Things to do in Deià

Deià is a small village of stone houses and tiled roofs stepped above a stream, among terraced olive groves with Es Teix behind it. For more than a century it has drawn writers and painters: the best known, Robert Graves, lived here, and his house, Ca n'Alluny, can be visited just as he left it. He's buried in the small cemetery by the church at the top of the village, which looks down the valley to the sea.

Below, a path through the olives leads down to Cala Deià, a pebble cove with very clean water and two fish shacks. Towards Valldemossa, Son Marroig was one of Archduke Ludwig Salvator's houses, and its viewpoint looks out over Sa Foradada, the peninsula with a hole through it, which you can walk down to. Walkers come for the Camí de s'Arxiduc, which runs along the ridges from Valldemossa, and for the coastal path towards Sóller. For a coffee, Sa Fonda on the main street is the village bar.

Getting there

From Palma it's about 40 minutes by car via Valldemossa; from Sóller, around 20. TIB buses leave Palma's Estació Intermodal and stop in Deià on their way to Sóller, and in summer they're very full. Parking in the village is difficult, and the car park at Cala Deià is small and fills early: it's better to walk down from the village.

When to go

Spring and autumn, for walking among the olives with the sea still mild. In summer, come first thing or late in the day, as there's nowhere to park at midday. In winter the village is very quiet and several restaurants and beach bars, such as the one at Sa Foradada, close.