10 Best Things to Do
Mallorca rewards a holiday with more than one rhythm. Palma supplies the architectural concentration, with its cathedral, royal palace and a network of streets suited to slow exploration. Beyond the capital, the Tramuntana villages and coastal estates offer a quieter counterpoint, while the north and southeast bring different versions of the island’s relationship with the sea. A country-house stay, a village hotel and a beach resort can each make sense, but they create very different journeys. The strongest restaurants give that variety a culinary expression. Some work closely with Mallorcan tradition; others use island produce within a more international vocabulary. Plan a few important meals in advance, then leave room for the landscape and the pace of the place where you are staying. This guide covers the whole island, with every listing labelled by its actual locality. It brings together historic houses, contemporary retreats, ambitious dining and cultural or natural experiences. Rather than crossing Mallorca repeatedly, organise days around a particular area and allow the hotel, restaurant or walk you have chosen to receive the time it deserves.
Mallorca Cathedral
Palma, Spain
Mallorca Cathedral rewards a visit that goes beyond admiring its waterfront silhouette. Inside, the scale of the nave and Antoni Gaudí’s reorganisation of the liturgical space reveal a building that has continued to evolve rather than remaining fixed in one period. Give yourself time to look along the nave and examine the relationship between choir, altar and congregation. It is a strong starting point for understanding Palma’s architectural ambition before exploring the surrounding old town.
Gothic space and Gaudí’s intervention
Fundació Miró Mallorca
Palma, Spain
Fundació Miró Mallorca offers a particularly close connection with Joan Miró through the spaces where he worked as well as the art displayed. The Sert studio, exhibition building designed by Rafael Moneo and sculpture garden create several ways to approach his practice. Choose it for an unhurried cultural visit that considers the artist’s environment alongside individual works. Check which spaces are open before travelling, since conservation work can affect access to parts of the historic complex.
An artist’s working world
Bellver Castle
Palma, Spain
Bellver Castle’s circular plan makes the building itself the principal attraction. Its courtyard, towers and elevated position above Palma combine royal history with a clear architectural identity, rewarding a visit even before considering the city-history displays. Walk around the structure rather than treating it only as a viewpoint, and look at how the inner courtyard relates to the enclosing walls. Choose it for a focused heritage outing with a different perspective on the capital.
Circular Gothic architecture above the city
Royal Palace of La Almudaina
Palma, Spain
La Almudaina offers a complementary perspective to the neighbouring cathedral: a fortified royal complex shaped by the island’s political history. Palace rooms, courtyards, the royal chapel, tapestries and furniture reveal successive uses of the building rather than a single frozen moment. It remains associated with official royal ceremonies. Choose it for a measured exploration of power and domestic life in historic Palma, paying attention to the transitions between open courts and enclosed ceremonial spaces.
The island’s royal history
Sóller Heritage Railway
Palma–Bunyola–Sóller, Spain
The wooden Sóller train makes the journey itself the occasion, travelling from Palma through tunnels and mountain scenery towards the orange-growing valley. The line’s early twentieth-century character remains part of its appeal, with the arrival in Sóller offering time to explore before returning. A separate historic tram continues towards the port. Choose this as a deliberately slower day, leaving space between connections rather than treating the railway as merely another transfer across the island.
A journey through the Tramuntana
Drach Caves
Porto Cristo, Manacor, Spain
The Drach Caves reveal a different Mallorca beneath the east coast, with interconnected chambers and rock formations leading towards Lake Martel. The visitor experience combines the underground landscape with a live musical performance at the lake, creating a carefully managed excursion rather than a wild-caving adventure. Choose it for the contrast with the island’s open coastal scenery and allow time to follow the route without rushing. Porto Cristo is the correct locality for planning transport.
An underground lake and limestone scenery
Valldemossa Charterhouse
Valldemossa, Spain
Valldemossa’s charterhouse brings together royal and monastic history within one of the Tramuntana’s most recognisable villages. The complex includes former religious spaces, gardens and museum displays, with the wider site also associated with Chopin and George Sand. Choose it as the cultural anchor of a village visit, then leave time for the surrounding stone streets. Ticketed areas are not necessarily interchangeable, so decide which buildings and collections matter to you before purchasing admission.
Monastic history in a mountain village
Roman City of Pol·lèntia
Alcúdia, Spain
The archaeological remains of Pol·lèntia sit at Alcúdia, with residential remains, a forum and a theatre offering a tangible introduction to Roman urban life on Mallorca. This is a site to read through its foundations and surviving forms rather than expect reconstructed grandeur. Choose it for the historical depth it adds to a northern-island stay, and give the different areas enough time to make sense as parts of a former city. The nearby museum adds context when accessible.
Reading Mallorca’s Roman past
Mondragó Natural Park
Santanyí, Spain
Mondragó combines coves with a much more varied landscape than a beach visit alone suggests. Pine woods, dunes, ponds and dry agricultural plots sit alongside stone walls and other traces of traditional land use. Choose a walk that allows these different environments to emerge gradually, then leave time beside the coast. It is particularly rewarding for travellers interested in the relationship between human activity and protected nature, rather than simply finding a place to swim.
Coastal habitats and rural heritage
Formentor Peninsula and Beach
Formentor, Pollença, Spain
Formentor brings together a sandy beach, pine woods and the dramatic coastal scenery of Mallorca’s northern peninsula. Trees reach towards the water, while viewpoints along the approach reveal the cliffs that give the area its character. Choose a day with enough flexibility to enjoy both landscape and shore, rather than attempting every stop on a rigid circuit. The experience is defined by its setting, and does not require staying at the hotel that shares the name.
Pine-framed coastal scenery