01Palma · City
Palma
A cathedral city on a wide bay, with courtyards, covered markets and a long seafront path. Palma rewards slow walking and stays awake all year.
15 min from the airport
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Places on Mallorca
Twenty towns, villages, harbours and capes in seven regions, each read closely, with the drive from the airport, the market day and the beaches nearby.
No. 01 · Palma and the bay
Palma
Palma and the bay: a cathedral city facing open water, lived in every month
- From the airport
- 15 min
- Market
- Most days, in different quarters
- Nearest beaches
- Platja de Palma, Cala Comtesa
Positions are true to scale. Numbers mark the twenty places of this guide, small dots the twenty-five beaches of the wind finder.
Palma and the bay
A Gothic capital on a wide bay: cathedral, patios, markets and a seafront for walking all year.
The southwest
Marinas, pine-backed coves and the deep harbour of Port d'Andratx, close to the airport.
02Southwest · Marina
Puerto Portals
A glossy yacht harbour on the Bay of Palma, sociable in summer and quiet in winter, with small coves of pine and pale sand close by.
20 min from the airport
03Southwest · Harbour
Port d'Andratx
A deep natural harbour at the foot of the mountains, with a working fishermen's quay, villas on the slopes and sunsets over the open sea.
35 min from the airport
04Southwest · Fishing village
Sant Elm
A small village at the western tip of Mallorca, facing the long ridge of Sa Dragonera across a narrow channel. Come for the boat, the walk and the sunset.
45 min from the airport
Serra de Tramuntana
Stone villages, olive terraces and a cliff coast, a UNESCO cultural landscape since 2011.
05Tramuntana · Village
Banyalbufar
A village on the Tramuntana coast where dry-stone terraces fall in steps to the cliffs, watered by old channels and planted again with Malvasia vines.
40 min from the airport
06Tramuntana · Village
Valldemossa
Cobbled lanes, a royal Carthusian monastery and the island’s own saint. Valldemossa rewards an early start and a slow drive down to the coast.
30 min from the airport
07Tramuntana · Village
Deià
Robert Graves, a churchyard above the sea and a stony path down to a rocky cove. Deià is small and steep, and best taken slowly.
45 min from the airport
08Tramuntana · Town and port
Sóller
A wooden train over the mountains, a tram to the sea and a valley full of orange groves. Sóller is the Tramuntana at its most complete.
35 min from the airport
09Tramuntana · Village
Fornalutx
Golden stone, stepped lanes and citrus terraces beneath Puig Major. Fornalutx is at its best in the evening, once the day visitors have gone.
45 min from the airport
10Tramuntana · Sanctuary
Lluc
The island’s spiritual home, set in holm oak woods high in the Tramuntana, with a boys’ choir, pilgrim paths and the road down to Sa Calobra.
55 min from the airport
The north
Pollença, Alcúdia and the Formentor peninsula: long bays, old towns and the island's last cape.
11North · Town and bay
Pollença
Pollença climbs 365 steps to its Calvari chapel; Port de Pollença spreads along a calm, shallow bay. Two halves of the north's most rounded base.
50 min from the airport
12North · Peninsula
Formentor
A twisting road along a ridge of cliffs and pines to a lighthouse at Mallorca's north-eastern tip, with a sheltered beach and dawn views on the way.
75 min from the airport
13North · Walled town
Alcúdia
Walk Alcúdia's medieval walls and the streets of Roman Pollentia, watch herons at S'Albufera, then wade out into the long, shallow bay.
45 min from the airport
The east
Artà, Capdepera and the Llevant coast, where the sun rises first and the coves stay wild.
14East · Hill town
Artà
Climb to the walled sanctuary of Sant Salvador, walk among Talaiotic stones at Ses Païsses, then head into the empty hills and coves of the Llevant.
60 min from the airport
15East · Harbour
Cala Ratjada
Capdepera's castle walls above, Cala Ratjada's harbour below, and between them the lighthouse at Mallorca's easternmost point, where the sun rises first.
70 min from the airport
The south
Santanyí stone, the calas of the south-east, Es Trenc and the boat to Cabrera.
16South · Town
Santanyí
A market town built from its own golden stone, with a great church, quiet galleries and the coves of the south-east coast a few minutes' drive away.
