House / Gardens Sights in Mallorca

This country house, just west of Esporles, is on a site known since Roman times for its natural spring. Since 1447 it has been a private house owned by various noble families; most of what you see today dates from the 17th century.

A royal palace has stood on this site next to Palma's cathedral since the Muslim walis (governors) built their alcazar soon after the Arab conquest.

The monastery in Miramar can be found close to Valldemossa on the road to Deia. It was founded by King Jaume II in 1276 as a missionary school following a request by Ramon Llull (a 13th-century theologian and philosopher).

Sóller is a botanist’s and enthusiast’s paradise. The Botanical garden is found in a country estate known as “Camp d’En Prohom”, on the outskirts of Sóller. Its primary purpose is to preserve rare or endangered species of the Balearics, and is the result of many years of study and hard work, and now hosts one of Spain’s most extensive wild flora seed banks.

The Bartolome March Foundation have opened this wonderful house to the public, visits are by reservation only and consist of a guided tour.

Botanicactus is one of Europe's largest botanical gardens, with bamboo and palm trees and dozens of varieties of cactus.

Jørn Utzon was a Danish architect who designed the iconic Sydney Opera House. He retired to Mallorca in the 1970's and built his house, Can Lis on the cliffs by Portopetro in the south east of Mallorca.

Els Calderers is a manor house situated between Vilafranca and Sant Joan. The house was once at the centre of a large wine estate but like so many others in Mallorca, it fell victim to the phylloxera disease. Reopened in 1993, the 18th-century house is now a museum of Mallorcan furniture and traditions. Set in beautiful countryside, this is a lovely place to spend a few hours.

These classical gardens by the entrance to the Soller tunnel are a legacy of the Arab talent for landscaping and irrigation. Their name derives from al fabi, 'jar of olives' in Arabic. They were probably designed by Benihabet, the Muslim governor of Inca who converted to Christianity following the Spanish invasion.

Raixa is a marvellous country mansion with gardens, parts of which date back to the 13th century. The house has passed through several noble families through the centuries, and was transformed to its present Italian style villa in the 18th century.

Of all the famous foreigners attracted to Mallorca's northwest coast, none is so admired locally as 'S'Arxiduc', Archduke Ludwig Salvador. Born in 1847 in the Pitti Palace, Florence, the son of Leopold III of Tuscany and Marie Antoinette de Bourbon, he came to Mallorca 20 years later to escape from Viennese court life and immediately fell in love with the island.

These 10th-century baths are virtually all that remain of the Arab city of Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma).