Monestir de Miramar

From the garden the ground drops away through olive trees to open sea, and the viewpoints along its edge are where most of a visit goes. Flower beds and the olive grove wrap around the old house. Inside, rooms hold an unguided exhibition.

Miramar is also quiet. Valldemossa, just along the road, is crowded; here there are few visitors, and the gardens stay calm. Then there is the history: Ramon Llull set up his school of Arabic on this spot in 1276, and six centuries later Archduke Ludwig Salvator made it part of his coastal estate.

• The gate is sometimes locked with no notice posted, and opening times are hard to confirm by phone or through tourist information.
• Information on site is thin: a laminated sheet handed out at the entrance and an exhibition with no guide.
• The views are the heart of the visit, and similar views of this coast are free from other spots nearby. The ticket buys the gardens and the history.

Miramar sits on the coast road between Valldemossa and Deià, and pairs easily with Son Marroig, another of the Archduke's houses on the same stretch of road. There is a car park about 68 m from the monastery, so the walk from the car to the gate is over almost as soon as it starts.

Without a car, the nearest bus stops are Son Gallard 1 and Son Gallard 2, about 350 m and 400 m away in a straight line.

Best: a clear afternoon, when the sun moves round to the west and lights the sea below the garden.

Avoid: days of rain or low cloud over the Serra de Tramuntana.

This coast faces northwest, and almost everything worth seeing at Miramar is outdoors, so the weather decides the visit.