Sóller, Deià or Valldemossa?

Same mountains, different sizes

All three sit in the Serra de Tramuntana, the mountain range along Mallorca’s north-west coast that UNESCO listed as a World Heritage cultural landscape in 2011. All three are linked by the Ma-10 mountain road, with Deià in the middle. Beyond that, the most useful thing to know is their size.

Sóller: town life in the mountains

Sóller lies in a bowl of orange and lemon groves, ringed by high peaks. It has a covered market open every morning except Sunday, a Saturday street market, supermarkets, a public health centre and a state secondary school, so day-to-day life rarely needs Palma. Since the end of 2017 the tunnel under the Coll de Sóller has been free to use, which makes the drive to the city about 35 minutes.

The old wooden train to Palma and the tram down to the harbour add charm and visitors in equal measure. From spring to autumn the main square is crowded with day-trippers, but the town is lived in all year. Homes range from old townhouses in the centre to grand early 20th-century houses and country houses in the groves.

Deià: views first, convenience second

Deià is a village of stone houses on a slope facing the sea, made famous by the poet Robert Graves, who settled here in 1929 and is buried in the churchyard on the hill. Writers, painters and musicians followed, and for years about a third of registered residents have been foreign nationals.

Services are thin. There are a couple of food shops, a pharmacy and a state primary school, the local health post opens only on two mornings a week, and urgent care, the covered market and petrol are in Sóller, 15 to 20 minutes away. From spring to autumn the Ma-10 through the village is busy with visitors.

Property is mostly old stone houses and terraced estates, with almost no apartment blocks. In 2022 the council suspended most new building licences, pools included, while it drew up new planning rules, so check carefully what any house allows before you buy.

Valldemossa: closest to Palma, busiest by day

Valldemossa sits about 400 metres up, around the Carthusian monastery where Chopin and George Sand spent part of the winter of 1838 to 1839. It is about half an hour from Palma, with Son Espases hospital and the university on the road down.

That closeness brings visitors. On busy days in the main season, coaches and cars fill the car parks early, and in summer queues of traffic have stretched back along the road from Palma. Early mornings, evenings and winter are much calmer. Catalan is the everyday language of the village, and local families still set the tone.

The old centre is a restricted traffic zone. Residents can apply for a card to drive in, but it does not give them a right to park, so check access and parking for any village house. The basics are close by, with a primary school, a Sunday market and a health unit open on most weekday mornings, while the nearest 24-hour care is in Esporles.

Which one suits you

• Sóller: families, people living here all year, and anyone who wants shops, schools and a beach nearby without driving to Palma.
• Deià: buyers who want character and sea views and accept limited services and a short drive for most errands.
• Valldemossa: people who work in or travel often to Palma and want a mountain village half an hour away, and can live with day-trippers.

Areas in this post

Sóller town · Deià village · Valldemossa village