| Majorca | |
 | |
Location  | |
Coat of arms and flag   | |
| State | Spain |
|---|---|
| Region | Balearic Islands |
| Surface | 3,640. km² |
| Inhabitants | 790.763 (2006) |
Majorca (Mallorca) is one of the Balearic Islands.
To know
Geographical notes
The highest peak is Puig Major with almost 1,500m.
Territories and tourist destinations
Sierra de Tramontana - The mountain range along the northwestern coast of the island that it includes Sóller is Lluc.
Palma de Mallorca - The area around the capital of the island.
Mallorca: full screen map.Southern coast
Palma de Mallorca (or Palm tree) - The capital of Mallorca is located on a large crescent-shaped bay that bears its name (badia de Palma)
- East of Palma de Mallorca:
Assuming you leave Palma taking the "carretera de Llevant" you will encounter an uninterrupted series of beaches that are always very crowded:
- Can Pastilla
- Platja de Palma - Where the aquarium is located
- Cala Estància - It is a white sand beach about 5 km from the center of Palma. Very crowded, it is well connected to Palma by the public bus service. The beach is about 250 meters long. It is blue flag thanks to the quality of the sea, the beach and the ancillary services.
- Platja de S’Arenal - Almost 5 km long, El Arenal is, as the name suggests, a large beach which is the continuation of Platja de Palma. It is surrounded throughout its length by an avenue overlooked by large hotels with a mainly German clientele. The distractions are endless: in addition to the Aqualand amusement park, pubs and discos have mushroomed.
- Cala Pi - It is the most important of the few beaches in the south of the island. It takes its name from a stream located in the municipality of Llucmajor.
- Sa Ràpita - Village in the municipality of Campos.
- Cala Figuera - Santanyí district 60 — km southeast of Palma de Mallorca.
- Colònia de Sant Jordi - With a marina from which private boats leave for the island of Cabrera, Colònia de Sant Jordi is famous for its nearby beaches, Es Trenc, El Dolç and El Carbó. The most renowned is Es Trenc, a beach that starts from the rocky stretch of ses Covetes and then stretches for kilometers protected by high dunes and pine forests. Its calm waters attract crowds of bathers. Es Trenc it escaped overbuilding thanks to strong opposition from Mallorca's ecological movements. Some apartments and modest restaurants have been built there but their demolition is loudly requested by the fierce defenders of nature. The dunes form a barrier to streams that are not impetuous enough to open a passage on the sea and in case of heavy rain the area behind it turns into a swamp. The calm and crystalline waters of Es Trenc should not be misleading because sometimes dangerous and unexpected currents are formed. With similar characteristics it is El Carbó south of Colònia de Sant Jordi but better preserved because of difficult access by car (In practice it can be reached from Colònia de Sant Jordi walking for 1 1/2 km). The last stretch of El Carbó it takes the name of "Platja de Ses Roquetes". The southernmost beach of Mallorca is "platja des Caragol" which is very little frequented because to get there you have to walk for a stretch of 1.5 km from the lighthouse of Cap de ses Salines, the extreme southern tip of Mallorca.
- West of Palma de Mallorca:
- Bendinat - Bendinat is a seaside resort with an exclusive character
- Portal Nous - Renowned for its marina called Puerto Portals, Portals Nous is another luxurious seaside resort with villas, hotels and holiday condominiums spread over 3 beaches. Puerto Portals was settled in 1981 at the expense of the German Graf family, owners of famous household appliance brands. It has a concession until 2018. The dock is the meeting point for VIPs on holiday in Mallorca with their luxurious yachts. At their disposal are a series of services from refueling to exclusive restaurants and clubs. Portal Nous also boasts an aquarium, the Marineland which houses, among other things, seals and dolphins that perform pirouettes in the water for the delight of visitors. Off its coast lies the isla den Sales.
