Valldemossa beyond the day-trippers

Two villages in one

Valldemossa fills a high valley about 400 metres up in the Serra de Tramuntana, roughly 30 minutes’ drive from Palma. Its landmark is the Cartoixa, a royal palace handed to Carthusian monks in 1399, where Chopin and George Sand spent part of the winter of 1838 to 1839. It is one of the most visited villages in Mallorca, and on busy days, above all in the main season, the car parks fill early and coach groups crowd the lanes between them and the monastery.

That is only one side of it. Early mornings, evenings and the winter months are much calmer, and the side streets away from the Cartoixa feel like an ordinary village. About 1,800 people live here. Foreign residents are a minority, and Catalan is the everyday language of the school, the town hall and village life.

The village’s own calendar

Valldemossa keeps its own dates alongside the tourist season. Catalina Thomàs, the island’s most revered saint, was born here in the 1530s, and tiled panels on many houses tell her story. Her festival, the Festa de la Beata, falls around 28 July. Sant Bartomeu follows on 24 August, the Chopin Festival holds concerts at the monastery in August, and a Moors and Christians re-enactment comes each October. A market sets up on Sunday mornings.

Everyday life and its limits

• Shops: a small supermarket, a couple of food shops, bakeries, a pharmacy and two bank branches. There is no large supermarket, so the weekly shop means a drive.
• Schools: a municipal nursery for under-threes and a state infant and primary school. Older pupils take a school bus to the secondary school in Esporles.
• Health: a health unit open on weekday mornings except Wednesday, but no emergency service. The nearest 24-hour care is at the Esporles health centre, and Son Espases hospital is on the road down to Palma.
• Cars: the old centre is a restricted traffic zone open only to permit holders, and parking is scarce, so check access to any house before you buy.
• Buses: TIB line 203 links the village with Palma and, in the other direction, with Deià and Sóller.

Walkers have the GR 221 long-distance trail and the Archduke’s path along the ridge above the village. The sea is about 15 minutes away, down a narrow, winding road to the small shingle beach and harbour of Port de Valldemossa.

Esporles: the practical neighbour

Esporles, about 25 minutes from Palma, is a working village strung along a stream under plane trees, with around 5,300 people in the municipality. It sees far fewer tour groups and has more of what a family needs: state schools up to 18, a health centre with 24-hour urgent care that also serves Valldemossa and Banyalbufar, several supermarkets and a Saturday market on the Passeig del Rei.

Its history is industrial as much as rural, with cotton, wool and paper mills from the 1870s. The Fira Dolça, a sweets fair on the first Sunday of October, is one of the busiest in the Tramuntana. Sa Granja, the historic estate on the road to Banyalbufar, has been sold to private owners, so check whether it is open before you visit. Esporles has no coast, and in dry summers the town hall has restricted using mains water for pools and gardens.

Banyalbufar: quiet by the sea

Banyalbufar, about 40 minutes from Palma on the Ma-10, is the smallest and quietest of the three, with about 570 people in the whole municipality. Its stone houses climb a slope of old farming terraces above the sea, once known for Malvasia wine, which a local cooperative makes again. A steep path and steps lead down to a small pebble cove. The village festivities for the Nativity of the Virgin have just ended on 8 September.

Services are thin. There is a grocery shop, a pharmacy and a Thursday market, but no school beyond a playgroup, and the health post opens only on two mornings a week. The water supply relies on a spring, a well and tanker deliveries, so ask how any house gets its water. Parking is scarce, and holiday lets have grown in number since about 2010.

Which one suits you

Valldemossa suits buyers who put history and mountain walks first and can live with the daytime crowds. Esporles is the easiest for families. Banyalbufar is for those who want sea views and quiet and accept driving for most things. In all three, much of the land is protected and building is tightly limited, so for a country house read our guide to buying a finca.

Areas in this post

Valldemossa village · Esporles village · Banyalbufar village