Theme Week Balearic Islands – Majorca

Saturday, 23 July 2011 - 03:48 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  5 minutes

Building of the Consell Insular - Palma de Mallorca © Olaf Tausch

Building of the Consell Insular – Palma de Mallorca © Olaf Tausch

Majorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands. It is the largest by area and second most populated island of Spain (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands). The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca (in the municipality of Palma). Like the other Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera and Minorca, the island is a highly popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Scandinavian countries.

Majorca’s own language is Catalan. The two official languages of Majorca are Catalan and Spanish. The local dialect of Catalan is Mallorquí, even though the dialects are slightly different in most villages. Typically, young Majorcans are bilingual in Catalan and Spanish, with some knowledge of English and German. Since the 1950s Majorca has become a major tourist destination, and the tourism business has become the main source of revenue for the island. In 2001, the island received millions of tourists, and the boom in the tourism industry has provided significant growth in the economy of the country. More than half of the population works in the tourist sector, which accounts for approximately 80% of Majorca’s GDP.

Typical coastal scenery of Mallorca - Cala de Mallorca © Ggoere Santuario de Lluc © Pr Puig de Randa-Algaida © Manfred Boelke Port de Soller © Adrian Pingstone Palma de Mallorca © ILA-boy Museu d'Història de Manacor © Olaf Tausch Panorama Cap Formentor © Nize Mallorca topo © Zamonin Ferrocarril de Sóller in Sóller © Sethaphopes Coves d'Artà-Capdepera © Olaf Tausch Caves of Portals Vells © Rafael Ortega Díaz Can Picafort Beach © Li-sung Cala-Fornells © Günter Wieschendahl Cala Gat Beach - Cala Rajada © WALLI1912 Cala Figuera © Hendrik Staender Antic Theatre in Pollentia © Olaf Tausch Typical scenery of Majorca - La Serra d'Alfàbia © Pau Cabot Building of the Consell Insular - Palma de Mallorca © Olaf Tausch
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Building of the Consell Insular - Palma de Mallorca © Olaf Tausch
There are over 2,400 restaurants on the island of Majorca according to the Majorcan Tourist Board, ranging from small bars to full restaurants. Despite Majorca’s location in the Mediterranean, seafood is often imported. Olives and almonds are typical of the Majorcan diet. The island now has over 4 million almond and olive trees. Among the food items that are Majorcan are sobrassada, arros brut (saffron rice cooked with chicken, pork and vegetables), and the sweet pastry ensaïmada.

Majorca has two mountainous regions each about 70 km in length. These occupy the north-western (Serra de Tramuntana or Tramuntana range) and eastern thirds of the island. The highest peak on Majorca is Puig Major (1,445 m) in the Serra de Tramuntana. As this is a military zone, the neighbouring peak at Puig de Massanella is the highest accessible peak (1,364 m). The northeast coast comprises two bays: the Badia de Pollença and the larger Badia d’Alcúdia. The northern coast is rugged and has many cliffs. The central zone extending from Palma is generally flat fertile plain known as Es Pla. The island has a variety of caves both above and below sea-level. Two of the caves above sea-level also contain underground lakes and are open to tours. Both are near the eastern coastal town of Porto Cristo, the Cuevas dels Hams and the Cuevas del Drach. The climate is Mediterranean, with markedly higher precipitation in the Serra de Tramuntana. Summers are hot in the plains and winters mild to cool, getting colder in the Tramuntana range; in this part of the island brief episodes of snow during the winter are not unusual.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Island Administration Majorca, Wikitravel Majorca and Wikipedia Majorca. Learn more about the use of photos . To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organisations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.






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