La Granja And Valldemossa

Description

La Granja

Our tour will start with a visit to the ancient village of La Granja. La Granja, a historical property located in the Esporles municipality, has been well known since Roman times because of the important flow of water from its spring. The Moors that dominated the island from the 10th to the 13th century settled in the area and founded the Alpich farmhouse. Later, when King James I conquered Mallorca, he divided the island in four parts and Count Nunyo Sanç settled in the property.

In 1239, Nunyo Sanç gave La Granja to the Cistercian monks who founded a monastery there. Two hundred years later, the monks sold the property to the Vida family, later the property passed to the Fortuny family, who finally sold it to Cristòfol Seguí Colom, current owner of the estate.

Nowadays La Granja is open to the public and houses an ethnographic museum and many different wild and domestic animals and birds. The visit to La Granja includes the historical mansion with its different halls, dining rooms, bedrooms, etc.; the spectacular gardens with fountains, ponds and giant trees; tasting of Mallorcan specialties and demonstrations of traditional dances and ancient handicrafts.

Valldemossa

After tasting a variety of products and drinks, we will set off to the picturesque mountain town of Valldemossa.

Valldemossa is a village and municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is famous for one landmark: the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built in the beginning of the 14th century, when the great mystic and philosopher Ramon Llull lived in this area of Majorca.

Since the 19th century Valldemossa has been promoted internationally as a place of outstanding beauty, largely as a result of the affection of the distinguished traveler and cultural writer, the Austrian Archduke Ludwig Salvator. In the 1830s the Spanish government confiscated the monasteries, and the historic estate was sold to private owners, who have since hosted some prominent guests. These have included the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin and his lover the pioneering French writer George Sand, who wrote a notable account of A Winter in Majorca, describing their 1838–39 visit and praising the island’s natural beauty, but criticizing what she perceived as the prejudice and vices of the natives.

Later the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío was guest of the Sureda y Montaner families who own the Chartreuse estate. To fight his own nightmares, Rubén Dario would sleep in as monks did; however, his drinking habits caused a rift with his private hosts and, eventually, his departure from the former monastery and from Majorca.

You can explore the museum LA CARTUJA, the historic house museum where Chopin lived, and enjoy a 15-minite piano concert.

The tour takes about 4 hours. It costs EUR 180. (1-4 people). The price does not include the entrance fee to La Granja (EUR 14.50 per person), to Chopin’s historical house museum (EUR 4 per person), and to La Cartuja (EUR 8 per person).