Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

New horizons

It’s time to rethink our image of Mallorca as a package holiday destination for the bucket-and-spade brigade. A wide range of activities, sports, courses and tailor-made tours are tempting a whole new class of visitors to discover this fascinating island

There’s a quiet revolution happening in Mallorca. The island beloved for its golden beaches and shimmering azure seas is turning a sandy back on its old image as the hot haven for sun worshippers in order to unveil new and inspiring attractions. Quite suddenly, without fanfare, an exciting array of creative courses and specialist activities to suit all tastes and budgets are popping up island-wide, offering so much more than the tired sand-and-sea holiday experience.

Gourmet delights

In Palma, the island’s cosmopolitan capital with its sleek, fashionable restaurants and historic old city, try Fosh Food (Calle Blanquerna 6, tel. ). This new culinary emporium and café was created by Michelin star-winning chef Marc Fosh, and it provides group and private cookery courses in three languages, which include food and wine sampling from a modest €45 per person.

For dedicated imbibers, famed British sommelier Carol Forrest accompanies small groups from central Palma to the heartland of Mallorca’s wine industry in Binissalem and Santa Maria, visiting local bodegas and fragrant vineyards (www.majorcawinetour.com, tel. ).

Meanwhile, gourmet food and wine routes across the island have been thoughtfully devised by the local government for discerning visitors (illesbalearsqualitat.es). These gastro-maps indicate which food producers carry out guided tours of their premises and manufacturing processes. Featured products include cheese, olive oil, ensaïmadas – the famed Mallorcan snail-shaped pastry – and the paprika and herb-infused cured sobrasada sausage, a local delicacy. For example, in the pretty north-west village of Biniaraix, Ca’n Det, a family olive-pressing business – which has kept the tradition alive for 300 years– takes guests on a complimentary guided tour of its presses and shows them a film.

The great outdoors

If you’re more of a thrill seeker than a food lover, a stint at the controls of a helicopter with experienced training company Sloane Helicopters (sloanemallorca.com, tel. ), or canyoning down some of Mallorca’s fast flowing rivers will guarantee an adrenalin rush. Specialist tour operator Balearic Discovery organises everything from sea kayaking, windsurfing and climbing to caving and cycling courses (balearicdiscovery.com, tel. ), and it always uses professional and skilled instructors.

For those who prefer an aerial perspective, brothers Jordi and Ricardo Aracil arrange stunning hot-air balloon excursions, often with breathtaking views as far away as neighbouring island Menorca. Participants are invited to assist with every aspect of preparation before lift-off (mallorcaballoons.com, tel. ).

At Cala Mayor, the national sailing school (Escuela Nacional de Vela Calanova) runs excellent sailing courses for all levels, including children, in Palma Bay and along the south coast (tel. ). For daredevils, sub-aqua diving near Dragonera Island, off San Telmo, and scuba courses can be organised easily enough through Scuba Activa (scuba-activa.com, tel. ).

There are less frenetic sports available as well. Golfers, in particular, will find Mallorca to be a dream destination, with 18 superb courses to choose from. Golf pro Michel Monnard offers tuition and courses for both the uninitiated and the experienced (majorcagolf.com, tel. ).

Given that Mallorca is home to tennis ace Rafael Nadal, it’s not surprising that a multitude of residential tennis courses have arisen on the island.

The most well-established are on the south-west coast near Andratx, Camp de Mar and Peguera.

Horse riding has also grown in popularity. Long-established Rancho Grande (ranchograndemallorca.com), in the village of Son Serra de Marina in the north-east – between Arta and Can Picafort – holds courses for the complete beginner as well as the seasoned rider. Two-day riding tours take participants through lush mountain valleys with almond and olive groves – a million miles from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Chic retreats

Increasingly, visitors to Mallorca are seeking to stay at exclusive retreats that offer a life-changing experience as much as a relaxing holiday. There are a wide range of residential courses on offer in exotic locations, either by the sea or tucked away in the island’s verdant forests or mountainous region.

