Mallorca Mallorca is Europe's number one holiday destination. More than 15 million tourists go every year to enjoy its beaches but Mallorca has much more to offer.  As you can imagine tourism is therefore the primary industry in Mallorca with more hotels per inhabitant than any other European country.
Getting to Mallorca is very easy. You can get here by air or by sea. The distance to mainland Spain is less than 200 km. You can take a ferry from Denia or Valencia or fly from any of the main European airports into Palma, the capital of the island.

Many visitors come to Mallorca to relax and enjoy the sun in one of the popular beach resorts like Palma Nova and Alcudia. But once in Mallorca, why not rent a car and spend a couple of days touring the Island.

• Palma
• Valldemosa
• Sóller
• Sa Calobra
• Formentor
• Alcudia
• Pollensa
• Porto Cristo

Palma

Some of Palma's best attractions are to be found near the port, including the Royal Palace, the Stock Exchange and the Castle of Bellver that has dominated the skyline since the 14th century. However, Palma's pride and joy has to be the Cathedral, one of the world's finest and largest Gothic structures. The old town of Palma fans out from the cathedral and is a maze of narrow streets, flanked by ancient mansions and hidden squares.

Valldemosa

A small village located on the "Serra de Tramuntana", on the North coast of the Island the highest mountains in Mallorca.  The highest peak is 'el Puig Major'(1435 m), which is also the highest point in the Balearic Islands.   This village has attracted many tourists since the 19th century. The most beautiful building in the town is the Cartoixa (charterhouse). It used to be the palace of the King Marti I l’Huma, who in 1399 handed it over to the Carthusians however the fame of this building begins in 1835 when the Cartoixa opened it’s doors to foreign visitors.
The Cartoixa de Valldemosa is one of Mallorca’s main tourist attractions. You can visit two cells where, it is said, George Sand and Chopin stayed. In other cells there is a collection of Mallorca’s 19th century paintings and a collection of xylographs.

Sóller

High mountains isolated Sóller by land for centuries. The only means of communication with the capital was by sea until in 1912 an electric train connected Sóller with the city of Palma. This train still exists and is one of the main attractions of Mallorca: "Tren de Sóller".
Another attraction of the town is the tramway which connects the centre of Sóller with the Port de Sóller. Port de Sóller is a village by the sea. It used to be the place where fishermen lived. It was also a busy commercial port however nowadays it is mainly a tourist attraction.

Sa Calobra

The 'Torrent de Pareis' is located in the village of Escorca and is one of the main tourist attractions on the North Coast of Mallorca. The convergence of the 'Blau' and 'Lluc' rivers form the 'Torrent de Pareis' which flows through high mountains ending at the Sa Colabra Beach.  The 12km access road to Sa Colabra includes 100 tight corners and hairpin bends starting at the top with one of 270 degrees

Formentor

This was one of the first tourist destinations in Mallorca with the Hotel Formentor being built in 1928. Situated on a cliff 260 metres above sea level at the end of a 13km peninsula is the lighthouse of Cap de Formentor.  From here you can see a spectacular view of the coast and on a clear day even the island of Menorca, which is about 40 miles to the east.

Alcudia

Alcudia is a restored walled city on the site of a Roman settlement, with the remains of Roman houses and an amphitheatre. It is also a popular beach resort

Pollensa

Another popular tourist destination. There were Phoenician and Greek settlements here, but the town reached its heyday in 2BC, when the Roman invaders made it their capital, Pollentia, meaning 'power'.  It has a tranquil horseshoe shaped sandy bay with shallow turquoise waters. On warm, evenings you can wander up and down the marina, past the pavement cafes and along the celebrated Pine Walk.  The port is connected to Pollensa by a regular bus service starting at 7.15am, the last bus being around 9.30pm.
Pollensa is a typical Mallorcan town and is a maze of narrow, winding streets. Each has a character of its own and all are worthy of exploration.  It also has a wealth of historical buildings to seek out, including a Roman bridge, the Gothic church of Sant Jordi which was at one time a hospice and a refuge in times of pirate raids and a restored temple at the foot of the Calvario steps.

Porto Cristo

This little town is situated on the East of the island. In 1882 a fisherman built his home there and in the following years others followed but it was not until the early 1970s that the tourist boom turned this small village into a town.
Porto Cristo is famous for its caves, particularly the "Coves del Drac" where, as you would expect, there are plenty of stalagmites and stalactites but also a large auditorium (more than 150m long) where boats appear on an underground lake to perform classical music. 

Finally if jewellery is more your thing you could pay a visit to the Lapis showroom on the Palma-Manacor road near Montuiri where you will be dazzled by their display of pearls and exquisite jewels.