Port de Pollença is the seaside half of a partnership, with the old hill town of Pollença six kilometres inland. The port sits on a wide, sheltered bay in the north of Mallorca, with the Tramuntana mountains on one side and the Formentor peninsula curving round the other, and the water is calm, shallow and a clear green-blue. A long, pine-shaded promenade runs along the waterfront, lined with cafés and ice-cream shops, and sailing boats and fishing vessels bob in the harbour. It has about six thousand people in winter, and many more in summer, and it feels like a holiday town without being too brash.
The place has a long British connection, and you will hear English spoken in the cafés. Painters and writers came here in the early twentieth century, and the area has a quieter and slightly more refined atmosphere than the big resorts to the south. Up in Pollença, a famous stairway of 365 steps, the Calvari, climbs between cypress trees to a small chapel on the hill, and a Roman bridge crosses a dry stream bed. The old town's market on Sunday mornings fills the square with produce, cheese and crafts.
For riders, the port is the natural start of the road to Cap de Formentor. The ride begins gently along the bay and then climbs into pine forest, with views opening to the water and the cliffs, and from there it gets better and better. Both ends of the road are scenic, and the middle has the best bends. Plan the ride for the early morning, to beat the heat, the tour buses and the cyclists, who treat the road as a training run. Watch your speed through the villages and on the descent, where police occasionally check.
Fuel, supermarkets, bike shops and a wide choice of hotels are all available in the town, so this is the place to prepare. Evenings are lovely, when the sun goes down behind the mountains and the sky turns pink over the bay. Local food leans on seafood, with grilled fish, calamari and paella, and you should try a slice of ensaimada, the coiled sweet pastry of the island, with your coffee. The wind off the bay can be strong in the afternoons, particularly in spring.