28 kmSóller – mountain town in the orange valley
A slow mountain town with a square, tram, and historic connection to the sea
Pollença is best explored at walking pace. The town center consists of narrow streets, traditional buildings and small squares, where the route quickly shifts from café tables and shop windows to churches, monastery walls and old stone. It is not a town to be understood from the car window; the center is largely pedestrian, and the municipality recommends parking on the outskirts.
Plaça Major is the natural focal point. Here stands the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels, and the square has a somewhat unusual background: it lies on an area that was formerly a cemetery. On Sundays, the market spreads through the center with stalls at, among other places, Plaça Major and Via Pollentia.
The most striking landmark in town is El Calvari, the hill above the center. The staircase begins at Jesus Street by the town hall and is lined with cypresses on the way up. At the top is the Calvari chapel with a baroque façade, and the view gathers the town and the landscape around Pollença in one sweep.
Pollença has several historical highlights close to one another: Sant Domingo monastery today houses, among other things, the Pollença Museum, while Pont Romà spans the Sant Jordi stream with two unequal arches. On the way down from Calvari, you can choose Camí de les Creus, where the stone crosses make the descent more than just the same way back.
El Calvari rises above the town center of Pollença and is reached by the famous staircase with 365 steps up to the small church or hermitage at the top. The staircase is lined with cypresses and 14 large crosses, linking the site to the Christian Stations of the Cross narrative.
From the top, the view opens over Pollença and the landscape around the town. On Good Friday, the staircase forms the setting for the Davallament procession, where the figure of Christ is carried down toward Mare de Déu dels Àngels.
