Excursions and activities on Mallorca
Take a Balloon Trip over Mallorca
Without a doubt, this is the very best way of seeing the island. Mallorca Balloons runs flights from March till October, operating eight balloons, one of which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest balloon in Spain. Forget the pool, the sheer romance of floating 2,000 feet over such a magnificent coastline is virtually indescribable …
Discover the 300-year-old Mallorcan Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and ensaïmadas have been the traditional breakfast pastry here since the 17th century. The ensaïmada has even been awarded protected regional food status by the EU. Forn Fondo on Calle Unió in Palma has been a bakery since 1911. Pau Llull is the fourth generation to run it. Who better to make your breakfast?
Taste the Finest Lamb in the World
Forget the glitzy restaurants on the coast, even the good ones. Follow UK’s most down-to-earth celebrity chef, Rick Stein and head for the hills, specifically to Es Verger a little mountain restaurant near Castell d’Alaro, where he ate “the most succulent lamb I ever tasted”, roasted over a wood fire.
Explore the Calas
This is a general instruction. A cala is a small cove, and the Mallorcan coast contains a charming string of them. Keep your eyes open for the road signs and you’ll find some extraordinary little havens of tranquility. It’s the slow way of exploring – but ever so rewarding.
Don’t Miss Unique Fornalutx
If you stay by the coast you’ll never see it, but Fornalutx is regarded by many as the most beautiful village on Mallorca, and one of the most stunning in Spain. You’ll find it deep in the Sierra de Tramuntana, with winding streets, narrow stone steps, and flowers and greenery everywhere. Its houses are decorated with colourful painted tiles, some dating back to the 16th century.
Relive the Scandal of Valldemosa
It may be calm now, but in 1838 it became home-from-home for one of the biggest scandals to grip Paris that year: the affair between the pianist, Frederic Chopin, and the writer George Sand. To get away from it all, they rented a former monk’s cell at the Royal Carthusian Monastery here. They ended up hating the place – but they did wonders for its holiday reputation.
Enjoy the Colour of San Telmo
Where the mountains meet the sea, less than ten minutes west of Puerto Andratx, you’ll find San Telmo, a simple fishing village where the fishermen’s houses line the sea’s edge. It’s protected a few hundred meters offshore by the island of La Dragonera, declared a natural reservation in 1985. You may never want to leave.
Studio Weill
Daniel Libeskind is one of the world’s leading architects, who designed the iconic Jewish Museum in Berlin and was chosen to redevelop Ground Zero in New York. Not many people know, however, that overlooking the sea near Puerto Andratx he designed the home and studio where sculptor, Barbara Weill, has worked for 35 years. It’s the only domestic project he’s ever done, and already on the worldwide itinerary of curious architecture students.
Cap de Formentor
This is Mallorca’s northernmost point and about as wild and wonderful as the landscape here gets, which is saying a lot. The sea views are quite stunning – but if you have a fear of heights, watch out.
