Has the return to normality and the every-day routine been too hard, once again? Doesn’t matter! Just look forward. For now, in the calendar. And it is that Mallorca and Menorca offer us numerous possibilities of leisure and culture throughout the year. We propose substantial plans to spend long weekends in Fall in the Balearic Islands. This is how appetizing Menorca can be in October and Mallorca in November.
Menorca on the long weekend of “Pilar”
Three days in Menorca give a lot. And the autumnal advantages are important: fewer people, better prices and mild temperatures. Perfect for a leisurely stroll; to travel a part of the 185 kilometres of the coastal path par excellence of the island, the Camí del Cavalls; or visit the numerous sites of the Talayotic culture; perhaps to visit the Minorcan lung, the Natural Park of S’albufera des Grau.
Before or after the walk, it is necessary to eat some of the autumnal delicacies of the island: the “esclata-sangs” (or “rovellones”, a type of mushroom), typically Menorcan; rice or pork loin “amb cames seques” (more mushrooms, in this case chanterelles); and, of course, classics such as Mahón cheese, sobrasada, caldereta or carquinyols. Two restaurants to eat great local products with unrivalled views are Faro d’Artrutx, located next to the lighthouse of the same name and with spectacular sunsets, and Binimel.lá, on the virgin beach of the same name, next to Cala Pregonda and Cala Marts, standing out for its lobster stew.
If we bet on the cultural plans to spend the long weekends in Fall in the Balearic Islands, it is a must to visit the Main Theatre of Mahón, the oldest opera theatre in Spain, with music and theatre programming throughout the whole year. Or the Casino 17 de Gener, in Ciudadela. The island also offers museums such as Sa Nostra, Claustre del Carme, Center de Gravat Internacional Xalubina or Espacio Creativo Creae.
Mallorca on the long weekend of All Saints
The first substantial difference regarding the Mallorcan summer is the concentration of tourists. November allows us to enjoy a much more relaxed island, which is not boring, as it is full of activities.
We can start with the numerous markets that sprout like mushrooms throughout the island, especially on weekends. To highlight the Inca (food, clothing and footwear), Palmanyola in Bunyola (food, clothing and flowers), the one in Campos (fruit and vegetables) and, above all, the one taking place in Consell, with more than 300 stalls full of second-hand items, Mallorcan crafts and antiques.
Now it is time to eat, which we are always more lazy for summer. How about a “coca” or a “coca de cuart” accompanied by a good chocolate in an 18th century café? Do not hesitate and visit Ca’n Joan de S’aigo, in Palma. Or maybe a coca de patata in Ca’n Molinas, Valldemosa. If you are more of a “Lunch” type of person, we suggest a visit to the ruins of the Castell d’Alaró (very close to two places worth visiting: Alaró and Orient) topped with a spectacular roast lamb in the Es Verger restaurant.
Another plan for these long weekends in Fall in the Balearic Islands – perfect for the whole family – is to visit the Mallorca Planetarium to contemplate the spectacular nights of autumn and winter stars of the island. It is located in the town of Costitx and opens on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 pm. From the stars … to the deep sea: a must visit to the Palma Aquarium, with a shark tank that is the deepest one in the whole of Europe: the “Big Blue”.
It is also an exceptional time to enjoy art. For example, outdoors. Every year, for seven months, the promenade of Cala Rajada becomes an open-air museum of large-scale sculptures. In 2018 it is the turn of Vicente Barón and his “Passeig del Transeünt”. Although undoubtedly, the great artistic event of 2018 in Mallorca is the arrival on the island of the exhibition “Miró, “esperit salvatge” at the Miró de Palma Foundation after passing through Seoul, Bologna and Turin. Also in Palma, in the Krekovic Museum, and until December 15th, the legacy of the photographer of the Mallorcan tourist boom and pioneer of aerial photography Josep Planas i Montanyà is exposed.
Art, nature, culture, free air and gastronomy, maximizing the long weekends in Fall in the Balearic Islands. Another different and more relaxed way of discovering the multiple charms the islands of Mallorca and Menorca have to offer.
