In Mallorca, apart from the products one would usually find in any other European city, we have an infinity of our own luxury or craft products which, whilst they are exported all over the world, are manufactured on the island, where one can visit the factories and workshops and be sure to find a wider variety and better prices.
Mallorcan crafts
Mallorcan crafts have little to do with the products one can find in the souvenir shops found in most tourist resorts. In spite of the tourist boom, the island still produces footwear and leather items, jewellery, pottery, embroidered articles and fabrics.
Mallorcan jewellery
Famous of old, Mallorcan jewellery has a wide range of shops and workshops where one can acquire the typical local gold and silver articles. And the pearls manufactured in Mallorca are also a unique gift, for their beauty and durability. The pearl town par excellence is Manacor.
The footwear industry
The footwear industry of Inca, Selva and Llucmajor, with modern designs and famous brands, take the name of Mallorca all over the world. Not in vain do some Mallorcan companies have international fame and prestige.
Leather articles
Leather garments, and cotton fabrics with ancient Mallorcan patterns, are also characteristic of the island. There are factories that manufacture these fabrics, known as “roba de llengües”, in Santa Maria and Pollença. They are particularly suitable for use as curtains.
Embroidery
Mallorcan stitch embroidered items are extremely refined and have a long tradition behind them. These highly-prized pieces of craftwork, and the embroidered tablecloths and cloths are usually found in all the homes on the island.
Glass
Three Mallorcan glass factories work with different qualities of design and colours, and one can visit them and watch the glass being made. It is worthwhile visiting the factories of Can Guardiola in Algaida, Menestralia in Campanet and Lafiore, in Valldemossa.
Ceramics
Popular ceramics could not be missing from an eminently rural regions such as ours, and there are all kinds of utensils for everyday use and decoration. The most emblematic piece is the ‘siurell’, a white terracotta whistle-figure, dotted with primary colours (red, green). Of ancestral origin, this is the most representative figure of the island’s crafts.
For anyone who is particularly interested in fired clay, the municipality of Marratxí, on the edge of Palma, has numerous pottery workshops.
Street markets
The weekly street markets scattered around the villages on the island are the best shop window of all, where one can gain an idea of the diversity of Mallorcan crafts.
Palma has become an authentic shopping city. Gathered together in the city’s old quarter, along its avenues and streets (Oms, Via Sindicat, Sant Miquel), they offer anything from typical products such as leather or footwear to a wide variety of outlet products and top-level brands.
Leisure
The wide variety of restaurants, theatres, cinemas, bars and discotheques are the cherry on top of the cake of this capital. Palma has some extremely varied areas dedicated to leisure and entertainment, such as La Lonja, the Bay of Palma, Porto Pi, and they also offer a broad range of nightlife and tourism opportunities.