Villas in Mallorca Island Interior

The centre of Mallorca, known in Mallorquín as Es Pla, is the island's farming heartland: almond and carob trees, vineyards around Binissalem and Santa Maria, windmills, dry-stone walls and villages with sandstone churches where life turns around the square and the weekly market. Sineu has held its market on Wednesdays since the Middle Ages, Santa Maria on Sundays, Inca on Thursdays. On the horizon stand the Tramuntana mountains.

Here are the fincas most guests picture when they think of Mallorca: old possessions with thick walls, an inner courtyard and arcades, carefully converted, with a pool in what was once the orchard, a view of the mountains and plenty of land all around. Between Alaró, Santa Maria, Sencelles, Sineu and Algaida the plots are large and the neighbours distant; evenings here run long because nothing presses.

The central position has a practical advantage: Palma and the airport are 20 to 35 minutes away, and the beaches near Alcúdia in the north, Cala Millor in the east and Es Trenc in the south each take 30 to 40 minutes. Add wine tasting in Binissalem, the climb to the Castell d'Alaró, cycling on empty country roads and restaurants in old mills. Florian Settele knows every finca in this area in person and can tell you which stays cool in high summer and which works well with toddlers.