The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
‘Plane trees shimmer beneath the fairy lights’
Mallorca may attract most of its visitors at the height of summer – but the island is at its magical best in winter, says James Litston
Winter is a relative concept in Palma de Mallorca. On a December afternoon, the sunshine lends a golden glow to the façade of this historic city’s magnificent cathedral. Above it, the sky is every bit as clear and blue as it would be in high summer. Had I been strolling these 16th-century walls and bastions a few months ago, I would have been among hundreds of tourists. But today it is only locals wearing coats, scarves and puzzled expressions at the sight of me in a pair of shorts. Winter and the perception of it? Relative indeed.
An island firmly associated with sun, sea and sand, Mallorca has been a summertime staple since its tourism boom in the 1960s. While its busy beach resorts remain the island’s biggest draw, there is now a growing appreciation of Mallorca’s off-season appeal – and much of that attention falls on Palma. I have visited the city frequently over the past 20 years, and have watched it evolve from sleepily provincial into a credible city-break favourite filled with history, shopping, culture, art and boutique hotels in heritage buildings.
Though Palma appeals year-round, wintertime visits are particularly special. They are also in greater demand. According to the Fomento del Turismo, the island’s tourism board, there are 13 per cent more flights operating over the winter this year than last, while 85 per cent of Palma’s hotels – more than ever before – are staying open through the season.
Among those welcoming winter guests is Calatrava Hotel: a well-established townhouse retreat atop the city walls. Its lovely rooftop terrace seemed a perfect place to end my walk. There, I met Maria Martinez, the hotel’s sales director, who joined me for a coffee with a panoramic view that takes in Palma Bay, the cathedral and the foothills of the Tramuntana mountains.
“All four of our city hotels are staying open this season,” she tells me, “and at keener rates than in summer. Besides being cheaper, our winters are gentle and generally sunny, so the weather is perfect for sightseeing. There are festivals and markets in the villages, in towns and here in Palma; and without summer’s crowds, the island feels its most authentic. For me, it’s the best time to visit.”
There is a similarly positive air across town at Nobis Hotel Palma, which opened in November in a former Moorish palace. As one of Palma’s oldest buildings, it is packed with sweeping arches and has weathered earthquakes, fires and more than 1,000 years of renovations. Perhaps its best asset is the bar, which wouldn’t look out of place in any European capital. Despite a 30ft-high ceiling, it is surprisingly cosy and is already popular for post-work cocktails when evening temperatures discourage al fresco gatherings.
Equally ideal for chillier days is Hammam al Andalus, an authentic Moroccan-style spa and bathhouse just outside the old town( palm a. ham ma ma land al us. com). With steamy pools and a sauna in a marble-lined, mostly candlelit space, it is perfect for occasions when the sunshine doesn’t show. I easily lost an hour there before being massaged on a marble slab, after which I returned to the old town to visit the original (and remarkably intact) Arab Baths, which date from as far back as the 10th-century Islamic occupation.
Elsewhere, I popped into chapels and churches decorated in varying degrees of opulence before stumbling upon more contemporary charm in boutiques such as Arquinesia (arquinesia.com), whose fragrances (all locally inspired and produced) are displayed with museum-style reverence. The shop is discreetly hidden away behind the central avenue of Passeig des Born, whose stately plane trees shimmer right now beneath thousands of festive fairy lights.
But beyond lending itself to shopping and sightseeing, winter in Mallorca is a time for heading outdoors. In particular, the absence of searing summer heat sees the Tramuntana mountains come into their own. From Palma, I took the historic, wood-panelled train out of the city and on through orchards of almond and olive towards the peaks. The hourlong journey ascended through tunnels and mountain passes to cross the massif, whereupon we swept down into the elegant town of Sóller.
From Sóller’s station, it is a two-minute walk to Meem Townhouse: one of just 10 per cent of hotels outside Palma operating this winter. “Only two properties are open in Sóller,” explains owner Jessica Bosch as she showed me to my room: a gorgeous, white, designfriendly space that is almost Cycladic in its simplicity. “Tourism here has always been seasonal, and attitudes change slowly, but gradually more businesses are extending operations to accommodate winter cyclists and hikers.”
One thing in Jessica’s favour is that Meem Townhouse is a slick operation requiring no more than a skeleton staff to keep things running smoothly. After a breakfast that included orange juice and avocados grown in Sóller, I chat with Eduard Casajuana, a local hiking guide, as we walk from Sóller to Deià along the GR221: a long-distance footpath more romantically known as the Dry-Stone Way.
Polished from centuries of use, the route’s cobblestones speak of their antiquity. “This cami de ferradura [mule trail] dates from the Arab times,” Eduard informs me as we walk through scrub and pine forest flush with new-season growth. “Such routes were Mallorca’s main thoroughfares until the roads came in the mid-1800s.”
The road through this stretch of mountains makes point-to-point walks possible thanks to reliable buses that connect the various villages. Without the need to walk back, we take our time along the trail, pausing to admire sea views and watch farmers shaking their olive trees’ branches to harvest this year’s crop.
Before reaching Deià, we detour to visit the hamlet of Llucalcari, then continue along a coast path that Eduard reckons is Mallorca’s prettiest. The route leads to Cala Deià, where my favourite chiringuito (beach bar) – now closed for the season – perches on a cliff above the cove. Winter visits, alas, do not suit seaside snacks or refreshing swims. But that’s OK, I think to myself. For that, I’ll just come back in summer.