breathtaking. a must too see. beautiful

Gothic castle, circular in shape and the only one of its kind (XVI century). Located on a hill overlooking the city of Palma, the fortress has sweeping views over the bay. The ground floor houses the city's History Museum, with exhibits from archaeological excavations, and the Cardinal Despuig Collection.

This is a fantastic, historical trainline with a wonderfully nostalgic feel. Expensive but worth it. It cost €54 for a family of four (no charge for our four year old though) to get from Palma to Söller -NO RETURN However, the train itself has the beautiful 'clackety-clack' noise as it trundles through the stunning scenery. The tunnels are exciting and the views are amazing. Some of the carriages are open to the elements so consider the weather when planning your visit. Top tip: We ended up getting the bus back to Palma which cost €12 for all of us.

Kan anbefale en tur til gamlebyen i Alcudia. Butikkene er veldig fint laget i samme stil som byen. Vil du oppleve god is så er turen innom Sa Gelateria De Alcudia et must. Utrolig stilig interiør og atmosfære. Det er tett med butikker og restauranter som kjemper om kundene. Det går mest i suvenirer, sommerklær, sko, sjal, vesker, hatter etc.

The Royal Monastery of Valldemossa has its origins in the early fourteenth-century palace constructed by King James II for its son Sancho The Royal Monastery of Valldemossa has its origins in the early fourteenth-century palace constructed by King James II for its son Sancho, which was donated to the Order of San Bruno in 1399. After adapting the existing construction to its new religious ends, new buildings were erected around a Gothic church and cloister, which have not survived, although other architectural elements from the time have been preserved. In 1717, an extension was begun with the construction of a new Baroque church and cloister around which spacious cells were built, but only a part of the project was executed, since in 1835, with Mendizábal's government confiscation, the property passed into the State's hands and except for the church and other zones that would become part of the public domain, the rest would end up in private hands distributed in 9 lots. The Monastery has housed prominent figures such as Gaspar M. Jovellanos during his exile, Frederic Chopin and George Sand, Joseph Bonaventure Laurens, Rubén Darío, Azorín, Eugeni d'Ors and Unamuno, among others. At present, most of the old monumental part can be paid a visit that consists in the church; apothecary; prior's cell with diverse chambers that house objects of art and monastery documents; Cells 2 and 4, which display elements related to Chopin and George Sanl's visit; the cloister; the municipal museum with works by contemporary painters such as Miró, Picasso, Tàpies, Juli Ramis and Coll Bardolet, etc.; a hall dedicated to Archduke Luis Salvador; and finally, King Sancho's palace, where performances of piano pieces in addition to the visit to the chambers. Interesting features outside the monastery include the palace's defence tower and the church's double bell tower, with one of its elegant towers standing out thanks to its emerald-green coloured tiles that contrast with its unfinished twin, mute witness to the interruption of works to expand the enclosure undertaken in 1717 and broken off after the 1835 confiscation. Valldemossa is a colourful, little mountain village with different places to visit related to Santa Catalina Thomàs, who was born in this town and to whom the inhabitants are fervently devoted, which becomes evident in the allusive tiles that almost all the village houses boast. Painter Coll Bardolet's Foundation and Costa Nord cultural center founded by the actor Michael Douglas, completes the cultural offer. Furthermore, the town's culinary specialties can be sampled and include its well-known potato cocas and refreshing horchata made from almonds, the privileged fruit of the countryside in the vicinity.