- Portopí (in Italian: Porto del Pino) - Portopí was a port already in Roman times and preserves towers and other medieval monuments built on Roman structures. It was once a tourist resort but today it has a mainly residential character. Nonetheless, its streets are full of traffic.
- Cala Major - Linked to the memory of the painter Joan Miró, Cala Major was once an exclusive seaside resort but today it appears devoted to mass tourism. The cove is sheltered from the winds thanks to the presence of the heights of the "Sierra de Na Burguesa".
- Gènova - District of the west district of Palma de Mallorca.
- Palmanova - Palmanova boasts a beach of about one kilometer, divided in two by a small promontory. Before falling into the network of the major tour operators in Europe, Palmanova was one of the most popular seaside resorts in Mallorca. The legendary Hotel Bahía Palma Nova remains as evidence of that era buried forever, which still persists in delighting its customers 'evenings with singers' lullabies accompanied by the melodious notes of a pianist. Today Palmanova is full of fast foods, tennis courts and mini golf. In addition, on July 30, 2009, he suffered an ETA terrorist attack in which 2 policemen perished.
- Magaluf - Magalluf is a seaside resort with a hundred hotels and two hundred clubs including restaurants, bars, pubs and discos. The major British tour operators send tourists to Magaluf at full blast. The remaining 5% is of Scandinavian origin. In 2010, a new hotel complex was added, the Mallorca Rocks Hotel. It is better to discard the locality as a whole because it is difficult to find free rooms and if you ever find them they will certainly not have the low prices paid by those who have bought a tourist package in Great Britain. It should also be considered that the subjects of his British majesty on holiday in Magaluf are constantly drunk, often indulging in vandalism. The episode of a hundred customers barricading themselves in a pub in Punta Balena, throwing bottles outside to the song of "God save the queen" and engaging the local police forces for hours has remained famous in the chronicles of the place. Again due to the fumes of alcohol and probably also of other substances, some indulge in acrobatics jumping from one balcony to another in their hotel and almost always losing their lives.
- Sol de Mallorca - In Sol de Mallorca vacation villas and condominiums predominate rather than hotels. Sol de Mallorca is famous for its large casino, the only one on the island apart from the one inside the Palma hotel
- Santa Ponça (Santa Ponsa in Castilian) - An important port during the Middle Ages, Santa Ponça owes its name to a Roman villa known as Sancta Pontia. As with many other tourist resorts in Mallorca, its development began in 1970 and today it is an important destination for international tourism. 80% of its holidaymakers are of Irish descent and the remaining 20% are Dutch, Scottish and even Italians but most of the nightclubs play Irish music.
- Peguera - With 3 large beaches and a hundred hotels, Peguera becomes a German colony in the summer. In 1926 the film star Rudolph Valentino spent his holidays there, together with his wife, the dancer Natacha Rambowa. The stretch of coast between Santa Ponça and Peguera is referred to as "Costa de la Calma". It includes several coves among which the best known is Cala Blanca.
- Nova Santa Ponça - Luxury seaside resort with hotels perched high on its promontory, Nova Santa Ponça] also boasts 3 golf courses for the use of its holidaymakers, almost all of British origin.
- El Toro - A little further south of Nova Santa Ponça, the resort has a marina, Port Adriano and a 5-star hotel overlooking its main beach off which is a miniature archipelago also called El Toro. At the extreme southern tip of Mallorca is Portals Vells, a cove among pine forests that can also be reached from Sol de Mallorca. Nearby are small beaches known by the collective name of El Mago where nudists gather every year with a certain discretion. The beach owes its name to a 1967 film "The Magician" starring Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine and Candice Bergen. Portals Vells instead takes its name from a quarry whose stones were used for the construction of the cathedral of Palm tree.
After Paguera the road skirts pretty coves such as Cala Fornells. It then enters the foothills of the Sierra di Tamburiente following the itinerary described below.
West Coast
- Calviá (or Calvià Vila) - A coastal town, rugged and rocky developed thanks to tourism.
