Sóller
Sóller is a town in Serra de Tramuntana on the northwest coast of Mallorca. It's best known for the narrow-gauge railway that brings you here from Palma, then the tram that continues down to the port. In 2023 the town, port and outlying villages had a total population of 13,600.
Understand
[edit]Sóller is hemmed in by mountains on the northwest coast of Mallorca. It made its money from citrus and olives, which were easier to export by sea than to cart over the mountains, until the narrow-gauge railway was built in 1912. The port was also a navy base during the Spanish Civil War, when Mallorca was held by the Nationalists. Access to the town was much improved in 1997 when a road tunnel was drilled beneath Coll de Sóller 5 km southwest. The Irish actor Colm Meaney (Colm Ó Maonaigh, b 1953) lives here with his family.
The tourist office in town centre remains closed, but that at the marina is open daily 09:00-16:00.
Get in
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By road
[edit]Sóller is 24 km north of Palma de Mallorca on Highway Ma-11. From km 17 to 20 the road plunges through a toll-free tunnel. Cyclists and hikers may not use this, but must follow the former highway hairpinning over the col - there's a restaurant on top.
Park your car at the edge of Sóller and continue on foot, the central streets are narrow and traffic-restricted.
By train
[edit]Ferrocarril de Sóller trains run from Palma's Plaça d'Espanya via Bunyola to Sóller six times a day, taking one hour. It's a 3 ft / 914 mm gauge railway using heritage wooden electric trains similar to trams. In 2024 tickets are €20 single, €28 return. At Sóller you change to the tram to the port: a return from Palma to the port is €35. Even away from high season the trains are crowded with tourists.
1 Sóller railway station 
is on Plaça d'Espanya in town centre. Note the art exhibition in the station building.
By bus
[edit]TIB Bus 204 runs from Palma daily every 30 min, via Son Sardina, Palmanyola and Bunyola to Sóller (30 min) and Port de Sóller (another 10 min). The first outbound bus is just after 06:00 and the last return to Palma departs at 23:30.
Bus 232 is a minibus connecting hourly with Bus 204 at Sóller and running to Fornalutx.
Bus 231 runs from Alcúdia March-Oct four times a day, taking two hours via Port de Pollença, Pollença town, Lluc, Escorca and Mirador de ses Barques to Sóller and Port de Sóller.
2 Centre 1 is how Sóller's ramshackle bus station is shown on timetables. Never assume that a bus signed for Palma is actually going there, or vice versa. Some buses don't pull in here, but stop instead at Centre 2, a dusty bus stop 100 m west on the main highway that's by no means the centre of anything.
Buses in Port de Sóller drop off and pick up at the roundabout at the terminus of Ma-11, 500 m up from the waterfront.
Get around
[edit]Sóller tram rumbles between the railway station and Port de Sóller 08:00 - 21:00 every 30 min. Opened in 1913, it uses heritage rolling stock and is crowded with tourists - so although it makes intermediate stops, it's often full from its start point. It's 3 ft / 914 mm gauge, a 4.87 km single track with passing loops. The ride in 2024 costs €9 each way (buy on board), and you can buy a combi with the train for €35 return. Don't take your seat in the detached tram outside the station - that's the tourist office (closed) and isn't going anywhere.
You can also use buses 204 and 231 between Sóller and the port. Cyclists and pedestrians should follow the tram tracks along the waterfront, while vehicles plunge through the 1.29 km Sa Mola tunnel on Ma-11.
Taxis wait by the railway station.
See
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- A total solar eclipse on Wednesday 12 Aug 2026, starting at 20:31 and lasting 90 seconds. The chances of a clear sky are 65%, but you need to be on the coast with a clear view to the horizon, as the sun will be setting over the sea. A few minutes later, sunset ends the show.
- Sala Picasso & Sala Miró are rooms within the railway station displaying repro artworks by these two big names. They're free, open Tu-Sa 10:30-17:00.
- 1 Plaça de la Constitució is the main square, flanked by the Church of Sant Bartomeu, town hall and the ornate bank, plus restaurants and bars. Trams rumble through.
- Church of Sant Bartomeu was started in the early 13th century and embellished with every subsequent style. The interior is mostly baroque circa 1700, but the bell-tower is neogothic and the facade was created in 1904 by Joan Rubió i Bellver, a follower of Antoni Gaudí. He also designed the bank.
- Museu de Sóller, C de Sa Mar 13 (100 m west of main square), ☏ +34 971 634999. M-F 10:00-14:00, Sa 10:30-13:00. Small museum in a 19th century house. Free.
- 2 Ca’n Prunera Museum, Sa Lluna 86, ☏ +34 971 638973. Tu-Sa 10:30-18:00. Art Nouveau mansion exhibiting modern art. Adult €8.
- 3 Jardí Botànic, ☏ +34 971 634014. M-Sa 10:00-18:00. Pleasant botanic gardens, walking distance from the station. Adult €8.
- Port de Sóller is mostly modern low-rise, the central stretch near the tram terminus is the best of it. (This is surely the world's only tram depot ever to have been used as a submarine base.) North are the marina and museum, south the beach is sludgy from stream outflows.
- 4 Museu de la Mar, Santa Caterina d'Alexandria 54, Port de Sóller, ☏ +34 971 632204. Tu-Sa 10:00-15:00, Su 10:00-14:00. Displaying Mallorca's maritime history. It's worth strolling up here even when the museum's closed for the view of the port. Free.
