Visit a Garden

Photo by Kevin Eaves – stock.adobe.com

A visit to a public garden provides shady places to sit and enjoy Mediterranean trees and plants. Here are four to enjoy this summer.

The Jardines de Alfabia in the municipality of Bunyola are part of an estate that also includes a house and an orchard. Highlights of the tranquil gardens include a pergola with cooling water jets, a lake with water lilies, and an al fresco café where you can sit in the shade of the towering palm trees sipping a freshly squeezed citrus juice. Jardines de Alfabia are open daily, but check the website for opening times as these may vary.

Finca Raixa is an historic Islamic farmhouse – or ‘possessió’ – quite close to Alfabia. Its gardens include a monumental staircase, large pond, pavilion, chapel, and shrine. The beautiful estate offers some great views and is a member of the European Network of Historic Gardens. It’s open from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10:00h until 15:00h.

Keen gardeners should enjoy the Jardí Botanic de Sóller, the botanical gardens where you’ll find an interesting collection of plant species from the Balearics, Canaries, Madeira, and other Mediterranean islands. The gardens are located on the main road from Sóller to Port de Sóller and are open from Monday to Saturday. The shop includes some interesting garden-and-nature-related books in different languages.

The Palace of Marivent is the Spanish royal family’s summer residence, and its gardens are open to the public free of charge until 14th of July, when the family is residence, reopening in mid-September