- Andratx —
- S'Arracó —
- Banyalbufar —
- Es Capdellá - Located on the hill known as the Puig de sa crane 115 m above sea level.
Valdemossa- Valdemossa is famous for the Cartoixa Reial, the Charterhouse where Frédéric Chopin, ill with tuberculosis, spent the winters of 1838 and 1839 with George Sand.
- Deià- La Cala de Deià is located next to the estuary of a stream and has a small pebble beach. Usually fishing boats land there and run two restaurants.
- Sóller- At the terminus of the electric train from Palma, Soller is connected by tram to the nearby seaside resort of Port de Sóller
- Fornalutx- At the edge of the valley of Sóller and at the foot of the Puig Major, Fornalutx is a picturesque village with a road that ends at the sea
- Escorca- The territory of the municipality of Escorca boasts spectacular coves that can be reached via difficult winding roads. Between these La Calobra is Cala Tuent
Northern coast
The north coast of Mallorca is carved by two deep gulfs, that of Pollença and the other of Alcúdia below:
- The gulf of Pollença it is limited by two headlands, Cape Formentor to the north and Cap des Pinar to the south. Its most important seaside resort is Port de Pollença, frequented mainly by the English. To their delight, tons of sand have been imported which now form the shoreline arc south of the bay. 5 km away, on the open sea, is Cala Sant Vicenç, a pretty cove with modest accommodation and a few surfers. Immediately to the west of the town lies Formentor cove with the homonymous beach, renowned for its crystal clear waters and above all for an old luxury hotel that in past times hosted celebrities from the cinema and politics. Capo Formentor and its lighthouse can be reached by following the panoramic route of the Ma2210 for about twenty km, between pine forests and cliffs up to 200 m high. Traverses lead to solitary coves arranged on both sides of the promontory (Cala Albercuix, Cala en Feliu, Cala Figuera, etc)
- The gulf of Alcúdia opens south of the previous one. Alcúdia was the largest city of Mallorca in Roman times. The holidaymakers stay at its beach (Port d'Alcúdia) a few km further east and in the style of Port de Pollença but with greater vivacity as it is not exclusively frequented by families. The Natural Park of S'Albufera with the 5 km long platja de Muro, the small seaside resort of "Son Serra de Marina" and the beaches of s‘Estanyol and Colònia de Sant Pere. The main road continues for Artà whose territory is described below.
Oriental Coast
- Artà - Picturesque town of 7,000 inhabitants, Artà it is part of the "comarca de Llevant" whose territory includes the north-eastern corner of Mallorca. Artà it is located inland but has a certain tourist movement thanks to the availability of accommodation and the numerous beaches a stone's throw from the center. These include those around Cap de Ferrutx, surrounded by the Natural Park of the Levante Peninsula. They are windy beaches frequented by surfers. Among these Cala Matzoc. Graceful and lonely but with complicated access. If you ever go there, pay attention to the flag: if green, get wet, and if red, abstain from it.
Continuing along the main road you will come across the village of Capdepera with a medieval castle and a watchtower that takes us back to the time when the Balearic Sea was infested with pirates. The road ends at
- Cala Ratjada, until the 70s a fishing port which today has been used as a mooring for pleasure boats. On the coast around, quite steep, there are bays and coves with magnificent beaches such as Cala Mesquida, not very wide (less than 1/2 km) but with very fine white sand. Other nearby beaches are Son Moll, Cala Gat, L'Olla, Cala Lliteres. In total, the area has 78 hotels with 15,000 beds (2011). Unfortunately, this stretch of coastline is also often beaten by the wind.
Further south it is located Platja de Canyamel protected to the north by a promontory where there are magnificent sea caves known as "Coves d’Artà" and can be visited by boat.