Tireless sailor, explorer, writer of travelogues and art and science enthusiast, Archduke Louis Salvador was captivated by Mallorca right from his first visit in 1867. Archduke Louis Salvador of Austria (1847-1915) came to Mallorca for the first time in 1867, travelling incognito as Count Neudorf. The islanl's natural beauty, immense sea and Tramontana mountain range all enthralled him, so he purchased a number of Mallorcan estates in the last third of the nineteenth century, some of which have been declared Assets of Cultural Interest. His first purchase was the estate known as Miramar in Valldemossa in 1872. At that time, the property's boundaries extended to the summit of Mt. Teix, followed east along the coast to Son Marroig in Deià and included the Miramar Monastery, founded on 1276 by James II upon Ramon Llull's instigation as a school for missionaries dedicated to teaching Arabic and other Eastern languages. Miramar became the jewel in the crown of the Archduke's estates and was where he received the visitors attracted by the beautiful landscape who can be considered Mallorca's first tourists: French painter and writer Gastón Vuillier; prehistorians Bartoli and Cartailhac; Spanish naturalist Odón de Buen; botanist and director of the University of Geneva Robert H. Chorat; writer D'Este Daisy; poets Rubén Darío and Jacinto Verdaguer... and his close friend 'Sissi', Empress of Austria, who shared a love of nature and the island with her cousin the Archduke and visited often. Nowadays, Miramar houses a museum that displays a number of items, documents and works of art related to the worlds inhabited by Llull and the Archduke. The farmsteal's ancient tafoná or oil press can be visited, as can the garden and cloister the Archduke had restored from thirteenth-century Gothic arches, the library, assembly hall, chapel and the Moor's Tower, a lookout point with splendid panoramic views of the sea. Son Marroig in the municipality of Deià is another farmstead the Archduke purchased and he restored the old house, conserved the fortified sixteenth-century tower and added Italian-style extensions. He also built a small marble neoclassic temple out of Carrara marble at one end of the garden, which offers panoramic views of Sa Foradada point and even Sa Dragonera Island on clear days. Son Marroig is now home to the Archduke Louis Salvador Museum, which exhibits the Archduke's items, souvenirs and collections of ceramics and nineteenth-century Majorcan paintings. It has also been the venue for the International Chamber Music Festival of Deià since 1978. The farmstead is open to visits Mondays to Saturdays and permission can be obtained to walk along the approximately 3.5-km-long path that leads to Sa Foradada. The country home known as S'Estaca in the environs of Valldemossa was an occasional residence the Archduke shared with Catalina Homar, the official administrator of his estates. The current owners of this property with its Moorish-style architecture are actor Michael Douglas and his ex-wife Diandra. S' Arxiduc, as he is known locally, attempted to integrate into Majorcan society and even learned Catalan. In gratitude for his work publicising Mallorca's charms, he was named an honorary citizen of the city of Palma in 1877, which was later extended to include the entire island in 1910.

The great arch we can now see above the pond dates back to the old docks of the Muslim period which existed beneath the palace of La Almudaina, opening directly out into the sea. The arch is thought to date back to the 11th century. S'Hort del Rei was a medieval garden lying outside of the walls of La Almudaina which survived until the 19th century, when it was developed. At the beginning of the 14th century, during the reign of King James II of Mallorca, it enjoyed an age of splendour and was planted with fruit trees, flowers and vegetables. Some animals were also bred there, such as rabbits. In the 1960s, as part of the redevelopment plan for the area surrounding the palace of La Almudaina, the buildings that remained standing were demolished in order to create new gardens with a historicist feel, designed by the Mallorcan architect Gabriel Alomar. This architect combined traditional elements of the Mallorcan garden, such as the pergola, with others with an Andalusian influence, such as the artificial pond, with fountains reminiscent of the Generalife. It has to be said that this new layout has little in common with the medieval garden. The current avenue Antoni Maura coincides with what was the mouth of the water course of Sa Riera, which flowed down the Rambla, calle Unión and Borne, and divided Palma into "vila de dalt" or the old city (the cathedral side) and "vila de baix" or the lower city (the side with the districts of Sant Jaume and Santa Creu). Sa Riera was dangerous because of flooding. The flood that occurred in 1403 is notorious, causing thousands of people to lose their lives. The water course was diverted outside of the city walls for urban planning purposes in 1612, and today runs down the paseo de Mallorca.

We find the site of Sa Canova in the possessió of the same name, some meters away from the road between Artà and Colònia de Sant Pere. The place is well known for the monumental Talayot preserved in it, popularly called Sa Clova des Xot. It is a circular Talayot of 5.5 meters of height and 16.2 meters of diameter, its central column measuring 4.5 meters. Its dimensions make it one of the most impressive Talayots of the island. The function of these constructions varies from place to place but, generally speaking, they related to the identity and territorial boundaries of different communities. Actually, this Talayot was part of an old Talayotic town as we can observe the remains of walls and other structures that were, perhaps, rooms from other circular and square Talayots, and possibly a sanctuary. The foundation of these towns in the island date circa 1000 - 800 BC.