Population: 350,000
Location: Balearic Islands (Mediterranean Sea)

The beautiful island of Mallorca is the largest, best-known and most popular of the Balearic Islands, some 250 km (155 miles) from the Spanish mainland. It is an island that fulfils the expectations of all visitors: tourists seeking sandy beaches and romantic landscapes, hikers and bikers who want to discover the beauty of the island’s mountain ranges and valleys. Those interested in culture and history can admire picturesque villages, churches and monasteries. Few islands in the world have the variety of Mallorca, and it is no wonder that, as well as being such a popular destination, many writers, artists and members of high society have chosen to settle in Mallorca.

Half of the island’s population lives in the capital, Palma de Mallorca, which boasts a beautiful old city, the Gothic Cathedral La Seu, the Almudiana palace and the Castillo de Bellver. There are also the many town palaces and the yacht harbor, the more modern outskirts, and of course the long sandy beaches.

Mallorca is more than five times the size of either Menorca or Ibiza and is roughly saddle-shape. The Sierra de Tramuntana, a tough mountain range soaring to nearly 5,000 ft, runs the length of the northwest coast, and a ridge of hills borders the southeast shores; between the two lies a great, flat plain that in early spring becomes a sea of almond blossoms, 'the snow of Mallorca.'

Overall, the Balearics Islands offer something for everyone. While Menorca and Formentera remain largely unspoiled, great stretches of the coasts of Mallorca and Ibiza are home to developments catering to tourists on package vacations. Still, Mallorca's northwestern coast remains nearly as rough and remote as it was when George Sand and Frédéric Chopin spent a winter among its rugged mountains a century and a half ago. Of the four main islands, Mallorca and Ibiza are the most developed while Minorca and Formentera remain less populated and wilder. People go to Formentera for solitude and intimacy; Ibiza for wilderness with heavy concentrations of humanity; Mallorca for the mixture of Palma's urban cosmopolitanism with the wild north coast and interior; and Minorca for what may be the best blend of all of the above.

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