Population: 350,000
Location: Balearic Islands (Mediterranean Sea)
The
beautiful island of Mallorca is the largest, best-known
and most popular of the Balearic Islands, some 250 km
(155 miles) from the Spanish mainland. It is an island
that fulfils the expectations of all visitors: tourists
seeking sandy beaches and romantic landscapes, hikers
and bikers who want to discover the beauty of the island’s
mountain ranges and valleys. Those interested in culture
and history can admire picturesque villages, churches
and monasteries. Few islands in the world have the variety
of Mallorca, and it is no wonder that, as well as being
such a popular destination, many writers, artists and
members of high society have chosen to settle in Mallorca.
Half
of the island’s population lives in the capital,
Palma de Mallorca, which boasts a beautiful old city,
the Gothic Cathedral La Seu, the Almudiana palace and
the Castillo de Bellver. There are also the many town
palaces and the yacht harbor, the more modern outskirts,
and of course the long sandy beaches.
Mallorca is more than five times the
size of either Menorca or Ibiza and is roughly saddle-shape.
The Sierra de Tramuntana, a tough mountain range soaring
to nearly 5,000 ft, runs the length of the northwest coast,
and a ridge of hills borders the southeast shores; between
the two lies a great, flat plain that in early spring
becomes a sea of almond blossoms, "the snow of Mallorca."
Overall,
the Balearics Islands offer something for everyone. While
Menorca and Formentera remain largely unspoiled, great
stretches of the coasts of Mallorca and Ibiza are home
to developments catering to tourists on package vacations.
Still, Mallorca's northwestern coast remains nearly as
rough and remote as it was when George Sand and Frédéric
Chopin spent a winter among its rugged mountains a century
and a half ago. Of the four main islands, Mallorca and
Ibiza are the most developed while Minorca and Formentera
remain less populated and wilder. People go to Formentera
for solitude and intimacy; Ibiza for wilderness with heavy
concentrations of humanity; Mallorca for the mixture of
Palma's urban cosmopolitanism with the wild north coast
and interior; and Minorca for what may be the best blend
of all of the above.
Click
here to download a PDF file of the street map!
