Mountains, Coves and a Cathedral by the Sea
Mallorca is the largest island of the Balearic archipelago in the western Mediterranean, about 3,600 square kilometres in size and known for turquoise coves, the limestone Serra de Tramuntana, a Gothic capital and a deep tradition of hospitality. The Tramuntana range, inscribed by UNESCO as a cultural landscape in 2011, runs along the north-west coast with terraced olive groves, dry-stone walls and cliff-top paths. On the opposite side, long beaches such as Es Trenc show the island's softer, sandier face, giving visitors a rare range of scenery within a short drive.
Villages anchor the mountain story. Valldemossa, where Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838 and 1839, climbs in stone steps beneath a monastery, while Deià, loved by writers and painters including Robert Graves, hangs between peaks and sea. The vintage wooden train from Palma to Sóller, running since 1912, descends to a tram that rattles on to the port. Together these places are why the Balearic Islands draw so many return visitors, and Mallorca stands out as the most varied of the four.
Bays, Vineyards and Island Tables
Beaches and coastline offer endless choice. Cala Mondragó and Caló des Moro are the classic rock-framed coves, Alcúdia and Pollença have broad family bays, and the winding road to Cap de Formentor ends at a lighthouse above a dramatic drop to the sea. Inland, the Binissalem wine area, almond blossom in late winter and the Coves del Drach near Porto Cristo, with their underground lake concerts, widen the offer for every type of traveller. Cyclists have long treated these roads as a spring training ground.
The island table is distinctive: warm ensaimada pastry for breakfast, sobrassada sausage on bread, tumbet vegetable bake, fresh fish and local almonds in desserts. In Palma, modern kitchens sit beside old tapas bars and the Santa Catalina market. For a hotel group, rural fincas, seaside resorts and city palaces make a rich portfolio to promote, while the neighbouring Ibiza offers a contrasting night-time story, and Palma gives the culture-led city stay.
Read the full Mallorca guide on Visit Travel Group, or see MallorcaDirect.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.