Mallorca Spain Palma Cathedral and Tramuntana Villages

Palma Cathedral

La Seu, as locals call it, rises from the old sea walls of Palma and dominates every view of the city from the bay. Begun after the Christian conquest and built over several centuries, it has an exceptionally tall Gothic nave supported by slender columns and lit by an enormous rose window.

Right beside the cathedral, the Royal Palace of La Almudaina, originally an Islamic fortress, remains an official residence of the Spanish royal family and is open to visitors.

The nave of Palma Cathedral is lit by one of the largest Gothic rose windows in Europe. Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Streppel assumed (based on copyright claims)., Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Bellver Castle

On a wooded hill west of the center, Bellver Castle was built in the fourteenth century for King James II of Majorca and is one of very few circular castles in Europe. It surrounds a round two-story courtyard and houses the city history museum, and the rooftop terrace has wide views over the bay, the port and the mountains.

Bellver Castle, built in the fourteenth century, is one of the few circular castles in Europe. Photo: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mentio…, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Valldemossa

Set in a high valley about half an hour from Palma, Valldemossa is one of the island's most beautiful villages, with stone houses, flower pots on every doorstep and views down to the coast.

The Charterhouse of Valldemossa hosted Frédéric Chopin and George Sand in the winter of 1838 and 1839. Photo: Isiwal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Deià

A few kilometers along the coast road, Deià tumbles down a hillside above terraced olive groves. The English poet and novelist Robert Graves lived here for decades, and his home, Ca n'Alluny, is now a museum; he is buried in the small churchyard at the top of the village.

Deià climbs a hillside in the Serra de Tramuntana above terraced olive groves. Photo: Pom' from France, European Union, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Sóller and Port de Sóller

Sóller lies in a valley of orange and lemon groves, and its prosperity from the citrus trade paid for the narrow-gauge railway to Palma, built between 1911 and 1912. The historic wooden electric train climbs through the mountains and thirteen tunnels before descending into the valley, and from Sóller a vintage tram rattles down to Port de Sóller, a horseshoe bay with a seafront promenade.

The Sóller tram links the town of Sóller with its harbor, connecting with the historic train from Palma. Photo: Isiwal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sa Calobra and the Torrent de Pareis

The road down to Sa Calobra, engineered by Antonio Parietti in the early twentieth century, twists through a famous tangle of hairpins and a loop known as the Nus de Sa Corbata, the tie knot. At the bottom, a path through tunnels in the rock leads to the mouth of the Torrent de Pareis, where a towering gorge meets the sea at a pebble beach.

The Torrent de Pareis gorge reaches the sea through a narrow cove at Sa Calobra. Photo: Isiwal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Cap de Formentor

Mallorca's northernmost peninsula is a narrow ridge of cliffs reached by a spectacular road of about thirteen and a half kilometers from Port de Pollença, also built by Parietti.

Nearby Pollença is a handsome inland town where three hundred and sixty five stone steps lead up the Calvari to a small chapel with views across the bay. Its Sunday market is one of the liveliest on the island.

Formentor Lighthouse, opened in 1863, stands at the northern tip of Mallorca. Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Alcúdia

Alcúdia's old town is still ringed by medieval walls with gateways you can walk through, and just outside lie the excavated remains of Pollentia, the most important Roman city on the island, including a small theater.

Medieval walls still encircle much of the old town of Alcúdia in northern Mallorca. Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Caves of Drach

Near Porto Cristo on the east coast, the Caves of Drach are a chain of four connected caves stretching for over two kilometers, decorated with stalactites and stalagmites.

Further south, the coves of the east and southeast coast, such as Cala Mondragó in its natural park and the much-photographed Caló des Moro near Santanyí, offer some of the clearest water on the island. Go early, as small coves fill fast and parking is limited.

Lake Martel inside the Caves of Drach is named after the French cave explorer Édouard-Alfred Martel. Photo: Steffen Mokosch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0