Things To Do in Illetas

The main road serves up a handful of restaurants, but you’ll find a bigger choice around Playa de Illetas. Here, you can choose from rustic tapas joints and beach bars, or eat on the hotel terraces overlooking the sands. Look out for local specialities like fideua – that’s paella made with noodles. Or to try a bit of everything, just ask for tapas variadas.

Illetas’ rocky shoreline isn’t just dramatic – it also makes for first-class snorkelling. There are some top dive spots on this part of the coast, too, like the wrecks just off Palma harbour. There are a couple of diving centres in Illetas that'll sort you out with kit and lessons, including PADI-approved courses. Golfers, meanwhile, can check out the fancy courses at Bendinat or Son Vida.

It’s not just classical buffs who’ll love this piano festival, which happens 30 minutes away in Valldemossa. It attracts some of the world’s top players and can lay claim to being the world’s first Chopin festival, having started back in 1930. Concerts take place in the grounds of the Carthusian Monastery. And if you come over all inspired, there are short piano courses for beginners.

There are souvenir and craft shops dotted around the village, but the big-name shopping is left to Palma’s Passeig de Born, a tree-lined avenue home to designer boutiques and gift shops. Another must-visit is Avinguda Jaume III, where you’ll find big names like Mango and Massimo Dutti, together with a branch of El Corte Inglés, Spain’s best department store.

There are a couple of bars in Illetas’ main street, but these tend to close early, leaving the village’s nightlife to the hotels. If you’re after a late one, there’s an exclusive nightclub built into the area's natural caves. Or, for more choice, you can always go to Palma, where there’s a lively evening scene around the Paseo Maritimo.

A 15-minute drive away is a museum dedicated to legendary Catalan painter Joan Miró, who spent 30 years in Majorca. There are three buildings – all stunners in themselves – displaying something like 1,500 drawings and 120 paintings, including his oldest surviving oil painting. Outside, there’s a peaceful sculpture garden to explore, too.

Run by two brothers from Bournemouth, this cosy bar has been called ‘the glue that holds the British community together’. It’s certainly a big hit with the ex-pat crowd, who flock here for big sporting events, as well as the odd karaoke night. If nothing else, you’ve got to come down for Friday’s quiz night. You’ll find it opposite Hotel Riu Palace Bonanza Playa.