Culture in Majorca By Dan Williams At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

To many Majorca represents an invasion of young people, loud resorts, bars and crowded beaches but although that does exist it is only in one corner of this beautiful island just for a short period each year. On the rest of the island and for most of the year the picture is somewhat different. Beautiful countryside, mountains, beaches, and plenty of fine restaurants and cafes and of course a variety of attractions and cultural offerings to tempt visitors out and about during their stay.

Majorca has much more to offer and with influences from the earlier invaders such as Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Moors and Catalans there is plenty to see and enjoy for everyone.

Travelling to Majorca from anywhere in Europe is easy with hundreds of airlines providing cheap flights to Palma, the island’s main airport, on a daily basis. The terminal buildings are spacious and modern, providing a perfect start to your break on this wonderful island.

Palma, the capital, has a wonderful Gothic cathedral overlooking the harbour. Work began on building the cathedral in 13th century and continued for another 400yrs with some final touches added by Gaudi in recent times. It is packed with interesting features including one of the worlds largest stained glass windows and the unfinished bell tower containing the massive 2 metre diameter N’Eloi bell weighing 5,700 kilograms.

Another Palma building with an interesting history is Castell de Bellver, also built during the same period and unique in Spain as it is completely round. Used for some time as a prison it is now a museum which traces Majorca’s history through various artifacts.

Majorca has some fantastic beaches and coastal towns, one of the finest being Puerto Soller which can be reached from Palma on the old railway that winds its way over and through the mountains to the port. The journey from Palma takes about an hour and passes through 13 tunnels en route to the pretty port on the north west coast of the island. The longest tunnel is almost 3 kilometers n length and took four years to construct. Once a day the railway runs a special “Panoramic” special which stops at Mirador Pujol d'en Banya for 15 minutes to allow passengers to take photographs.

In the same area as Soller but up in the mountains, are the towns of Deia and Valledemossa. Deia was the home to English novelist and poet Roberts Graves who lived here for many years. Nowadays you are more likely to see film stars who stay in one of the two expensive hotels in the village. Valledemosa is famous for being the place where Fredrick Chopin and his lover Georges Sands came to from Paris when Chopin’s health was in decline. Unfortunately Valledemosa and the weather were not kind to them as Sands recorded in her book about the period.

Traveling away from the Mountains and through the centre of the Island you will see fertile land with almond trees, windmills and vineyards. Some of the small towns and villages are so quiet you imagine they could be uninhabited and then you reach the east of the Island and its wonderful beaches. There are long open beaches such as those at Pollensa and Alcudia as well as many smaller resorts with tiny coves. Be sure to visit the Caves of Drac one of the most famous tourist attractions on the island or even the lesser known but just as impressive caves in Arta which contain thousands of huge stalactites and stalagmites.

Majorca is also home to a number of monasteries, some of which are located in impressive hilltop locations. One of the largest is the Lluc monastery located in the mountain region in the north west of the island surrounded by oak and cypress woodlands. The monastery now has it’s own museum, restaurant and the Los Blauets school choir. Visitors may also spend longer enjoying the wonderful scenery by staying overnight in one of the monastery’s 129 cells if they wish.

Whether you are a walker, cyclist, bird watcher, historian or just an inquisitive tourist there certainly is a lot to offer in the beautiful Island of Majorca.

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