The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain, of which the capital city is Palma.
The co-official languages in the Balearic Islands are Spanish and Catalan.
MAJORCA:
Mallorca offers much more than beach holidays with bustling nightlife.
The old quarter of the city of Palma de Mallorca contains Gothic architecture and countless corners full of history which are waiting to be discovered. There are unspoilt beaches with crystalline waters away from the tourist resorts. There are also small villages in the island’s interior and mountain regions, where the pace of life is slow and which in many cases have become havens for a wide variety of people from all over, who mix with the locals and form part of this authentic side of Mallorcan life. And then there are the landscapes, which have been a source of inspiration for creative geniuses such as the British poet Robert Graves, who is buried in Deià, the Polish composer Frederick Chopin, who spent time at Cartoixa de Valldemossa with George Sand, and the painter Joan Miró, amongst many others.
The accommodation available for your holidays in Mallorca primarily consists of excellent-value 3 and 4-star hotels and apartments. Nevertheless, there is a wide range of all sorts of accommodation, with a variety of luxurious and exclusive hotels as well as budget options.Mallorcan cuisine is genuinely Mediterranean and is enjoyed in homes throughout the island or in cellers - the name given to traditional Mallorcan restaurants, which are often housed in the cellars which were used for wine production in the past.
There are many cellers in the island’s villages and in Palma de Mallorca, though the most well-known are those in Sineu, Inca and Petra.
There are many characteristic dishes within Mallorcan cuisine, such as Mallorcan Soups made with fine slices of bread in a hot broth and accompanied by vegetables and, sometimes, a bit of meat. Trempó is a salad par excellence; it accompanies most meals in summer and consists of pieces of tomato, red pepper and onion, with a dressing of olive oil, vinegar and salt. Tumbet is another typical accompaniment in summer; it is made from finely-sliced potatoes, aubergine and peppers, which are fried up and covered with a tomato sauce. Pa amb Oli (bread with oil) is sliced bread with local ramallet tomato squeezed over it along with a dash of olive oil and a pinch of salt; it is accompanied by cheese, grilled meat or cold sausage meat.
MINORCA:
Minorca was occupied by the British almost uninterruptedly from 1708 to 1802, though there were periods when it passed into the hands of the Spanish and French. The British encouraged trade and contributed to the development of the island’s cultural institutions. They moved the capital to Maó and left a distinctive mark on the city’s architecture, as well as a number of English words that have been adopted into the Catalan language as spoken on Minorca.
The island contains an extraordinary number of prehistoric monuments from the time of the Talayotic culture, which was also present on neighboring Mallorca. Notable among these monuments are the taulas, consisting of two large blocks of rock arranged in a T-shape. The tallest of them, at Trepucó, stands 4.2 metres high. It is believed that they were sanctuaries.
Other more recent monuments on Minorca include the fortifications along the coast, especially at Maó Port, which were built to protect the island from attack from the sea.
The port in Maó is one of the deepest natural harbours in the world. The entry port to the island since Antiquity and a perfect shelter for boats, it is today one of the city’s main attractions. At the western tip of the island is Ciutadella de Menorca, the former capital, which stands on the seashore and has a small port.
IBIZA:
The Ibizan coast is scored by numerous inlets with small coves and fine sandy beaches, which are among the island’s main attractions. Tourist resorts have been developed along some of these beaches, providing accommodation for thousands of holidaymakers every summer.
Ibiza airport is well served by flights to and from the major cities of Europe and is also well connected by sea to the ports of Denia, Valencia and Barcelona on the Spanish mainland and to Palma Port on Mallorca. Once on the island, cars are the best form of transport to use, though there is a network of public buses. As the night gets going, most activity is concentrated in Ibiza Port, a beautiful setting with the majestic Dalt Vila looking down from on high as people stroll back and forth between the outdoor cafés, fashion boutiques and the handicraft market stalls.
The discos on Ibiza open at midnight. Still in the port, next to Botafoch, are Pacha and El Divino, one of the most exclusive clubs on the island. Amnesia and Privilege are on the road from Ibiza to Sant Antoni. And two of the most famous clubs, Eden and Es Paradís, are to be found in Sant Antoni Bay.
To end—or indeed, perhaps to start—the nightlife on Ibiza continues during the day at Platja d’en Bossa in clubs such as Space, Bora Bora on the beach itself, or at DC10 next to the airport. In this article, we’ve only mentioned the most famous clubs, but Ibiza can offer a lot more.
