While the gal is not doing tours any longer I did get this email that shows her suggestions for that area. When we went we followed many of them and had a wonderful time there, while many others just found the main shopping street

Not positive if it covers where you guys are going so help so. ( Do you stop in Palma?)

In and around Palma


Bellver Castle: a circular fortress overlooking the Bay of Palma dating from the time of the reconquest (1299) when the Christian kings of Cataluña took the island back from its Moorish invaders who had controlled it for 5 centuries, along with the major part of the mainland of Spain.

Well worth climbing the 55 steps for the sake of the view from the battlements from which you can gaze over the panorama of Palma and its harbour.

Some of the rooms house collections of artefacts from local archaeological digs (only really of interest to the specialist student) and some “repro.” statuary.

Small admission charge. Free on Sundays



Pueblo Español: a charming complex built in the 1960’s as a craft centre. A “village” with cobbled streets, surrounded by fortress ramparts, containing reproductions (scaled down in some cases) of famous buildings from the whole of Spain e.g. Granada’s Alhambra Palace, Sevilla’s Toro de Oro etc. and other buildings in the architectural styles typical of various regions of Spain. Craftsmen working here include potters, rug makers, and artists. Small shops sell a range of handicrafts and souvenirs.

Admission charge. Free on Sundays



Cathedral: Rococo splendour with stained glass and other fittings by Gaudi the famous Barcelona architect who spent many years on the island. Interesting treasury. Limited opening hours, closed on Sunday

Admission charge.

Please note that, due to the complete impossibility of parking anywhere near the Cathedral, I will not be able to accompany you inside the Cathedral.



Ca’n Joan de S’Aigo: an amazing ice cream parlour in the back streets of the city that has barely changed since it was first opened in the year 1700. In those days snow was brought down from the mountains to make the ice cream. These days they use more modern technology but it is fresh daily. The most traditional flavour is almond (served with a wedge of almond cake), but there are other flavours too depending on what fruit happens to be in season. A charming and little known place to end your day with a delicious ice cream. One of the best-kept secrets of the island.



The old quarter: Can only really be visited on foot as the narrow streets were built before the time of the automobile. Splendid patio courtyards can be glimpsed through wrought iron barriers. Traces of Moorish architecture (Arab baths). A few quirky shops of interest and some excellent “tapas” bars. Evening excursions could include a visit to “Abaco’s”, a totally OTT bar that looks more like a Zeferrelli film set with extraordinary décor, fruit heaped on the floor and metre-wide floral decorations all in a private palacio setting. Very much a place to “see and be seen at”. Hugely expensive drinks in enormous goblets.



Puerto Portals: A fashionable modern marina frequented by the real and also the wanna-be celebrity jet set. Luxury yachts and chi-chi boutiques. A place for morning coffee at a terrace bar while planning the décor of your next floating palace J





Within an hour’s drive from Palma
(suitable destinations for half-day trips together with a look around Palma)



Valledemosa and La Cartuja: A sleepy village in the hills behind Palma that has now been closed to all traffic except residents and opened to the tourist trade. Even so, it has managed to retain much of its essential character and charm. La Cartuja is a former monastery, which was converted into a sort of hostel. Here, the famous composer Chopin and his mistress Georges Sand spent an unhappy winter hoping in vain that the Mediterranean climate would be beneficial for the maestro’s advanced tubercular condition. Sand immortalised it in her book “Un Hiver à Majorque” which is not at all complimentary towards the Mallorcan people. However, they have had the last laugh by selling millions of copies of it to the tourists ever since. The village was also the home of the only Mallorcan saint: Saint Catalina Tomás and most of the houses are decorated with a pottery tile or two depicting scenes from her life.


La Granja: a country manor house, which has been in the hands of the same family for centuries. One can wander around freely and see all the rooms set up much as they would have been for hundreds of years. All local crafts are represented here and especially interesting is the weaving of the traditional Mallorcan cloth (an interesting item to consider purchasing – especially good for curtains and terrace furniture). There are also displays of old agricultural machinery, oil and wine presses, a dispensary (herbal remedies) and even a rather harrowing torture chamber. Local people in traditional costume demonstrate Mallorcan culinary traditions and you can sample such specialities as sausages, hams, doughnuts, fig cake and various pastries. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there are also displays of folk dancing, falconry etc, put on especially for coach parties.





All-day excursions


Soller, Lluch and the northern coast: If you are visiting Mallorca off-season, an interesting and different part of your excursion could be a train ride from Palma to Soller (of course I would drop you at the train station and pick you up at the terminus). The train dates from the early 1900’s and is delightful, although not the last word in comfort (wooden seats in some carriages). The hour-long trip chugs through the mountains and then winds down the hillside through orange groves to the lovely little town of Soller, where there are a couple of very good shops for hand embroidered linens (excellent prices) and olive wood.



