 270-degree “tie knot” loop road descends to a small seaside bay, and a rock tunnel leads to the pebble beach at the mouth of the gorge.
• Bellver Castle – A rare circular Gothic castle in Europe, built on a pine-covered hill, with rooftop views over the whole of Palma Bay.
• Caves of Drach – Huge stalactite caves on the east coast. The highlight is listening to classical music on the underground Lake Martel and then taking a boa…
• Cala Mondragó – A twin cove in Mondragó Natural Park, with white sand, pines and clear shallow water. It is one of Majorca's most popular coves (calas).
• Royal Palace of La Almudaina – A former Moorish fortress turned royal palace beside the cathedral. It is still the official base of the Spanish royal family on Majorca.
• Es Baluard Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art – A contemporary art museum built into a Renaissance-era bastion of the city walls. The rooftop terrace is a great place to watch the sunset…
• Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró a Mallorca – The house and studio where Miró lived and worked for nearly three decades in his later years. His studio is preserved just as he left it.
• La Llotja de Palma – A 15th-century Gothic merchants' exchange whose great hall, supported by spiral-patterned columns, is regarded as a masterpiece of secular…
• Mercat de l'Olivar – Palma's largest indoor food market, lined with seafood stalls and tapas bars. You can buy and have your food cooked on the spot, or sample…
• Palma Aquarium – A large aquarium with one of Europe's deepest shark tanks, themed around Mediterranean marine ecosystems.
• Deià – A stone village clinging to the mountainside above the sea, home to poet Robert Graves's former house and one of the most beautiful village…
• Son Marroig & Sa Foradada – A former estate of an Austrian archduke, its marble gazebo framing the sea stack of Sa Foradada with its huge hole.
• Fornalutx – A stone mountain village tucked deep in the Sóller valley, with quiet stepped lanes, often ranked among Spain's most beautiful villages.
• Jardins d'Alfàbia – A garden estate with Moorish-era roots, featuring a fountain-lined walkway, bamboo groves and palms, ideal as a stop on the way to Sóller.
• Sanctuary of Lluc – Mallorca's most important pilgrimage site, housing the Black Madonna and a boys' choir with more than 500 years of history.
• Pollença – An old town with a 365-step cypress-lined staircase up to a hilltop chapel, and a base for exploring the north of the island.
• Alcúdia Old Town – A medieval walled town with the island's largest Roman city site, Pollentia, just outside its walls.
• S'Albufera Natural Park – The largest wetland in the Balearic Islands, with several birdwatching hides, and a popular destination for birdwatchers in Europe.
• Capdepera Castle – A 14th-century hilltop castle with walls winding along the ridge, offering views across the channel to Menorca.
• Caves of Artà – Huge caves opening onto a cliff on the northeast coast, with soaring halls said to have inspired Jules Verne's 'Journey to the Center of th…
• Caves of Hams – A cave named for its white hook-shaped stalactites, with light and live music performances over an underground lake and fewer crowds than t…
• Es Trenc – One of the few undeveloped natural long sandy beaches in Mallorca, its fine white sand and shallow turquoise water often compared to the Ca…
• Caló des Moro – A small bay framed by pines and cliffs, its emerald water one of Mallorca's most photogenic sights.
• Cabrera Archipelago National Park – An uninhabited island national park in the sea south of Mallorca; day boat trips visit a castle, the Blue Cave and clear bays.
• Port d'Andratx – A high-end yacht harbour at Mallorca's southwest tip, with white villas climbing the hills around the bay; a good spot for seafood and suns…
• Sa Dragonera – A natural park on an uninhabited island shaped like a reclining dragon, reached by boat in 15 minutes, with hiking to an old lighthouse on…

Where to eat

• Ca'n Joan de S'aigo – Palma's oldest café and pastry shop, founded around 1700, famous for its ensaimadas and hot chocolate.
• Celler Sa Premsa – A historic cellar restaurant in Palma, open since 1958, serving home-style traditional Mallorcan dishes.
• Ca N'Eduardo – A historic seafood restaurant in Palma opened in 1943, located above the fish market in the fishing port, overlooking t…
• Es Verger – A rustic country restaurant in the mountains of Alaró, famous for its slow-roasted shoulder of lamb cooked in a wood-fi…
• DINS Santi Taura – A one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Palma, reimagining traditional Balearic recipes from historical texts with a moder…
• Ca Na Toneta – A restaurant run by sisters in the mountain village of Caimari, serving a seasonal Mallorcan tasting menu prepared with…

Itineraries

• Mallorca Island Loop Road Trip – A road trip starting from Palma, passing through the Serra de Tramuntana mountains and Cap de Formentor to the southeas…
• GR221 Dry Stone Route Trek – Hike the northern section of the Dry Stone Route, traversing the Serra de Tramuntana from Valldemossa to Pollença.
• Balearic Island Hopping: East to West – Fly into Menorca and out of Ibiza, taking ferries to connect the coves, mountain roads, and old towns of four islands.