DISTANCE: 54km (33 miles)
TIME: 1 day
START: Valldemossa
END: Lluc
POINTS TO NOTE: This stretch of coast is far from undiscovered these days – come high season the tour buses and rental cars can be bumper to bumper. To avoid the crush, come in early spring or late autumn, or midweek rather than at the weekend. There are numerous places to eat en route, as well as a handful of places to stay, ranging from the luxurious to inexpensive pensions and basic rooms at the Lluc monastery.
Individual experiences can be so different. Sand’s winter in the monastery in Valldemossa in 1838 was so miserable she was compelled to vent her unhappiness in a book entitled A Winter in Mallorca. Robert Graves had far happier experiences, pitching up in neighbouring Deià in 1929, where he stayed for the rest of his life. Indeed it is largely thanks to Graves that the little village became such a magnet for writers, artists and celebrities.
Valldemossa
Greg Gladman/Apa Publications
The truth is, Valldemossa 1 [map] isn’t as charming as it once was. Though still pretty enough, hordes of day-trippers from Palma have turned it into something of a theme park, albeit a fairly classy one. The main draw is the Carthusian monastery, La Reial Cartoixa A [map] (www.cartujadevalldemossa.com; Apr–Sept Mon–Sat 9.30am–7pm, Mar and Oct until 6pm, Feb and Nov until 5.30pm, Dec and Jan until 3.30pm, Sun Feb–Nov 10am–1pm), where Frédéric Chopin and George Sand occupied two of the cells after the monks had been expelled in 1835. At least that is what was believed until a story broke in 2010 speculating that the cells purporting to be theirs were not, and the piano played during today’s Chopin-themed concerts wasn’t his either. What is certain is that Chopin and Sand stayed and worked somewhere within the confines of the monastery, and the Chopin concerts are worth attending regardless of whose piano it is.
La Reial Cartoixa
Greg Gladman/Apa Publications
Apart from said cells, there is an atmospheric pharmacy stocked with beautiful 18th-century ceramic jars, great views from the monks’ gardens, and the neighbouring Palau de Rei Sanxo B [map] and municipal museum (closes 15 minutes later than the monastery). The latter has a small but excellent modern art collection, including works by Francis Bacon and Max Ernst.
It won’t take you long to get around either of these, so stroll through the narrow, smooth-stoned streets around flower-decked Plaça de Santa Catalina Tomàs C [map]. The square is named after Mallorca’s very own saint, who was born here in 1531; there are two shrines to her in the town, and nearly every house has a tiled picture of her on the wall. Stop for a coffee and the local speciality, coca de patata (sugar-dusted potato buns) in Plaça Ramón Llull D [map] before heading on your way.
Deià
Greg Gladman/Apa Publications
Valldemossa to Deià
Leave town on the Avinguda Arxi duc Lluís Salvador in the direction of Sóller. When you get to the end of an avenue of plane trees the road curves sharply left for Deià, and with the first right you can head to the dinky Port de Valldemossa, a steep drive full of switchbacks and hairpin bends. The coastal Ma-10 is breathtaking, offering endless sea views to the left, and groves of ancient, gnarled olive trees among huge boulders to the right.
Sunset from Son Marroig
Greg Gladman/Apa Publications
Son Marroig
En route to Deià you will pass Son Marroig 2 [map] (www.sonmarroig.com; Mon–Sat Apr–Sept 9.30am–7pm, Oct–Mar 10am–6pm), one of the island’s great stately homes (possessió). It was once owned by Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Habsburg-Lorraine and Bourbon, who installed in the garden a small marble temple from which to gaze on the rock of Na Foradada, carved by nature with a keyhole-shaped window.
The Sa Foradada, see 1, nearby is a good lunch stop, with great views and tasty homemade food.
Robert Graves’ headstone
Greg Gladman/Apa Publications
The Graves legacy
Deià 3 [map] is set against the steep, rocky slopes of Puig Es Teix and is relatively lively for its size. There is little of note in the pretty, golden-stone village save for the Església de Sant Joan Bautista and its cemetery, the final resting place of Mallorca’s most famous adopted son. The small flat stone says simply: ‘Robert Graves, Poeta, 1895–1985’.
Graves acted as a magnet for would-be painters and writers (as well as established writers such as Anaïs Nin and the young Gabriel García Márquez, and Hollywood stars like Ava Gardner). Long after he died, the glitterati kept coming. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Pierce Brosnan all have houses nearby.
Graves penned many of his great works here, including I, Claudius, and in the 1960s, together with his friend, American painter and archaeologist William Waldren, he set up the Deià Archaeology Museum and Research Center (Tue, Thu, Sun 5–7pm; otherwise by appointment tel: 699 957 902).
La Casa de Robert Graves 4 [map] (Carretera Deià–Sóller s/n; www.lacasaderobertgraves.com; Apr–Oct Mon–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat 10am–3pm, Nov–Mar Mon–Fri 9am–4pm, Sat 9am–2pm, Dec–mid Jan Mon–Fri 10.30am–1.30pm) is as it was when he died, and it’s worth seeing the short film made by the BBC about his life then strolling through the gardens, soaking up the tranquillity and landscape that inspired him.
For something special, it is worth the vertiginous drive down to the Cala Deià to eat at one of the best little fish shacks in Spain, Ca’s Patro March, see 2.
Nostra Senyora de Lluc monastery
Greg Gladman/Apa Publications
Monestir de Nostra Senyora de Lluc
Lluc is the religious centre of Mallorca and home of the island’s patron saint. The monastery of Nostra Senyora de Lluc 5 [map] (www.lluc.net; daily 10am–5pm, museum Sun–Fri 10am–2pm) is a massive site, and a destination for tens of thousands of pilgrims. But it is of interest to visitors of every creed, for its history, for the architectural interventions of Antoni Gaudí who renovated the basilica, and for its boys’ choir – the Escalonia de Lluc. Clad in blue cassocks, they are considered one of the best choirs in Spain and perform renditions of the ‘salvo’ – a chant intended to protect the island from harm (Mon–Fri 12.30pm, 7.30pm, Sat 11.30am and 7.30pm, Sun 11am, 12.30pm and 5pm in summer, and 7pm in winter).
The monastery was founded in the 13th century when a shepherd found a statue of the black virgin – La Moreneta – in woods nearby. According to lore she had a propensity for disappearing and reappearing again in the same spot she was originally found. After this happened several times she was given a chapel of her own, the Basílica de la Mare de Déu de Lluc.
Ramon Llull’s school
Llull believed that the monastery was situated on a sacred site and that the magnetic properties of the earth were particularly strong here, making it an excellent place for study. He dabbled in all sorts of esoteric practices, but believed strongly in education for the masses. The boarding school that was later established on the site is still considered to offer one of the best educations in Spain.
Food and Drink
1 Sa Foradada
Crta. Valldemosa Deiá Km 6, Deià [map]; tel: 616 087 499; http://saforadada.com; L and D Apr–Oct only; €€€
Perched precariously on the cliffs, wind-buffeted and wild, this rustic restaurant is an excellent place to drink it all in comfort. The food is simple and cooked over the wood fire; just fine for a quick refuel or a cup of coffee. The paella is especially popular.
2 Ca’s Patro March
Cala Deià s/n, Deià [map]; tel: 971 639 137; L; €€€
Cut into the cliffs on a small pebble beach, with driftwood balconies, few places are more romantic. But the attention to spanking fresh seafood is such that it got the attention of Heston Blumenthal, who declared its Sóller prawns the best he’d ever had. Reservations essential.