Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ive of local wineries was set up to promote the locally grown malvasia grape. As such,
it's the perfect place to pick up a bottle of wine for a picnic or to take back home.
Esporles & the Inland Circuit
A few hundred metres beyond the Port des Canonge turn-off, the Ma1100 breaks off
southward towards Esporles. After 1km you reach a road junction and La Granja.
From La Granja, those with wheels could make a circuit inland. Follow the Ma1101
south, which plunges through thick woods and slithers down a series of hairpin bends to
reach
Puigpunyent
. This typical inland town offers few sights but the luxury, rose-hued
hilltop Gran Hotel Son Net (
Click here
)
is reason enough to detour here if money is no
object.
From Puigpunyent, make a dash for
Galilea
, a high mountain hamlet about four ser-
pentine kilometres south. Climb to the town's church square for views across the valleys
and a drink in the bar next door, or head even higher up this straggling place for a greater
sense of altitude.
Back in Puigpunyent, take the Ma1101 to Esporles. Cradled between the mountain
folds in the foothills of the Tramuntana, this pretty village of ochre-stone town houses is
set beside a generally dry stream and has a Saturday market. The pace is laid-back in the
cafe-lined alleys presided over by a neo-Gothic church. Esporles can be animated at
night, as many folk from Palma have opted to live here and commute to the capital.
Sights
La Granja
HISTORIC BUILDING
(
www.lagranja.net
; Carretera de Esporles- Banyalbufar; adult/child €12.50/6; 10am-7pm)
This
magnificent
possessió
(rural estate) has been turned into something of a kitsch Mallorca -
land exhibit, with folks in traditional dress. The grand mansion is, however, well worth
the visit, as are its extensive gardens. Some elements of the property date to the 10th cen-
tury. You could spend hours exploring the period-furnished rooms, olive and wine
presses, grand dining room, stables, workshops and some medieval instruments of torture
in the cellars.
Eating
El Mesón La Villa
MALLORCAN €€€
