One day in Majorca - Sunday - tour to Valldemossa or wander about Palma?
Jul 19th, 2011, 01:39 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
One day in Majorca - Sunday - tour to Valldemossa or wander about Palma?
Wondering best way to experience Majorca in very limited time. Half day trip up to Valldmemossa or to stay in Palma and stroll about?
Jul 21st, 2011, 06:55 PM
#2
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Palma is worth a stroll in my opinion if for no other reason than to visit the great cathedral. It's not a very big place, but I found it quite enjoyable. Find a nice restaurant for lunch and a nice cafe for a late afternoon drink and just enjoy yourself. I took some beautiful photos in some of the gardens around the city and even ran across some unusual black swans swimming around. Keep an eye out for the gorgeous interior patios dotted all over Palma. They're not quite like the ones in Andalusia, but beautiful nonetheless. (Disclaimer: I was there in mid-May and before any big tourist crowds, so my perspective may be skewed. Palma could be a mad house in August!)
Jul 21st, 2011, 07:22 PM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,369
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yeah, Parma is fun, not just for the great food but because you can feel like you are in "real Italy" and not "tourist Italy." At least, there were few American tourists there (late September), in part because there aren't a lot of top tourist sites to see, perhaps also because Parma is not an easy stop on the main train line between Venice and Florence (like Bologna is). (There are few hotels in the center of Parma.) Saturday evening, the only night I was there, the town seems to come to life - you see the locals out strolling often walking their dogs or just socializing. Restaurants are packed. Parma is a pretty wealthy town - you'll find a lot of nice shops in the pedestrian-friendly core. But it's not a big town as noted above - a fun place to stroll and people watch.
The food alone is a great excuse to visit Parma, though.
The food alone is a great excuse to visit Parma, though.
Jul 22nd, 2011, 04:35 AM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 684
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You can do both - Valdemossa is not too far from Palma and you would see it in a couple of hours, come back and wander round Palma... by doing the trip you would get a sense of the countryside/inland as well as the city and waterfront. If you have any interest in Chopin, exploring the rooms where he and George Sand stayed in Valdemossa is simply wonderful
Jul 22nd, 2011, 04:41 AM
#8
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 8,247
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Or take the historic train to Sóller and back.
Also a nice little town to take a stroll. Or go further to Port de Sóller by historic tram.
http://www.trendesoller.com/en/cms.php
Also a nice little town to take a stroll. Or go further to Port de Sóller by historic tram.
http://www.trendesoller.com/en/cms.php
Jul 22nd, 2011, 06:01 AM
#9
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,239
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Palma is a nice city to wander around, but Valdemossa is a lot more atmospheric. The monastery that houses the Chopin memorabilia is certainly worth a visit and the town itself is a good place to go, with lots of shops, bars, cafes etc.
Being a lot smaller that Palma, everything is concentrated into a few streets, so it's much quicker to get round with limited time and you'll have seen something of the island on the way up there.
The train up to Soller is also worth a ride, but Soller itself is not as interesting, (railway aside) as Valdemossa.
Being a lot smaller that Palma, everything is concentrated into a few streets, so it's much quicker to get round with limited time and you'll have seen something of the island on the way up there.
The train up to Soller is also worth a ride, but Soller itself is not as interesting, (railway aside) as Valdemossa.
