By air
Palma de Mallorca (PMI), ~8 km
Europe · Spain
Mallorca, Spain
Coves, mountains and old stone villages
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to June and September to October — warm, calmer
Don't miss
Palma Cathedral
Cala Mondragó
Valldemossa
Cap de Formentor
Things to do
Swimming in the calas
Hiking the Serra de Tramuntana
The old train to Sóller
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Abrget47j · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Swimwear, hiking shoes
A quieter corner
Deià, the artists' village in the Tramuntana
Questions travellers ask
Which months are best for Mallorca?
May to June and September to October, when it's warm and calmer. Bring swimwear and hiking shoes.
What should I see on Mallorca?
Palma Cathedral, Cala Mondragó, Valldemossa and Cap de Formentor, plus the old train to Sóller. Snack on ensaïmadas and sobrassada along the way.
Where can I hike and swim on Mallorca?
Hike the Serra de Tramuntana and swim in the calas. While you're in the Tramuntana, seek out Deià, the artists' village.
Where do I fly into for Mallorca?
Palma de Mallorca (PMI), about 8 km out.
About Mallorca
- Island
- Mountains
Where it is
Mallorca is the largest of Spain's Balearic Islands, in the western Mediterranean off the east coast of the Spanish mainland, with the Serra de Tramuntana mountains along its north-west coast and the regional capital, Palma, on a wide southern bay.
History
Bronze Age islanders raised the stone towers of the Talaiotic culture, and the Romans, who conquered the island in 123 BC, founded Palma and Pollentia. After more than three centuries of Moorish rule, James I of Aragon took Mallorca in 1229 and Palma's Gothic cathedral rose on the site of a mosque; from the 1950s mass tourism transformed its coasts.
People
Mallorcans speak Catalan, in its local Mallorquí form, alongside Spanish. Olive, almond and carob trees fill the countryside, and island kitchens are known for the spiral ensaïmada pastry, the soft paprika sausage sobrassada and pa amb oli, bread with olive oil and tomato.
Known for
- Palma's Gothic cathedral, La Seu
- The Serra de Tramuntana, a UNESCO cultural landscape
- Coves such as Cala Mondragó
- The vintage railway from Palma to Sóller
- Ensaïmada pastries and sobrassada
Did you know?
Frédéric Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838–1839 in a former Carthusian monastery at Valldemossa, which Sand described in her book A Winter in Majorca.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.