Please note that this trip is not recommended for the summer months when the train is very crowded and getting a seat requires a wait of up to one hour.

There is also a charming little tram car that takes visitors from the town of Soller to the sister port of Puerto de Soller built around a sheltered bay (1/2 hour ride). The tram goes very slowly through the main streets of the village and passes through residents’ back gardens and small orchards where you can almost lean out and pick an orange or a lemon off the trees. Guaranteed to give you a taste of the “real” Mallorca!



From the port, it’s just a short ride up to the village of Fornalutx, an artists’ hide-away, which remains relatively unspoilt. The streets are still paved and the views are startlingly beautiful. A couple of good restaurants make this a convenient place to stop for lunch.



Then on through the mountains, past the man-made lakes that supply Palma’s drinking water, to the monastery of Lluch, a major place of pilgrimage and still an active monastery. The statue of the Black Virgin is especially revered by Mallorcans and some 40,000 of them walk the 48 km to here from Palma on the night of the last full moon in August.



Time permitting, a stop could also be made at La Calobra: a curious little beach between towering cliffs, reached via a tunnel cut through the rocks, after a tortuous climb down a twisting road of hairpin bends. Spectacular views.



Return to Palma via the villages of Selva and Mancor de Valle and the 3rd largest town on the island: Inca, the heart of the leather industry.





Soller, Deia and Valledemosa: a combination of what you have already read about above. By train or road to Soller, tramcar to Puerto de Soller and then lunch in Fornalutx. Then heading westwards along the northern coast instead of east, passing through the village of Deia, made famous as the retreat chosen by English literary giant, Robert Graves.



Return to Palma with a stop in Valledemosa (see above) and visit to a glass factory where you can see the artisans blowing the glass.





Pollensa, Formentor, Alcudia and the east coast: about an hour’s drive across the central plain of Mallorca will bring us to the town of Pollensa, which in Roman times was the capital of the island. We can visit the 365 Calvary steps leading to an old chapel at the top of the hill, but if that thought is daunting, then I should add that it is possible to drive up there too. You don’t have to walk up all 365 of them J

On then to Puerto de Pollensa for a stroll around the port and seaside promenade with lunch in a restaurant overlooking the beach. Next to Alcudia with its medieval town walls and narrow streets to be explored on foot.



Passing through the modern beach resort of Puerto de Alcudia we make our way down the east coast returning to Palma either by way of Petra, the birthplace of the monk Fray Junipero Serra, one of the early fathers of Catholicism in California and purportedly the founder of San Francisco – or, alternatively via Manacor the second largest town on the island where we can visit a pearl factory and/or showrooms and a factory shop for olive wood items.



Caves of Ham or Drach, Pearls, Leather


For the dedicated shoppers amongst you, we could organise a tour to take in a glass factory to see the glass blowers working, the pearl factories and their showrooms in Manacor, a shop specialising in traditional Mallorcan pottery and the leather factory outlets of Inca.



This could be combined with a visit to one of the famous cave complexes of the island, (Hams or Drach), both of which have underground lakes where you’ll be entertained briefly by musicians floating around in fishing boats. What the performers lack in musical talent is compensated by the extreme romanticism of the setting J









Shopping


Palma: in the central downtown area we have some very elegant shops for fashions and accessories. We think of these as quite expensive, but I am told that their prices compare very favourably those of their counterparts in the States.



Should the weather be bad (unusual in Mallorca) there is also a modern shopping mall, near the port where your ship docks, where there are many interesting shops and boutiques.



If any of the following are on your shopping lists, then we can certainly include visits to the appropriate shops/factory outlets:

- pearls : real, cultured or artificial, the best place to be sure of what you are buying is almost certainly the elegant little boutique representing one of the big pearl companies that is to be found on Palma’s main shopping street. A big range to choose from and guaranteed fixed prices (a good quality single strand of Mallorca pearls will cost about $80+)

- hand embroidered household linen (table cloths, mats, hand towels, bed sheets etc): the best prices I’ve found are in Soller, where there is a very helpful shop

with a good selection to choose from

- leather (shoes, belts, coats, jackets, bags, purses, accessories): we’ll visit the factory shops in Inca

- olive wood (salad bowls, chopping boards, ornaments, desk accessories, spoons and spatulas, pestle and mortar sets, chess sets, jewellery, knick-knacks): either the factory shop in Manacor or a specialist shop in Soller

- Mallorcan coarsely woven cloth for curtains /terrace furnishings: best in Palma

- traditional Almond Blossom perfume (a light day-time fragrance which features an almond flower head floating in the perfume: most drug stores and souvenir shops