Deià

The village and its hill

Deià lives on two levels. Along the Ma-10, which serves as its main street, are the cafés, the small shops and the bus stop. Above it, a tangle of stepped lanes climbs Es Puig, the hill crowned by the church, and here the village goes quiet. Houses of rough golden stone with green shutters sit among lemon trees, prickly pears and bougainvillea, and every gap between them frames a slice of sea.

Behind rises Teix, one of the great walls of the Tramuntana, and below the village a torrent runs down through olive terraces to the coast. It is a landscape that has always suited artists. Since Graves’s time Deià has drawn writers, painters and musicians, and many still live here, which gives the village a lived-in, slightly unconventional air once the day visitors have gone.

Robert Graves: the house and the grave

Graves came to Deià with the poet Laura Riding and built Ca n’Alluny, a stone house on the road towards Sóller, a few minutes’ walk from the centre. He left during the Spanish Civil War, returned after the Second World War and lived here until his death in 1985. The house is now a museum run by the Robert Graves Foundation and kept much as he left it: his study, his books, the hand press on which he and Riding printed their work, and the garden.

His grave lies in the churchyard at the top of Es Puig, beside the church of Sant Joan Baptista. It is a plain slab with his name and the single word poeta, written by hand into the cement. Climb up in the late afternoon, when the view from the churchyard wall over the terraces to the sea is at its best. More on Graves and his circle is in our guide to artists and writers.

The walk down to Cala Deià

Cala Deià is the village’s cove, a rocky inlet of pebbles and boulders where the torrent meets the sea. You can drive down a narrow lane with very limited parking, but the better route is on foot: a path from the lower village follows the torrent through olive groves and takes about half an hour down, rather more on the way back. Old boathouses are cut into the rock around the cove, and the water, deep and clear, is excellent for swimming and snorkelling on calm days.

There is no sand, and when the wind blows from the north or north-west the sea can turn rough quickly, so check the forecast. In season there are simple places to eat at the water’s edge, but carry water for the walk. For other coves along this coast, see the best calas of Mallorca.

Llucalcari, Son Marroig and Sa Foradada

North-east of Deià the old coast path, now part of the GR 221, passes Llucalcari, a hamlet of a few old stone houses on terraces above the sea. It continues through olive groves and pine woods to Sóller, a walk of roughly three hours that is best done in spring or autumn with an early start.

South-west of the village, on the road to Valldemossa, stands Son Marroig, one of the estates of the Archduke Ludwig Salvator and now a museum to his life, with a white marble rotunda looking out to sea. Below it, Sa Foradada pushes into the water, a rocky peninsula pierced by a great hole that gives it its name. Watching the sun go down behind it is a Deià ritual; sunset spots shows where the sun meets the sea on your dates.

Market, food and the artistic life

Deià holds a small weekly market on Wednesday. The terraces around the village produce olives, oranges and lemons, and local oil and citrus turn up in the village shops. Meals here tend to be long and simple: grilled fish, pa amb oli, a salad of tomatoes with good oil.

The artistic community is less visible than its reputation, but it is real. Look for small exhibitions along the main street, notices for summer concerts and painters at work on the terraces. The best way to meet it is simply to stay a few days rather than a few hours.

Arriving, parking and nearby places

Deià is about 45 minutes from Palma airport outside peak traffic, via Valldemossa and the Ma-10. Parking is the village’s chronic problem: there are a few small car parks along the main road and they fill early in summer. The road is narrow, winding and shared with buses and cyclists, so allow time. Buses link Deià with Palma, Valldemossa and Sóller; check the current timetable.

Combine the village with the monastery at Valldemossa, or walk the coast path to Sóller and take the bus back. A slow day might run like this:

• Morning: walk down to Cala Deià for a swim
• Midday: Ca n’Alluny, then lunch in the village
• Late afternoon: climb Es Puig to the church and churchyard
• Sunset: Son Marroig and the rock window of Sa Foradada