La Serranía in Pollensa (laserrania. com, tel. ) offers yoga, t’ai chi chu’an, painting and creative writing courses. Bloom, a seven-day women’s leadership and creative fulfillment course, is run by British author and entrepreneur Lynne Franks at her beautiful, tranquil estate in Deià in the north-west (lynnefranks.com). The Ashram, at rural Can Coll, is situated in the idyllic Soller Valley. Built on Hindu principles, it offers yoga, hiking and spa treatments. But beware: it’s not cheap. For those who want to truly retreat from the real world, seven monasteries have opened their doors. Visitors stay in clean, simple accommodation in quiet and contemplative rural areas, such as the 700-year-old Lluc Monastery in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains (tel. ). In Deià, the Archaeological Museum and Research Centre has been running various long-term research projects through the environmental charity Earthwatch, and welcomes volunteers on its residential courses (earthwatch.org).

Nature’s best

Far up on the island’s north-west coast is the wild natural park of S’Albufera, whose 2,200 hectares of freshwater marsh are home to many species of wildlife and indigenous birds. For bird lovers hopeful of glimpsing the Balearic warbler, Audouin’s gull, black vulture or red kite, there’s no better place to go, and week-long specialist holidays with guides are available (naturetrek.co.uk).

Beyond the island’s sun kissed coastlines, there’s a richness of landscape, captivating in its diversity. Walking and hiking through the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range – which forms an 85km-long ridge to the north – reveals a Garden of Eden with deep gorges, hidden valleys and orchards overflowing with lemons, oranges, figs and olives. Inland, hearty walks zigzag through the central plains of Es Pla, where windmills, rustic farms and sleepy villages nestle in deep meadows. Experienced hiking and walking guides can be found in every town, and specialist tour operators offer tailor-made holidays (www.mallorcahiking.com).

Culture vultures

For those who’ve set their sights on cultural and intellectual pursuits, in Palma there are intensive courses in Castilian Spanish, the local Catalan dialect, and also French. Art gallery, museum and historic-city tours are offered in Palma (Palma tourist office tel. ). Es Baluard (www.esbaluard.org), the striking museum of modern art overlooking the Bay of Palma, updates its exhibitions regularly and provides art classes for visitors.

For those of a musical persuasion, weekend courses in Gamelan playing, the traditional music of Indonesia which is played in a group or ‘orchestra’, can be discovered at Llubí in the interior of the island (www.balearicdiscovery.com).

Never before has Mallorca had so much to offer the visitor as it forges a dynamic path away from the stereotypical holiday experience in favour of new and vibrant pursuits. It will continue to have a place as one of the leading sunshine resorts in Europe, attracting thousands each year to relax on the beaches and swim in its warm, clear waters. What has changed, though, is that it has shown itself to be a sophisticated destination, able to diversify and satisfy the interests and tastes of many a discerning traveller. Mallorca has come of age.

Where to stay

• Deià
  Cas Xorc (www.casxorc.com)
• Palma
  Puro Hotel (www.purohotel.com)
• Pollensa Son
  Brull Hotel (www.sonbrull.com)
• Santa Maria
  Read’s Hotel (www.readshotel.com)
• Soller Port
  Aimia Hotel (www.aimiahotel.com)

General Information

www.infomallorca.net
www.illesbalears.es
Tourist enquiries in Mallorca, tel.

