Sineu

The centre of the island

Sineu stands close to the centre of Mallorca on a gentle hill above the plain, and its position explains its history. Roads from every direction converge on it, which made it a natural meeting place for the farming villages of Es Pla, and the medieval kings of Mallorca kept a royal residence here. From the higher streets the view runs across fields and orchards, and on clear days the long wall of the Serra de Tramuntana marks the horizon.

Away from Wednesday the town is quiet and handsome in an understated way: streets of golden and grey stone houses, wooden shutters, the odd carved doorway, and small squares where older residents sit in the shade. It is a place to walk slowly, look up and catch the sense of an old market town that still lives from the land around it.

The Wednesday market

Sineu's market has been held on Wednesdays under a royal privilege granted in the early fourteenth century, and it remains one of the largest and liveliest on the island. The day starts early in the lanes at the edge of town, where livestock is still bought and sold, from poultry to sheep and goats, with farmers inspecting animals and closing deals much as their grandparents did.

As the morning goes on, the market spreads through the streets and squares around the church, with fruit and vegetables, cheese, olives, sobrassada, baskets, leather, ceramics, clothing and plants. Arrive early, both for the animals and for parking; the stalls wind down around lunchtime. Our guide to Mallorca's markets suggests what to buy, and the market days tool helps you plan other markets during your stay.

Santa Maria and the winged lion

The parish church of Santa Maria dominates the town, a large church of Gothic origin whose tall bell tower rises above the roofs and can be seen from far across the plain. On the square before it stands a statue of the winged lion of Saint Mark, the town's patron and emblem, a fitting guardian for a place that has always lived from trade.

A short walk away is the former royal palace of the kings of Mallorca. For centuries it has been a convent of enclosed nuns, so treat it as a place of prayer rather than a monument, and appreciate the building from the street. Knowing what stood here gives weight to a quiet corner of town, and to the idea of Sineu as a small capital of the interior.

Windmills and almond orchards

Around Sineu stretches Es Pla, the broad agricultural plain of the island's centre. This is a landscape of dry-stone walls, small fields of cereals, fig and carob trees, and above all almonds. In late January and February the orchards blossom white and pale pink, and for a few weeks the plain looks lightly dusted with snow.

Old windmills punctuate the view, many now without their sails, a reminder of the days when they ground the grain of the plain. Quiet lanes link the villages, which makes Es Pla excellent cycling country: see our guide to cycling in Mallorca. For the story of the island's almonds and their place in the kitchen, read about olive oil, almonds and Sóller oranges.

Arriving by train or car

Sineu is about 35 minutes from Palma airport outside peak traffic. It is also a stop on the railway line from Palma to Manacor, and the train is the most relaxed way to come on market day, when the roads into town are busy and parking fills early. The station is a short walk from the centre.

If you drive on a Wednesday, arrive early and park on the outskirts rather than trying the old centre, whose narrow streets are given over to stalls. Our guide to getting around Mallorca covers trains, buses and the roads across the plain, and how to combine Sineu with other inland towns in a single day.

Petra, Montuïri and the villages nearby

Sineu sits among a ring of small farming villages, each worth an hour or two, and each a natural pairing with the market or with a slow day on the plain once Sineu has gone quiet again.

• Petra: the birthplace of Junípero Serra, the Franciscan friar who founded the first missions in California, with a museum devoted to him and the hilltop sanctuary of Bonany nearby.
• Montuïri: a hill village of windmills and stone streets, close to the Talayotic settlement of Son Fornés and its museum.
• Sant Joan and Maria de la Salut: quiet villages of the plain, best reached by bicycle or on foot along the lanes.
• Binissalem: the wine town, a short drive to the west, with cellars, manor houses and a Friday market.