Pollença sits in a shallow bowl at the foot of the Serra de Tramuntana, the limestone mountain range that runs down Mallorca's northwest coast, and it is one of the island's best-looking towns. Pale stone houses, green shutters and plane-lined squares fill the old center, and above it rises the Puig de Maria, a hill topped with a small monastery. The town has the confident, slightly arty air of a place that painters have loved for a century, and its main square, the Plaça Major, fills with a market on Sundays.
Two features are almost obligatory. The Calvari, a long stairway of 365 steps lined with cypress trees, climbs to a chapel on a hill, and the climb is cooler at dusk. The Roman Bridge, an old stone arch over a dry stream bed just outside the center, is one of the few reminders that this area was settled in antiquity. In summer the town hosts a festival of classical music in the cloister of a former convent, and the cafes on the square are the place to sit with a coffee and watch.
For riders, Pollença is the northern gateway to Ma-10, the road down the spine of the Tramuntana, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage cultural landscape. It runs south past Lluc Monastery, one of the island's spiritual centers, and on through terraced olive groves, rock walls and high passes, with long views to the sea, and the tarmac is mostly good, with tight bends. The road is hugely popular with cyclists, especially in spring, and with tour buses in high season, so it can be busy and slow, and early morning is the time. At the north end, the road to Cap de Formentor, a narrow ribbon cut into cliffs above the sea, is a classic, though it is crowded in summer.
The town has everything: fuel, supermarkets, banks and restaurants, and Port de Pollença, a short ride away, has a seafront promenade. Alcúdia, the other main town nearby, has an old walled center. The best months are April, May and October, with mild weather and fewer visitors. In summer the heat is fierce by midday and the traffic heavy, while in winter, rain and rockfall can affect mountain roads. Watch for loose gravel on corners and for cyclists on the bends.