Mallorca

Mallorca offers the very best of the Balearics, from Palma’s hipster hangouts and great Gothic cathedral to jaw-dropping mountains, authentic inland villages and a stunning coastline of golden beaches and aquamarine bays.

Palma, Mallorca’s capital, is the Balearics’ one real city, a bustling, historic place whose grandiose mansions and magnificent Gothic cathedral serve as a backdrop to a well-preserved Old Town and an excellent cafe and restaurant scene.

To the north, the Tramuntana Mountains roll along the coastline, punctuated by deep sheltered valleys and beautiful cove beaches. Tucked in the mountain folds is Soller, a delightful little town of old stone houses best reached from Palma on the antique railway. Besides offering the best hiking in the Balearics, the mountains also camouflage a string of picturesque villages, most notably Biniaraix, Fornalutx, Estellencs and Banyalbufar. And of course there’s Deià, a mountain village so beautiful that the poet Robert Graves chose to make it his home.

In the north, Mallorca finishes with a flourish in the rearing cliffs of the Formentor Peninsula, best appreciated from the water, while diversions in the east include the spellbinding Drac Caves, home to one of the largest subterranean lakes in the world.