The island has so much to offer at this time of year that you could be spoilt for choice - so (in no particular order) we've put together abcMallorca's guide to The Top 20 Things to Do this Summer . . .
Chill-out at a Beach Club
Mallorca’s Beach Clubs take a day of sunbathing and relaxing to a new level. Expect stylish surroundings, comfy loungers, cool restaurant and bar, and other facilities. Some offer a pool, massages and other treatments, chill-out music and more. Escape the madding crowd and check out Hotel Barceló Formentor’s Beach Club, Palma’s Nassau Beach Club, Puro, Virtual Club and Las Terrazas in Illetes, Pabisa in S’Arenal, Cala Llamp’s Gran Folies Beach Club, or the family-oriented Dalt de Sa Rapita.
Attend an outdoor concert
Listen to great music outdoors on a balmy summer’s evening: It could be ’80s band China Crisis at Pollensa Golf Club; chart acts at Mallorca Rocks; free gig at the Sa Pobla International Jazz Festival, or 50th Festival Pollensa performance in the town’s attractive Santo Domingo cloisters. A must is a Deià International Music Festival concert in the magical setting of Son Marroig, as the sunset-hued sky darkens …
Drive the Tramuntana . . . in style
Add a touch of panache to the sensational drive through the Tramuntana mountains by hiring your dream set of wheels to do it in. High Class Cars (www.highclasscars.es) offers prestigious marques such as Aston Martin, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini, BMW and Mercedes. For Living Classic Cars (www.for-living.at) has nine special classics available for rental, including a 1974 Porsche 911, 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider and a Fiat 1200 Spider. Remember your camera for the views – and a shot of you at the wheel . . .
Discover Palma on an open-top bus
A tour on a distinctive Palma City Sightseeing open-top bus gives you
a great overview of Mallorca’s capital without too much footwork on your part.
The 15 € tickets (children and seniors, half-price) are valid 24 hours and include multilingual recorded commentary. Hop on and off the bus at any of the 16 stops along the route, to explore the vicinity.
Enjoy a bird’s eye view of the island
A hot air balloon trip over Mallorca is something you’ll never forget. Soaring peacefully over the island at around 1,000 feet, you’ll have incredible views – and could see Cabrera and Menorca on a clear day. Mallorca Balloons, near Manacor, offers a balloon baptism and souvenir flight certificate. Tel +34 971 59 69 69 www.mallorcaballoons.com
Follow the Wine Route
Mallorca has around 60 bodegas and, in recent years, many have recognized their appeal to visitors and now open for tours and tastings. The book ‘Wine Route’ details bodegas that can be visited in the Binissalem DO (www.binissalemdo.com), as well as local gastronomy, markets, festivals and places of interest.
Go for a show
Mallorca offers top-quality professional entertainment in the form of several popular shows. Pirates – staged in its own purpose-built theatre in Magaluf – has been a family favourite for 25 years; there’s also a spicier adults’ version, Pirates Uncut. Come Fly
With Me is an unmissable musical
show evoking New York of 1959. For a variety of entertainers, Son Amar offers a glamorous dinner show, updated every year, featuring some of Europe’s best artists.
Go designer shopping
Palma is a fabulous city for shopping, and you’re sure to find something from your favourite designer (or discover a new one!). The world’s top brands in designer clothing and accessories can be found by exploring Avenida Jaime III, Paseo del Borne, and the stores and boutiques in the adjoining streets and lanes. Read our Shopping in Style guide (April 2011) on www.abc-mallorca.com to plan your day in Palma.
Visit a village
Stroll around one of Mallorca’s beautiful small villages and you’ll feel as though you’ve stepped back in time. The most enchanting are Banyalbufar, Orient, Deià (often very busy in summer) and Fornalutx – named Spain’s most picturesque village. Find a café or bar and sip a cool drink as you appreciate the languid pace of life.
Have a gourmet experience
The best holiday memories are often of fabulous meals – and Mallorca is a gourmet’s paradise, where you can eat amazing food and discover the superb quality wines produced here. Four restaurants have the coveted Michelin star (Zaranda, Tristán, Es Molí den Bou and Es Racó des Teix) and there are plenty of others offering delicious cuisine and friendly service. For details of some of the best, visit www.abc-mallorca.com
Pamper yourself on a luxury spa day
Go on, you deserve it. Arabella Spa
(Tel +34 971 62 96 00) at St Regis
Mardavall is Europe’s largest spa, awash with luxurious facilities and treatments, including the exclusive Anne Sémonin tailor-made products and therapies. A spa day costs 75 €, including use of locker, robe, slippers, towel, all facilities, fruit, teas and water. Treatments are extra but
reduce the day-pass cost to 45 €.
