Mallorca is a beautiful mediterranean island, part of the Balearic Islands, which belong to Spain. This entry is designed to give a summary of some things which, as a visitor to the island, you might enjoy.

Places to visit (or not)

Palma

Palma is a beautiful historic city, and has one of the largest¹ cathedral in the world. At certain times of day the sunlight shines in through the massive glass windows creating the most beautiful lighting effects inside. While walking around Palma you will often see the horse-drawn open carriages trotting around the streets, many of which are lined with trees. There are many buildings with interesting gothic, late gothic and / or art deco architecture, and it can be great fun to get lost wandering through the back streets and peering into the open courtyards of the houses there. There are some very nice places to eat around Palma, for example Cellar Sa Premsa, which is decorated with large wine barrels and pictures of bullfighting, and also serves a nice Gaspacho².

La Granja

The La Granja cultural museum is worth visiting for the sheer number of exhibits. The entrance fee was somewhere in the region of €11, which takes you straight into the display of farm equipment and animals. Further round there are leather, dye and wool workshops, which bring you past gardens and round to the 18th century bath house. Past the boiler for the bath house is a short walk past the waterfall and around a small woodland area which brings you back to the house. Inside the house are bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, a small hermitage, olive vats and presses, mills, a casino and a snooker room, a torture chamber and a selection of pottery, among many other things. The house's chapel is adjacent to a shaded courtyard with seating and a cafe. The bunuelos³ near the exit are certainly memorable, especially after trying the fortified wines: Dulce (sweet, like a sweet sherry), Tinto (a red wine) and Seco (dry). This place is well worth a visit, and definitely worth the entrance fee.

Soller and Puerto Soller

The best way to visit Puerto Soller is to take the tram train from the town of Soller further inland. While in Soller it is worth having a look at the town square, where orange trees grow outside the church. The scenery⁴ from the tram includes citrus fruit trees, small bits of woodland, before finally bringing you into Puerto Soller, where you'll find a nice, sandy and heavily populated beach. Many women bathe topless here, but it is certainly not compulsory. If you're feeling hot, you can cool off in the sea, or buy an ice cream from one of the many vendors along the shore. The tram currently costs €2 each way.

Magaluf

Don't visit Magaluf⁵. It's an atrocious place, designed to cater for people who basically want to visit a sunnier England. The whole place is bars, clubs, fast food outlets, cafes and tourist junk shops.

Food and drink

This section applies equally pretty much anywhere around the island. Most cafes and restaurants serve paella⁶, tortilla⁷ and food to cater for tourists⁸, but many of the dishes individual to these places are worth trying. If you flick through the menu you will often find a translation into your own language, so you can flick back and forth and try to order in Spanish if you want to please the natives.

Mineral water (agua) can be ordered pretty much everywhere, either carbonated (con gas) or still (sin gas). It is quite common in restaurants to drink the house red wine mixed half and half with lemonade. This is quite refreshing and lightly intoxicating. You should also be able to get cola, coffee or fruit juice.

Wear Sunscreen

Don't be stupid about this. Make sure to have plenty of high factor sun cream to apply and reapply to exposed (and in some cases unexposed) areas of skin. If you are not careful you will burn. Remember to apply before you go out, after swimming, and to re-apply in time before you start feeling the effects. See Sunscreen.

A few useful bits of Spanish

Please - Por favor (emphasis on each "or")

Thank you - Gracias (pronounced "Grathias")

Yes - Si

No - No

Water - Agua

Beer - Cerveza

Two beers, please - Dos cervezas, por favor

One, two, three, four, five - Uno, dos, tres, cuatro (kwatro), cinco (thinko)