The Pla: buying in Mallorca’s central villages

What the Pla is

The Pla is the low, mostly flat plain in the middle of Mallorca. The 14 municipalities that make up its association of towns, the Mancomunitat del Pla, all lie inland, and none reaches the sea. Dry-farmed cereals, almonds, figs and carobs cover much of the land, with apricots around Porreres, capers in Llubí, melons in Vilafranca and vines around Santa Eugènia, Sencelles and Porreres. Hilltop sanctuaries mark the skyline: Cura on the Puig de Randa, Bonany above Petra, Monti-sion near Porreres.

These are working towns, lived in all year. Most have a state primary school and a public health unit, and many residents commute to Palma. After shrinking for much of the 20th century, every one of them has grown again in recent decades.

Six towns at a glance

Markets, fairs and the year

From Monday to Saturday there is a market somewhere in the Pla. Sineu’s Wednesday market is the best known, with roots in a royal privilege of 1306, and it still has a livestock section. Its big fair, Sa Fira, falls on the first Sunday of May, with pens of native breeds and farm machinery.

The calendar is full. Bonfires for Sant Antoni light up January, several towns walk up to their sanctuaries for a picnic on the Tuesday after Easter, and the Cossiers, troupes of traditional dancers with a lady and a devil, still dance in Algaida and Montuïri. Autumn brings the fairs of Algaida and Porreres.

Village houses and fincas

Most towns grew around an old centre of terraced village houses, built wall to wall along the street. In Petra they are typically a ground floor plus one storey, with stone walls, a round-arched door, timber beams and often a yard behind. Petra’s grid of streets was laid out around 1300, and Montuïri keeps its medieval layout along a ridge. Newer detached houses, some with pools, stand towards the edges of town, and old windmill towers have been turned into homes in several villages.

Out in the fields there are fincas, farmhouses and old estates, known as possessions, many now run as rural hotels. They give space and quiet, but you will drive for everything, and they stand on rustic land where building rules are strict.

Planning: the checks that matter

• Protected centres: the old centres of Sineu and Petra are protected historic ensembles. Until a town’s special protection plan has final approval, works there also need sign-off from the Consell de Mallorca’s heritage department, which takes longer.
• New general plans: Montuïri’s new plan was given initial approval in July 2025 and Lloret de Vistalegre’s in January 2026, and both towns suspended licences where the new rules change what is allowed.
• Old rules: Sencelles still works with planning rules from 1995, and the town hall has drawn up a heritage catalogue covering the centre, Biniali and the hamlets.
• Rustic land: have a lawyer confirm that every building and extension is legal and registered.

Getting about

A car makes life much easier. The Ma-15 dual carriageway runs from Palma past Algaida, Montuïri and Vilafranca to Manacor, and the Ma-13 motorway serves the north of the plain from Inca. Sineu and Petra have stations on the Palma to Manacor train line, about 50 minutes and an hour from Palma. TIB buses link Porreres, Montuïri and Algaida with Palma, and line 304 serves Sencelles. The public hospitals are in Inca, Manacor and Palma, 10 to 30 minutes away depending on the town.

The nearest beaches are 20 to 35 minutes away: the Bay of Alcúdia from the north, Es Trenc from Porreres and Montuïri, the Bay of Palma from Algaida. For buyers who want the sea most days, that is the trade-off. For those who want a real village and the whole island within reach, it is the point. Our guide to buying a finca covers the country-house side in more depth.

Areas in this post

Central: Pla · Sineu · Petra · Porreres · Algaida town · Montuïri