We decided to get some sun in autumn 2013, so we got tickets to Mallorca for the first long weekend in November. The island is very popular in summer but is also crowded and this is what you avoid if you go other time than during the high season. As there is so much to see – not just to go beach and party!
At the arrival, we were welcomed by a lovely sun, blue sky, 25°C, and palm trees everywhere.
We stayed in the capital, Palma de Mallorca. From our hotel room, we had a wonderful view of the port.
Day 1: Palma de Mallorca
Palma’s masterpiece, impressive gothic cathedral called also La Seu, built after the Christians conquered Mallorca on the place where a mosque used to be. The famous Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí participated on its reconstruction in the beginning of the 20th century.
Palace L’Almundia is situated on the place where a royal Arab palace used to be, just a few steps from the cathedral.
This beautiful garden is situated in the premises of the Palace L’Almundia.
Not far away from La Seu you find La Llonja. This building from the 15th century looks more like a church or a castle, but it is not what it seems. It is a cultural center and gallery that is only open when exhibitions take place there.
Palma is full of typical Spanish streets…
…beautiful Catalan architecture…
…and various decorative elements.
While walking in the city, we found quite a lot of trees with a robust trunk.
For dinner, we went to a random tapas bar called Tast, where we had lovely red Rioja wine and some tapas. It was here where I tasted the roasted asparagus and bacalao croquettes for the first time – I enjoyed both so much! As a dessert, I went for baked camembert with cranberry sauce. What a delicious dinner!
Day 2: Train trip to the town and port of Sollér
I was woke up by this morning light and the purple clouds above the port. I couldn’t sleep anymore so I took my camera and took few shots.
We took the vintage train from the train station in Palma and went direction Sollér that lies on the North-West coast.
The train took us through the mountain range called Serra de Tramuntana and we could then admire a beautiful scenery of the Mallorca’s landscape.
Read also: Tenerife – Trip to the Highest Point of Spain
From the train station in Sollér, there is a tram every hour that takes you to Port de Sollér. The tram drives through the town, then among orange trees and palm trees, you can still see mountains in the background.
When we arrived to the port, but it was quite empty.
There are a lot of fish restaurants, but empty. I guess the locals probably closed the tourist season.
We could though see some people on the beach playing, but nobody was swimming – no surprise, as it was windy and the sun was hiding.
Coming back to the town Sollér, situated in the valley between the mountains and the port. There are some tapas bars, candy shops and bakeries, we also made it to a local market.
When arriving back to Palma, we were hungry and decided to ask the locals whether they know any good vegetarian restaurant (well, you are in Spain, so forget about tofu!), ok then, a fish restaurant. One lady from the shop with Mallorca Pearls advised us to try certain Ca n’Eduardo. Wow… this place (situated just at Paseo Maritímo with a view on the illuminated cathedral), service (professional and nice – they answered my several questions with a smile), even the food was great! My boyfriend had a grill of 5 sorts of fish and me I had a sole in a typical Mallorca’s sauce. All this accompanied by our favorite Viňasol.
Day 3: Sera de Tramuntana and the North Coast
I couldn’t help myself, but again I woke up due to this light, this time more pink than purple. I simply loved our room!
This time we rented a car in the city and went to discover the mountain range of Serra de Tramuntana and the Northern coast.
Serra de Tramuntana lies alongside the Nort-West coast and protects the rest of the island against the majority of rain and snow.
Whoever planned the roads in mountains, was a big fan of snake roads. Plus seeing all the excited motorbikes here does not make driving easy here.
As we were getting higher, conifers alternate olive trees.
We passed by the lake Cuber, but impossible to park there, so we continued to another smaller lake.
Here is it, we found a parking spot and could enjoy some time by the lake Gorg Blau. Even if it was a dried out (I guess no rain so far), we could admire this place – it was simply beautiful!
…we were having some fun…
Coming closer to the cliffs in the North and the northernmost point of Mallorca – Cap Formentor.
The cliffs have up to 400 meters.
Together with some other tourists, we enjoyed a splendid view of Cap de Formentor.
We drove downhill to the Formentor beach (Platja de Formentor), but there was nobody and it was starting to get darker, so we decided not to stay long and to leave.
Our last stop on Mallorca was Alcúdia, a well-preserved medieval fortified town with some Roman remnants – you can even find an amphitheater here (when we were passing by, they were training donkeys inside). It is nice to have a walk around the ramparts on a heightened pavement – you can then see the town from another perspective.
Only 3 November days in Mallorca and our batteries were completely recharged! 🙂