Where to eat

• Palma
  Ummo (Calle Magin 66, tel. ), fresh market produce. Fabrica 23 (Calle Fabric 23, tel. ), modern Mediterranean. Ublo (Plaza Progreso 23, tel. ), fish specialities. Simbal (Calle Jaume Ferrer 14, tel. )
• Pollensa
  Ca’n Cuarassa (Crta Puerto Pollensa, tel. ), superb views across the bay. Typical Mallorcan fare.
• Soller
  Balitx d’Avall (en route to Cala Tuent, tel. ), mountain lodge serving fresh lamb and pork dishes. Restaurant Agapanto (Port of Soller, tel. , agapanto.com)
• Deià
  Restaurant Sebastian (Felip Bauzà 2, tel. )
• Cala Ratjada
  Ses Rotges (Carrer Rafael Blanes 21, tel. , sesrotges.com)

Nouveaux horizons

Appréciée par-dessus tout pour ses plages dorées et ses eaux couleur azur, Majorque offre toutefois bien d’autres aspects qui dépassent cette vision. Les amateurs de bonne cuisine, par exemple, pourront suivre un cours ou entreprendre un tour gastronomique chez les meilleurs producteurs. Le long du parcours, ils dégusteront des fromages du cru, des saucisses et des pâtisseries. Des guides spécialisés en œnologie organisent également des circuits des vignobles et des maisons viticoles de Majorque.

Ceux qui préfèrent les sensations fortes pourront se lancer dans des activités diverses : du kayak au canyoning en passant par des vols en ballon ou en hélicoptère. Du côté des sports aquatiques, on recense aussi des stages de voile et de plongée sous-marine. De retour sur terre, partez en randonnée à cheval, améliorez votre pratique du golf ou encore travaillez votre revers.

Bien entendu, il existe des alternatives plus reposantes. Des endroits exclusifs, retirés dans les forêts verdoyantes des îles, dans les montagnes ou le long de la côte, offrent tout ce que l’on peut imaginer, depuis des cours de yoga jusqu’à des formations de “bien-être créatif”. Et pour le calme absolu, sept monastères accueillent les visiteurs.

Pour les passionnés de faune aviaire, aucun lieu ne surpasse les marais majorquins, où sont proposées des semaines de séjours avec guides. Marche et randonnée à travers les montagnes de la Serra de Tramuntana conduisent à un Jardin d’Eden et les plaines centrales d’Es Pla sont couvertes de moulins à vents et de villages endormis.

Vous avez toujours voulu apprendre une langue ? A vous les cours intensifs d’espagnol ou d’anglais. A Palma, les férus de culture pourront explorer les galeries d’art, les musées et les sites historiques. Et pour ceux qui ont la fibre musicale, il y a même des week-ends de cours de Gamelan. Il y en a vraiment pour tous les goûts.

Nieuwe horizonten

Mallorca is meer dan gouden stranden en een azuurblauwe zee alleen. Lekkerbekken bijvoorbeeld volgen er een kookcursus of maken een gastronomische rondreis langs de beste producenten, om onderweg streekkazen, worsten en pasteien te proeven. Of ze huren een gids in voor een tocht langs Mallorca’s wijndomeinen.

Ook voor sportievelingen biedt Mallorca allerhande activiteiten, van kajak tot canyoning, of van ballonvaren tot helikoptervluchten. Aan de kust organiseert men zeil- en duikinitiaties, in het binnenland kan je paardrijden, werken aan je golfhandicap, of je backhand oefenen.

Rustiger alternatieven vind je in de exclusieve vakantieoorden verstopt in de bergen en bossen of langs de kust. Ze bieden allerhande activiteiten, van yoga tot creatieve workshops. Voor absolute stilte kan je dan weer terecht in een van de zeven kloosters met gastenkamers.

Vogelliefhebbers halen hun hart op in de zoetwatermoerassen, waar begeleide weekreizen worden georganiseerd. Trektochten door de Serra de Tramuntana doen denken aan de tuin van Eden, terwijl de centrale vlakten van Es Pla bezaaid zijn met windmolens en slaperige dorpjes.

Taalliefhebbers schrijven zich in voor een intensieve cursus Spaans of Frans, en voor de cultuurfanaat zijn er de galerieën, musea en historische sites. Is muziek jouw ding? Overweeg dan een weekendcursus gamelan.

Mallorca biedt echt voor elk wat wils.

b.there!

Fly to Palma de Mallorca from just €49,99* one-way, all-in. To book or for more information, visit www.brusselsairlines.com

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