View of Formentor

The 365 Calvari Steps

Pollença is a town in Mallorca, one of Spain's Balearic Islands. Nestled at the feet of the Serra de Tramuntana, the mountain chain along Mallorca's northern coast, it is a very attractive traditional Mallorcan town which is a world away from the package holiday resorts found elsewhere on the island.

Get in

Pollença is in the north-east of the island. You reach it from the Palma - Alcudia highway, the turn to Pollença is some 40 km from Palma and after that you have 7 km by fair road. From the airport, Pollença is reached by taking the Palma direction, taking the first turn off (el Coll d'en Rebassa) and heading for Inca until you hit the Palma-Inca (and on to Port d'Alcudia) highway. After that, see above.

Driving and parking in Pollença is awful. Try to find a parking spot on the lower part of the city where you enter it, and walk from there. Walking is no problem with strollers and wheelchairs in this small town, although the town rises towards El Calvario.

See

Views from Puig de Maria

• The Good Friday procession from the church at the top of the hill to the church in town. And on any other day of the year, you should climb the 365 steps from the church in town to the church on the hill. Beautiful view from there. The fourteen stations of the Cross can be followed (reverse) on the narrow road going from the hill down to the main city square.
• 1 Pollença Museum (Museo de Pollença) (Just south of plaça Major), ☏ +34 971531166. Tu-Sa 11:00-13:00; Jun-Sep: 10:00-13:00,17:30-20:30; closed on Mondays and public holidays. Mostly modern art. And you can visit the San Domingo cloister. free. (updated Dec 2017)

Do

• 1 . Get a nice cold beer in the main square on market day and sit back and enjoy the view. (updated Dec 2017)
• 2 Puig de Pollença (Puig de Maria). Climb to the top. It is an easy hike. You will meet goats and cats. The name Puig de Pollença or Puig de Maria refers to the hill as well as to the ancient hermit nun's monastery on its top. Its origins reach back to 1348. Main parts of the complex have been built in the 15th century. After 1564, it was only sporadically used as monastery, while the church had been maintained during all the centuries as a pilgrim church. The last nuns left the convent in 1988. Since then, it is used as a hostel. Its location high over the town of Pollença and the old, venerable but simple buildings together with the view on the coastline, the Serra de Tramuntana and the wide plane give quite a mystical atmosphere. In the outer yard, there are several fireplaces and tables for one-day-visitors and there is a bar and restaurant service provided by the keeper family - prices are moderate. If you sit outside you have a lunch with a spectacular view. Do not miss the nearby viewpoint Mirador del Molí Vell free. (updated Dec 2017)

Far de Formentor at Cap de Formentor

• 3 Camí Vell del Far (the old track to the lighthouse) (Drive to Port de Pollença and then direction Cap de Formentor. At km 13, on the left side you will find a big parking lot). A 3- to 4-hour walk for good hikers in the wild nature of Cap de Formentor. . Put good hiking shoes on and take water and food with you. Go back on the road, to find the start of the walk, marked Cala Murta. Walk down for about 30 minutes to Cala Murta on a good dirt road. Cala Murta is a beautiful little beach. Now go back on the dirt road for a few hundred meters. On the right side of the track, you'll see a picnic area with a few tables. At the end of the picnic area, you will find the starting point of the path to the Coll de la Creu. There is no sign, just follow the cairns. A few hundred meters later, you will see the Cami Vell del Far winding up to the pass. Try to follow the stone track as much as possible, avoiding shortcuts which destroy the track. Remember the people who have built this track by hand, many years ago. Once at the pass, you can lunch, and then go to the second pass (easier than the first one). From the second pass, just follow the track down to the road. Take the road left, pass through the tunnel and reach your car a few hundred meters further. (updated Dec 2017)
• Or walk or run one of the areas several trails, leading to Alcudia, Lluc, Cala Sant Vicenc or nowhere up a hilltop.
• Mallorca is great for biking, hiking and adventure sports. The latter can be booked through mondaventura.com, which has offices on Plaça Vella. Look for 1st floor banner.

Buy

• There is a very good market in the main town square on Sundays.
• 1 Mortitx, Ctra. Pollença - Lluc- Km 10.9 (On Ma-10 half ways between Pollença and Lluc), ☏ +34 971 182 339. Visit the winery, taste the wine and buy a few bottles of good wine. €10 bottles. (updated Dec 2017)

Eat

Food shops

• Ice cream
  • Gelats Valls (on the main square). Very good ice cream in many flavours. It seems to be open daily, and also has a shop on Plaça Vella which sells the same ice cream by liter or half-liter (across from the panaderia, in the street going away from the church). 
• Bakeries
  • Pasteleria Il Giardino sells good cakes and other pastries. Closed on Mondays.
  • There is also a more typical panaderia on the Plaça Vella. They sell excellent local pastries. Taste their turnovers, their cookies with chocolate filling or their spinach flans.
• Groceries
  • 2 Ensenyat. fine delicatessen grocery and priced as could be expected therefrom (updated Dec 2018)

• Supermarkets
  • 3 Eroski City, Avenida Argentina (4 blocks south-west of Placa Major). M-Sa 09:00-22:00. (updated Dec 2017)
  • There's another supermarket - Suma - on calle de Sant Domingo. It has a basic selection but is easier to get to than Eroski.

