Mallorca is far more than sun and sand. It blends a capital with a record-breaking cathedral, a World Heritage mountain range and some of the most beautiful coves in the Mediterranean. This guide arranges the island by area to make the most of two or three days, or a week.
Getting around
The island is large: it's worth renting a car to reach the coves and the Tramuntana. There are constant flights and ferries from the mainland, and Palma has good city transport.
Palma
Start with the Cathedral (La Seu), Gothic and right on the sea, and get lost in the old town of courtyards and lanes, the Paseo del Borne and the Santa Catalina district for food.
The Serra de Tramuntana
The mountainous, World Heritage side: Valldemossa (with Chopin's charterhouse), Sóller —and its century-old wooden train from Palma—, the north-coast viewpoints and the Sa Calobra road. Cap de Formentor closes the range to the north.
Caves and coves
The Drach Caves (Porto Cristo), with their underground lake, and countless coves: from Es Trenc and Cala Mondragó in the south and east to those in the north.
When to go
May to June and September to October: good weather, warm sea and fewer crowds than in August.
In one sentence
Mallorca is Palma, World Heritage mountains and dream coves: in two or three days you see the essentials; in a week, the whole island.