45 min from the airport
17South · Fishing harbour
Cala Figuera
Two narrow arms of sea, boathouses cut into the rock and nets mended on the quay: a working harbour that is at its best in the quiet of evening.
50 min from the airport
18South · Seaside village
Colònia de Sant Jordi
A low-key village on the south coast, with the dunes of Es Trenc nearby, salt flats inland and boats leaving its harbour for the islands of Cabrera.
45 min from the airport
Es Pla, the centre
The plain of wine, almonds and windmills, with market towns that keep their own rhythm.
19Centre · Wine town
Binissalem
Home of one of Mallorca's two wine denominations, Binissalem pairs Manto Negro reds with stone manor houses, a Friday market and a lively harvest festival.
25 min from the airport
20Centre · Market town
Sineu
Since the early fourteenth century, Sineu has held a market every Wednesday. Come early for livestock and produce, then stay on for the quiet town and the plains.
35 min from the airport
At a glance
All twenty in one table
Drive from Palma airport outside peak traffic, the weekly market and the two nearest beaches.
| Place | Region | From the airport | Weekly market | Nearest beaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Palma | Palma | 15 min | Most days, in different quarters | Platja de Palma, Cala Comtesa |
| 02 Puerto Portals | Southwest | 20 min | Nearby | Cala Comtesa, Portals Vells |
| 03 Port d'Andratx | Southwest | 35 min | Monday and Wednesday | Cala Fornells, Sant Elm |
| 04 Sant Elm | Southwest | 45 min | Saturday | Sant Elm, Cala Fornells |
| 05 Banyalbufar | Tramuntana | 40 min | Nearby | Cala Deià, Cala Comtesa |
| 06 Valldemossa | Tramuntana | 30 min | Sunday | Cala Deià, Port de Sóller |
| 07 Deià | Tramuntana | 45 min | Wednesday | Cala Deià, Port de Sóller |
| 08 Sóller | Tramuntana | 35 min | Thursday and Saturday | Port de Sóller, Cala Deià |
| 09 Fornalutx | Tramuntana | 45 min | Nearby | Port de Sóller, Cala Tuent |
| 10 Lluc | Tramuntana | 55 min | Nearby | Sa Calobra, Cala Tuent |
| 11 Pollença | North | 50 min | Wednesday and Sunday | Cala Sant Vicenç, Port de Pollença |
| 12 Formentor | North | 75 min | Nearby | Platja de Formentor, Port de Pollença |
| 13 Alcúdia | North | 45 min | Tuesday and Sunday | Platja d'Alcúdia, Platja de Muro |
| 14 Artà | East | 60 min | Tuesday | Cala Torta, Cala Millor |
| 15 Cala Ratjada | East | 70 min | Wednesday and Saturday | Cala Agulla, Cala Mesquida |
| 16 Santanyí | South | 45 min | Wednesday and Saturday | Cala Llombards, Caló des Moro |
| 17 Cala Figuera | South | 50 min | Nearby | Cala Llombards, Cala Mondragó |
| 18 Colònia de Sant Jordi | South | 45 min | Nearby | Es Trenc, Platja des Caragol |
| 19 Binissalem | Centre | 25 min | Friday | Port de Sóller, Cala Tuent |
| 20 Sineu | Centre | 35 min | Wednesday | Platja de Muro, Platja d'Alcúdia |
Choosing a place
Where should I stay on Mallorca for the first time?
Palma, Sóller and Pollença are the most rewarding first bases: each has life all year, good food and easy access to beaches and mountains. The base guide compares all seven regions.
How long does it take to cross the island?
From Palma airport most places on this map are within an hour outside peak traffic. Cap de Formentor and Cala Ratjada are the furthest, at well over an hour. The drive times tool calculates every route.
Which places are best without a car?
Palma, Sóller with its train and tram, Pollença and Alcúdia work well without a car, as the island buses connect them with Palma. The mountain villages and the calas of the south are much easier with one.
How were the places on this map chosen?
They are the towns, villages and harbours we consider most rewarding for a considered stay, spread across all seven regions. Resorts built only for package holidays are left out on purpose.
Island planner
Tell us your days. We will draw the island.
Choose how long you stay, where you sleep and what you love. The planner suggests a day-by-day route with drive times, market days and the beaches the wind allows. Keep it, print it or send it to yourself.