- Badia de Son Servera - Pointing further south, in the direction of I bring Christ you can turn right until you reach Badia de Son Servera dotted with beaches surrounded by not very expensive tourist accommodation. Among the beaches of Badia de Son Servera the most famous is that of Cala Millor, two kilometers long. The others respond to the names of El Ribell, La Marjal, Port Nou, Port Verd, Port Vell, Cala Bona.
- I bring Christ- At the bottom of a small gulf, Porto Cristo is famous for its caves where prehistoric finds have been found. In its surroundings there are virgin beaches that have escaped the greed of hoteliers and tour operators. This is the case of Cala Varques dotted with sea caves (Cova des Pont, Cova des Xot and Cova des Pirata) and Cala Magraner, a small white sand beach set between rocky walls.
- Portocolom - Portocolom is a small port where fishing boats and pleasure boats are moored. It has hotels and its depths are suitable for scuba diving.
- Cala d'Or - Cala d'Or is a very popular seaside resort. Before its tourist development the locality bore the name of "Ses Puntetes". The center also includes Cala Llonga, Cala Petita and Cala Gran. The first is larger and at the time of the Spanish succession a fort was built there (year 1730). In 1970 a marina was built there which determined the tourist success of the locality. Luxurious yachts still drop anchor here, but Cala d'Or no longer has the exclusive character of the past. To be picky, its official name is "Cala d'Hort" but then the current deformation prevailed.
- Portopetro - Portopetro is a "pueblo" of 500 inhabitants nestled in a natural bay with some nearby beaches. It doesn't attract many tourists.
- Mondragó Natural Park - Further south along the coast is Cala Mondragó, part of the natural park of the same name. The establishment of the park dates back to 1992 and has helped to curb the indiscriminate advance of concrete.
- Cala Figuera —
- Cala Santanyí - In the territory of the municipality of Santanyí
- Cala Llombards - Cala Llombards is a white beach of only 100 meters set between rocky walls overlooking the sea. Unfortunately, debris deposited by the waves accumulate there on certain days. Nevertheless Cala Llombards is counted among the most beautiful in Mallorca. The inhabitants of the nearby village of Llombards from which the cove takes its name go to swim. Nearby is "El Caló del Moro", a small beach with a symmetrical shape so that it looks like a swimming pool.
- Cala s'Almonia —
- Caló des Brugit
- Sa Font de n'Alís (Mondragó)
- S'Amarador (Mondragó)
- Cala Màrmols
- Platja des Caragol
- Cala d'en Tugores
How to get
By plane
- 1 Palma de Mallorca airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Son Sant Joan), 07611, Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. Mallorca airport is 3rd among those of Spain and in summer it is one of the busiest in Europe.
Scheduled flights from Italy were operated by the following airlines in 2009:
- Blu-express - From Rome-Fiumicino
- EasyJet - From Milan-Malpensa
- Neos - From Bologna-Marconi and Milan-Malpensa
- Vueling - From Rome-Fiumicino
Air Berlin and Ryanair also operate at the Mallorca airport.
How to get around
What see
- 1 Palma Aquarium, Carrer de Manuela de los Herreros, 21, 07610, Palma de Mallorca, ☎ 34 971 74 61 04.
- 2 Far de Capdepera, Carrer d´Atunes, 07590, Capdepera.
- 3 Cuevas del Drach, Carretera Cuevas, s / n, 07680, I bring Christ, ☎ 34 971 820 753, fax: 34 971 815 089, @[email protected].
15 €. 
From 12 March to 31 October 10: 00-17: 00. From 1 November to 11 March 10: 45-15: 30. - 4 Cathedral of Santa Maria (Catedral Basílica de Santa María, Seu de Mallorca), Plaça de la Seu, s / n, 07001, Palma de Mallorca, ☎ 34 971 713 133, fax: 34 911 01 47 41, @[email protected].
15 €. 
From 12 March to 31 October 10: 00-17: 00. From 1 November to 11 March 10: 45-15: 30.
