Raixa

Climb through the gardens behind the house and they end at a broad reservoir, its still water full of fish. It once watered everything below it. Those terraces are the heart of Raixa: Cardinal Antoni Despuig reshaped them in the late 18th century on Italian lines, with a grand staircase set into the slope, and they still hold a Mediterranean garden and orange trees, with olive groves spreading over the hillside around them.

Inside, the house has been stripped back. The old olive press is the one original piece left, and the rooms now carry audiovisual displays on the Serra de Tramuntana, its history, plants and wildlife, with an audio guide in several languages.

• The access road is dirt and stone between olive trees until it turns to tarmac at the top. Drive it slowly.
• There is no café on site. Bring a picnic and water.
• The estate shuts in the early afternoon and on two days a week, so a late start finds it closed.
• A hiking path leads from Raixa to Valldemossa, if you want to turn the visit into a walk.

Raixa lies just off the Ma-11, the road between Palma and Sóller. From the main road a dirt-and-stone track runs up between olive trees; it turns to tarmac at the top, where the car park sits right beside the estate. Take the unpaved stretch slowly.

Without a car, the Raixa 1 and Raixa 2 bus stops stand on the Ma-11 about 650 m away in a straight line, and the rest is on foot.

Best: a morning soon after opening, in spring or autumn. Avoid: Sundays and Mondays, when the estate is closed, and midday in high summer. Raixa closes in the early afternoon, and the open garden terraces take the full Mallorcan sun in the hours before it does, so an early start gives you cooler air and time for both the house and the climb to the reservoir.