Release your inner Tarzan!
With high-rope courses, monkey swings, bridges and zip-lines, Jungle Parc (www.jungleparc.es) in Santa Ponsa is a dream for outdoor adventurers of all ages. Their qualified instructors supervise as you travel from treetop to treetop. Security briefing and low-level training session included. Choice of four courses (one for children only) priced from 12 € to 25 €. Some height and age restrictions apply.
Paseo … and party
Join the locals and do a party crawl around one of Palma’s main nightspots. The Bohemian area of Santa Catalina is packed with bars and eateries that positively buzz after dark. Nearby, Paseo Marítimo is one long strip of eateries, bars and clubs – including the legendary Tito’s. You can wander for hours around La Lonja – home of the Jazz Voyeur Club, unique bar Abaco, and a host
of places to eat, drink and be merry!
Picnic in a vineyard
Birdsong and the lazy buzz of insects are the soundtrack to a picnic among the vines at Bodegas Santa Catarina (www.santa-catarina.com) near Andratx. The winery offers a traditional picnic basket for 25 €, comprising bread, cheese, serrano ham, chorizo, olives, olive oil and a bottle of wine. For special occasions they’ll prepare a luxury hamper with champagne and strawberries
Take a golf mini-break
Head for the east coast’s Vall d’Or (www.valldorgolf.com) on a Friday and play the 5,539m long, 18-hole golf course (par 71). An entertaining, average-difficulty course, it benefits from fabulous views down to Porto Colom, and Máxime – the club’s stylish café restaurant – where there’s a renowned Friday night buffet BBQ, with live music. Then sleep soundly at a charming rural hotel, such as nearby Sa Ple-tassa, Can Bessol or Sa Posada d’Aumallía.
See a movie under the stars
Palma comes alive on summer nights with a host of free outdoor cultural events under the heading of ‘Nits a la Fresca’. In Parc de la Mar, in front of the cathedral, a large screen is erected over the water for the free nightly film screenings (mainly in Spanish and Catalan but some in English). As we went to press, details of this year’s programme were not available.
Rub shoulders with the rich and famous …
Dress to impress and head for the waterside Tristán in glamorous Puerto Portals, where you can enjoy celebrity-spotting as you sip Moet & Chandon at the Tristán Bar. Afterwards, dine at Tristán’s Bistro – or splash out on an unforgettable dinner at their Gourmet restaurant – home of Gerhard Schwaiger’s Michelin-starred cuisine.
Set sail for a lobster lunch
Round up some friends and share a taste of the A-listers’ lifestyle: a lobster lunch at sea. The 18-metre Beneteau sailboat ‘Imagine’ takes up to 12 people, sailing from Palma mid-morning and returning late afternoon. The day charter costs 1,300 €, plus lunch. Details from Captain Tim Atkinson (+34 662 270 198). If a day’s not enough, join the jet set and charter a luxury yacht for a week or more from Moncada Hispania Yachts – Tel +34 971 68 40 55 www.moncadahispania.com
Stay in a hilltop hermitage
Some of Mallorca’s hilltop ‘hermitas’ offer fairly basic, but clean, accommodation – an interesting option for an overnight stay.
Once the last of the day-trippers have left, an air of serenity descends. Wake up to a beautiful sunrise, enjoying the peace and panoramic views before the first coach disgorges its passengers. Hermitages where you can stay include Santuari de Sant Salvador, Santuari de Nostra Senyora de Cura (Randa), Ermita de Nostra Senyor del Puig (near Pollensa) and Lluc.
Swoon over a sunset
It happens every day, but how many of us make
time to simply sit and watch the sun go down? Doing so can be even more memorable when you add a bottle of cava and a picnic. Head up to the lighthouse in Puerto de Sóller for a dazzling view of the sun slipping into the Mediterranean. For unforgettable views of the sun setting behind the Tramuntana, head for the waterfront at Colònia Sant Pere, near Artà.
Link to: Mallorcas Summer Top 20
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