Restaurants

• 1 Club Pollença (South end of Placa Major), ☏ +34 971530000. This a real club, members get a discount, but it is open to non-members. They make a great paella. It is a great spot for a drink or a bite of food and to watch the life on Plaça Major. (updated Nov 2017)

Club Pollença Paella

• 2 Ca`n Moixet (North end of Plaça Major). Open all year. Open later than the other places. Traditional tapas bar (updated Nov 2017)

There are several restaurants worth visiting in Pollença, especially in the streets around the main square. Few are more than good, though, and the ones on the main square are mostly cafés.

• 3 Romani, Plaça de Ca les Monnares 20, ☏ +34 971 12 43 31. all year. Simple Mallorcan food at very reasonable prices. €5-15 for most dishes.. (updated Dec 2018)
• Ristorante il Giardino, Placa Major 11 (bottom of the main square), ☏ +34 971 53 43 02. A classical Italian restaurant with lovely food. 
• 4 Clivia, Avenida Pollentia 7 (south of the main square), ☏ +34 971 53 36 35. A fine restaurant in the main shopping street of Pollença. Good fishes (sea bass, lobster) and meat (excellent confit of lamb shoulder). Appropriate clothing advised (no shorts or tee-shirts). Reservation recommended. Two-course meal with wine €50. 
• 5 Bar Nou, Antoni Maura 13 (street west of main square, below the church), ☏ +34 971 53 00 05. The best in town for Mallorquin cuisine. The fish soup is fantastic. Two-course meal with wine €35. 
• La Posada, Antoni Maura 40 (southern corner of the main square), ☏ +34 971 53 00 53. Very good Spanish/Mallorquin cuisine. Two-course meal with wine €50. 
• 6 La Font del Gall, Montesion, 4, Plaza Almoina,, ☏ +34 971 53 03 96. all year 11:00-15:00,18:00-22:30. Spanish fine dining €25 mains. (updated Dec 2018)

Sleep

Budget

Santuario del Puig de Maria (hostel)

• 1 Hostel in Old Monastery at the top of Puig de Pollenca, ☏ +34 971184132 - 639958096. You can get one of the former nun cells as single/double rooms or dormitory. The rooms in the upper flat give a great view of Pollenca and the surrounding countryside and are furnished modestly with an electric heater, a desk and a chair. The rooms in the lower flat are very basic, limited to only a bed and desk. Toilets and (solar heated) showers are available. The big goal is the perfect infrastructure for self-suppliers. You can use a big (really big) kitchen with fireplace. Bring your own dishes with you. The 15th-century refectory is a very contemplative (but coolish) lounge. Double rooms €14 or €19 for the room for a night, dorms €5 pppn. During the high season, reservations are very useful. 

Hotels

Pollença has some well regarded hotels for a break, they tend to be smaller than the big resort hotels, and friendlier too. Some of the favourites include La Moraleja, Son Brull Hotel and Spa and Hotel Daina.

• 2 Sant Jordi (3 blocks east of Placa Major), ☏ +34 971 530 389. Cozy hotel with a beautiful garden and swimming pool. Located at a small square. Has guest parking nearby. €180. (updated Dec 2017)

Internet access

There's a very helpful internet shop on Calle del Mercat which also has color print available.

Pollenca has its share of Wi-Fi access points, and there's even a wlan network over the town - although information on how to access this is hard to come by.

For public, immdiate use, either look around or use the Emilton café on calle Sant Domingo - it's a typical Spanish cafe with locals and nothing to see. Other places are the youth club Club Formentor and the restaurant next to it on calle Joan Mas/Costa i LLobera. Wi-Fi access is free in these places as long as you eat or drink.

For children

• Playgrounds are located in calle Sant Domingo and in the NE part of town. The former is covered in trees providing much-needed shade and has a rather big and modern selection of stuff to do for kids.

Go next

• Port de Pollenca - the nearest beach (it's also a very good beach!)
• Cala Sant Vicenc - just as close, it consists of 4 small beaches with some okay restaurants attached to them. Great mountain views in the bay, popular with children.
• Formentor - the beach on the Formentor Peninsula is after the first viewpoint, at a large parking lot (the only one to pass on your way to Cap de Formentor) is also very nice, with all amenities. It seems there's a pier here so boat trips from Alcudia might be available in high season.
• Alcudia - give the package holiday resort a miss, and head to the Roman ruins around the old town. Or hike the remarkably undeveloped peninsula which has several good trails.
• Palma de Mallorca - Mallorca's capital, full of things to do, and places to see (the Banys Arabes are fantastic)
• Soller and Port de Soller - don't drive there directly. Go to Palma and catch the Soller train - the best way to see Mallorca!
• S'Albufera Natural Park - a fantastic place to come and see the fantastic birdlife that exists on Mallorca.