- 5 Far des Cap Gros is a lighthouse of 1842 on the headland west of the port, a good place for sunset views.
- 6 Biniaraix is a hamlet straggling east of Sóller: its old public washrooms (rentadores) recall the days when houses here had no piped water. Ecovinyassa is a citrus farm at the foot of Biniaraix offering tours. The main attraction starts 1 km further east, the karstic ravine (barranc) traversed by a pilgrimage trail.
- 7 Sa Capelleta, Santa Maria de l’Olivar is a cute Gaudiesque chapel built in 1917. It's down a rough track below Ma-10 towards Fornalutx.
- 8 Fornalutx is a charming village in the hills 4 km east of town. A hiking trail winds here via Binibassi, or take Bus 231. Motorists should use one of the peripheral car parks and avoid the narrow streets.
- 9 Es Seregalls, Fornalutx, ☏ +34 685 828797. Tours Oct-May Tu Th at 10:00, 12:00 & 14:00, Jun-Sep Tu Th at 09:00 & 11:00. Traditional olive farm. A trail explains how they produce olive oil. Adult €18, child €10.
- 10 La Casa, Bunyola. M-Sa 09:30-18:30. Former royal residence and gardens. Adult €8.
- 11 Jardins d'Alfàbia, Ma-11 km 17 (at tunnel south entrance), ☏ +34 971 613133. Tu-Su 09:30-17:30. Gardens set around a gothic mansion. The paths are unsuitable for buggies / strollers, and don't download their map, which will cost you €49 a month for eternity. Adult €9.
Do
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- Ruta de Pedra (GR221) is an eight day hiking trail along this coast from Andratx to Port de Pollença. Day 5 is a tough 28 km stretch from Muleta via Sóller, Biniaraix and its ravine, then up the mountain path to Cúber and the refuge of Tossals Verd.
- Es Firo is a fiesta commemorating the Algerian pirate attack of 1561, which was driven off by a mix of enraged women, treacle and catapults. There are events over the preceding days, then the battle is re-enacted during the Monday after the second Sunday in May. Don't wear a sunhat, as this marks you as cristiano and draws the fire of the pirates, until the enraged women and treacle sap their assault.
- Correfoc - the fire run - is the most spectacular of the events around the fiesta of Sant Bartomeu, on the third Friday in August. Escladabutzes representing hellfire demons invade town, until the righteous fire brigade hoses them back where they belong.
Buy
[edit]- Bip Bip supermarket is at Isabel II 62, southwest of the railway station. It's open daily 08:30-21:00.
- Aprop supermarket is at Sant Jaume 19, 200 m east of the railway station and open M-Sa 08:30-20:30, Su 08:30-14:00. There's another outlet at the port.
- EuroCop, usually known as Sa Botiga des Port, is on Antoni Montis in Port de Sóller, open daily 07:00-22:00.
Eat
[edit]- Sóller main plaza has Ca'n Nadal[dead link], Sa Cova, Malinche Mexican, Cafe Sóller, Sa Granja and Miga de Nube.
- Gran Hotel restaurant (below) gets good reviews.
- Port de Sóller has eating places all along the waterfront.
- 1 Béns d'Avall, C de Deià km 56, Alconàsser (off Ma-10), ☏ +34 971 632381. Tu-Sa 19:00-21:30. The standout restaurant, some way west of town, superb Balearic food on a terrace with sea views. Booking essential.
Drink
[edit]- Lots of pubs in Sóller town, and wall-to-wall along the waterfront.
Sleep
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- Package tours don't base here, so there's a range of small family-run pensions not found in the bigger resorts.
- Casa Margarita, C de Reial 3, ☏ +34 971 634214. Simple but clean pension by the railway station. B&B double €50.
- El Guia is clean and spacious, at Castanyer 2 next to the railway station.
- Sóller Center is similar, at Plaça d'Antoni Maura 9 behind the church.
- La Vila is a charming old-style hotel on the main plaza at Plaça de sa Constitució 14.
- Hostal Nadal, Romaguera 29 (opposite Gran Hotel Sóller), ☏ +34 971 631180. Bright clean hostel. Free parking 50 m away.
- Gran Hotel Sóller, Romaguera 18 (100 m north of main plaza), ☏ +34 971 638686. Great reviews for comfort and service at this trad town-centre hotel. B&B double €230.
- 1 Finca Ca's Curial, Villalonga 23, ☏ +34 971 633332, info@cascurial.com. Wonderful tranquil place in three Moorish cottages, adults only. Mountain views yet only 10 minutes walk from town centre. B&B double €350.
- 2 Hotel Eden, Passeig Es Traves 26, Port de Sóller, ☏ +34 971 631600. Value-for-money hotel in the port. B&B double €150.
- Aimia Hotel is at Santa Maria del Cami 1, a block north of Hotel Eden at the port.
- 3 Jumeirah Mallorca, C de Bèlgica, Port de Sóller, ☏ +34 971 637888. Very swish hotel and spa on the headland north of the port. B&B double €550.
Connect
[edit]As of Aug 2024, Sóller town centre has 5G from MasMovil, Movistar and Orange, and 4G from Vodafone. The approach highways and port have 4G from all Spanish carriers.
Go next
[edit]- Palma de Mallorca the capital needs a couple of days to explore.
- Alcúdia is the main resort in the north of Mallorca, with ferries to Menorca.