MAJORCA!
Follow the stars to where it’s happening in the Med and hit the hot spots – day and night – in Palma
BY ALEXANDRA SMITH
The best beach in Europe
The results are in and the best beach in Europe is in – you guessed it – Majorca! Platja S’Amarador (above), on the island’s south-east coast, was named the winner in a recent study by www.Onbeach.com, based on the cleanliness of its sand, the clarity of the water and overall beauty of its setting. With a name that means, appropriately, “the place to soak” in Catalan, the top bathing spot is just 45 minutes from Palma airport.
Annemarie Schouten visited more than 800 beaches around Europe for the survey (how come all the great jobs are already taken?!) and says the crystal clear turquoise waters puts most other beaches in the shade. “I’ve visited hundreds of Caribbean beaches and I still believe that the Mediterranean offers the most beautiful and diverse coastline in the world,” she says.
Check out how other beaches in Europe were rated at www.onbeach.com.
Take the tapas taste test
If you’re in Palma from 8 to12 October, be sure to take part in TAPALMA. Organised by the Restaurant Association of Majorca and more than 40 restaurants in the city, tapas fans can join four different walking routes, taking in the sights of Palma’s Old Town and harbour while enjoying the island’s best tapas along the way.
Each participating restaurant will produce two dishes costing no more than €2 per tapa (plate). Go to local tourist information offices and hotels to pick up maps of the routes and a “Tapassaport” – a booklet that will be stamped at each restaurant visited and enable you to vote for your favourite dish.
If you’re visiting Palma at another time and fancy some great tapas, head to Bar Marítimo, which was voted best tapas producer in 2007. Jardines Santo Domingo de la Calzada, Passeig Marítim, Palma, Tel: +34 971 738 192.
Café society
It’s back! After a three-year break, the El Cielo Café has just reopened in the centre of Palma.
In its former incarnation, this cool bar used to be a popular watering hole for celebrities, including Wimbledon champ Rafael Nadal and Prince Felipe of Spain. No surprise then that its motto is: “No hay cielo sin estrellas” (there’s no sky without stars)! “We will be springing some surprise autumn parties,” says Juanma de la Concepción, the man behind El Cielo, “so visitors to the island can get up close and personal with some of the Balearic’s biggest names in flamenco and jazz.” Open daily from 1.30pm to 2am, C’an Barbará, Palma, tel +34 636 011 644, www.myspace.com/elcielocafe
Getting there
bmibaby flies to Palma from Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands and Manchester from just £34.99 one-way, inc taxes. For more information and flight details, log on to www.bmibaby.com
