Sóller

Sóller (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsoʎə]) is a town and municipality near the north west coast of Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. The town is some 3 km inland, from the Port de Sóller, in a large, bowl-shaped valley that also includes the village of Fornalutx and the hamlets of Biniaraix and Binibassi. The combined population is around 14,000. A famous tramway, the Tranvía de Sóller links Sóller to Port de Sóller.

Overview

Sóller is linked by the historic railway, the Ferrocarril de Sóller, and by a highway with a toll tunnel, to the Majorcan capital of Palma. The Ferrocaril was built on the profits from the orange and lemon trade and completed in 1911. The Andratx-Pollença highway also runs through the valley. The present-day economy is based mainly on tourism and the expenditure of foreign residents, complementary to the agricultural economy based around citrus and olive groves.

Main sights

The focus of the town is the Plaça Constitució which is surrounded by cafés and has plane trees and a fountain in its centre. The tram passes through the Plaça on its way to and from the main station which has been restored to incorporate a museum of Picasso and Joan Miró. The church of Sant Bartomeu (Saint Bartholomew) facing the east side of the Plaça is flanked by the ajuntament (town hall) and the Banco de Sóller, a remarkable 1912 Modernista building with defining ironwork, by the Catalan architect Joan Rubió i Bellver, a follower of Antoni Gaudí. The bank's organisation was founded in 1889 with the money of emigrants who returned prosperous to Sóller. On the other hand, the church can clearly be seen standing out from the canopy of the town from other parts of the Vall de Sóller (the surrounding valley). The original building dates from some time before 1236. The current main interior structure is now largely baroque (1688–1733).

Port de Sóller

Port de Sóller (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈpɔrd də ˈsoʎə]) is a village and the port of the town of Sóller, in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Along with the village of Fornalutx and the hamlet of Biniaraix they combine to form Sóller. The combined population is around 12,000. A tramway links the inland town of Sóller to Port de Sóller, running along the beach-side road.

Overview

The resort consists of shops, restaurants and bars but is quiet and away from the major tourist areas such as Magaluf on the south of the island. There are a few large holiday hotels such as Hotel Eden, Hotel Esplendido and Aimia Hotel, located on the road that runs around the bay.

Two lighthouses sit on the headlands on either side of the bay, La Badia de Sóller. Development on the east headland has been prevented by the area being used as a training ground by the Spanish Army.

The beach sand was replaced for the summer of 2009 because, whilst clean, it had become rather muddy and inhospitable.

Palma, Majorca

Palma (/ˈpɑːlmə/ or /ˈpɑːmə/, Catalan: [ˈpalmə], Spanish: [ˈpalma]), in full Palma de Mallorca, is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of the island Majorca on the Bay of Palma. As of the 2009 census, the population of the city of Palma proper was 401,270, and the population of the entire urban area was 621,000, ranking as the twelfth largest urban area of Spain. Almost half of the total population of Majorca live in Palma. The Cabrera Archipelago, though widely separated from Palma proper, is administratively considered part of the municipality. Its airport, Son Sant Joan, serves over 22 million passengers each year. The Marivent Palace was offered by the city to King Felipe VI of Spain. The royals have since spent their summer holidays in Palma.

History

Palma was founded as a Roman camp upon the remains of a Talaiotic settlement. The city was subjected to several Vandal sackings during the fall of the Western Roman Empire, then reconquered by the Byzantine Empire, then colonised by the Moors (who called it Medina Mayurqa) and, in the 13th century, by James I of Aragon.