Read reviews of the best Mallorca events
The Diamond Jubilee celebrations may be over in the UK, but here on Mallorca, we enjoyed a quintessential English garden party at La Residencia Hotel in Deia to mark the British monarch’s 60th year on the throne.
A trip to Deià on the north coast of Majorca is a must for anyone wishing to experience the diversity that this beautiful island has to offer.
Mallorca's local town halls have released dates for some of their traditional fairs, fiestas and festivals for 2016. Most of these local fiestas are agricultural, historical or artisanal in nature and are well worth a visit as a part of your holiday.
Ed Sheeran opened Mallorca Rocks last night in Magaluf with a gig that left everyone smiling and started the summer-long festival in style. With nothing more than a mic, a guitar and a looping pedal he owned the Mallorca Rocks venue taking to the stage on his own and playing his entire set without support.
One of the best times of the year to visit Mallorca is during the month of May. The temperatures start to rise and the lack of tourists means that you can get around without being stuck in traffic jams. More importantly, the month of May is when the little known town of Capdepera in the north east of the island hosts its Medieval ‘Fira’.
This years Sant Sebastia festivities in Palma last Saturday night were much quieter than in previous years as wind and rain put many Mallorquians off coming out to celebrate. However, the rain didn’t last long enough to put out the barbecues on the streets and still crowds were there cooking sausages, toasting bread, and warming up by the foguerons (bonfires).
The mountains that surround the Soller valley met their conqueror 100 years ago. The thinkers of the hidden valley knew that progress was going to be impossible unless they ended Soller's mountain isolation. At the turn of the century Soller was a boom town trading in cotton and oranges and moving these goods other than by sea was, quite simply, impossible. The majestic mountains and, in particular, the Alfabia mountain range prevented passengers and goods being transported to the island’s main port in Palma de Mallorca.
The beginning of October saw the world’s best dressage riders come to Mallorca to deliver a show-stopping performance at Spain’s first 5* dressage tournament and one of the most difficult dressage competitions on the planet.
Although Sant Pere, or Saint Peter, falls on the 29th June, the town of Andratx allocates over a week of festivities to celebrating their patron saint.
This week Rialto Living kicked off its first art exhibition of 2017 with a showing of Adrian Elgie’s ‘Mis Nuevas Vistas - A Bright New Vista’ and I was kindly invited to visit the opening night. Adrian is an English contemporary landscape artist and, having seen some examples of his paintings and read his background of moving to Mallorca from Cambridgeshire (my home county) to rekindle a romance with his former art college sweetheart on the island, I was keen to find out more.
On a summers evening, I headed deep into the depths of Palma’s old town to join in the fun and frolics of the city’s legendary ‘Tapas Tuesday Tour’, known and advertised as Ruta Martiana on the island.
Sometimes on a weekend, it is nice simply to laze around the house, take a leisurely breakfast and flick idly through the newspaper (or your fancy i-Pad if you are The Frenchman). But not so this weekend! For it is the annual Olive Fair, held in Caimari, in the north west of Mallorca. Named as one of the top ten gastronomic festivals in Europe by The Guardian, it is actually one of the autumn fairs on Majorca that you really shouldn't miss.
Valldemossa was packed with visitors on Friday to celebrate 'Artdemossa', its annual evening dedicated to art, music and poetry. The pretty mountain village burst into life with entertainment for all the family; taditional giants and teasing demons, live painting and soulful singing were all essential ingredients of this cultural fair.
On the third Thursday in September, a selection of Palma’s art galleries open their doors to the public free of charge, for the cultural extravaganza that is known as the Nit de l’Art. Organised by Art Palma and the Association of Independent Art Galleries of the Balearics, it is one of the top social gatherings in Palma’s events calendar, and you can pick up flyers for the event in tourist offices and art galleries.
On the evening of Friday the 15th there was a gathering of local artisans showing off their wares in the Joan March gardens in front of the Claustro de Santo Domingo.
‘Sa Rua’ is one of Palma’s biggest spectacles. Each year, dozens of floats and carnival goers covering a range of themes parade through the streets of the city. With 42 themes and 16 floats this year, 2018 was the biggest yet!
Pitched in a large tent on the outskirts of Mallorca’s capital city of Palma, Grup Trui hosted this years Mallorcan take on the German beer festival, the Oktoberfest. Frothy litres of beer and currywurst were served by waiters and waitresses in traditional German dress and a band played classic tunes to entertain the crowds.
The vaults within the medieval wall in front of the Cathedral once stored the city's armaments. Nowadays however, you're more likely to find artists at work.