Themed route · start & finish Can Pastilla
Esporles – Valldemossa
- Moderate
- 64 km
- 635 m
- ≈ 2½–3 h
Map and elevation profile
Move along the elevation profile to see where you are on the map.
Food & coffee stops
Tried-and-tested places where cyclists like to stop for coffee, food or water.
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Café 24 kmDoble Esporles
Speciality coffee and brunch – pancakes, eggs Benedict, banana bread, fresh juices – at Passeig del Rei 5, a popular pit stop for cyclists. Opens at 9:00 and closes in the afternoon; listings disagree on the day off (Tuesday, Wednesday or both).
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Café 36 kmBarbaflorida cafè Valldemossa
Speciality coffee, homemade cakes and fresh food at Plaça Cartoixa 19, the square by the Charterhouse, with outdoor seating. Open Thursday to Monday 10:00–16:00, closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Café 36 kmCa'n Molinas Valldemossa
Family bakery since 1920 and the classic place for coca de patata, a light, fluffy potato bun. The historic shop at Carrer de la Rosa 4 opens mainly in the morning; the café with a terrace at Via Blanquerna 15 is open daily from 7:00 into the evening.
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Coffee loop to Esporles & Valldemossa in the Tramuntana foothills
Route summary:
A half-day loop built around two celebrated coffee stops at the foot of the Tramuntana. From the Can Pastilla shop you take the seafront bike path, cross Palma on bike lanes and follow the Ma-1040 gently up through Establiments to Esporles, where Doble serves specialty coffee and brunch on the plane-tree-lined Passeig del Rei.
A steady climb on the Ma-1100 and the quieter Ma-10 takes you up to 498 m and on to Valldemossa for coca de patata from Ca'n Molinas, a family bakery since 1920. The long Ma-1110 descent brings you back to Palma and the sea.
63.6 km, 635 m of climbing, short ramps of about 9%: ideal for your first day on the island or an easy-going ride. Allow about 3 hours riding, plus coffee.
Cycling route summary:
Km 0–9.5: flat seafront bike path past Es Molinar and Portixol to Parc de la Mar below the cathedral.
Km 9.5–15.6: bike lanes along the Sa Riera torrent, then Carrer del General Riera (Ma-1040) rising gradually to Establiments. Busy city traffic: ride defensively and never join the Via de Cintura (Ma-20).
Km 15.6–21.3: the Ma-1040 climbs gently to Coll d'en Portell (5.5 km at 2.8%, 212 m). Fairly busy road: keep right. A short drop leads into Esporles (km 23).
Km 23–27: the Ma-1100 climbs to Es Cap des Bosquet (4.4 km at 3.7%, max 9.5%, 330 m), the steepest stretch of the day.
Km 27–30.7: turn right onto the Ma-10. Coll d'en Claret (3.8 km at 4.5%, four hairpins) tops out at 498 m, the high point of the loop. Narrow and winding: on blind bends expect oncoming cars and coaches, and stones on the tarmac.
Km 30.7–36.6: downhill, then a gentle rise through Valldemossa.
Km 36.6–54: the Ma-1110 descent starts at around 400 m. The first 3.5 km are the steepest (about 6%), then a long gentle run-out through S'Esgleieta and Son Sardina. Coaches use this road: stay right, brake early, don't race.
Km 54–63.6: bike lanes back to the seafront and the shop.
Tourist summary:
At km 9 Palma's Gothic cathedral, La Seu, towers over Parc de la Mar. Establiments was a municipality in its own right until Palma absorbed it in 1910. Life in Esporles revolves around the Passeig del Rei, which hosts a market on Saturdays from 8:00 to 13:00.
Valldemossa is the star: Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838–39 in its Charterhouse, and his Pleyel upright piano is still on show in the museum cell. Walk to the birthplace of Santa Catalina Thomàs, Mallorca's patron saint, on Carrer de la Rectoria, and look out for painted tiles of the saint on the houses. Finish with a coffee among the boats of Portixol.
Climbs click to show on the map
- Coll d'en Portell from Establiments 5.5 km · Ø 2.8 % · max. 7.5 % · top 212 m km 16–21
- Es Cap des Bosquet from Esporles 4.4 km · Ø 3.7 % · max. 9.5 % · top 330 m km 23–27
- Coll d'en Claret from Es Cap des Bosquet (Ma-10) 3.8 km · Ø 4.5 % · max. 9.1 % · top 498 m km 27–31
Tips from our guides
- Ride Thursday to Monday if you can. Barbaflorida is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, and listings for Doble disagree on whether it closes on Tuesday, Wednesday or both – check before a midweek ride. Doble opens at 9:00; leave our shop soon after it opens (also at 9:00) and you reach Esporles in time for a mid-morning coffee. On Saturdays the market fills Passeig del Rei until 13:00: walk the bike past the stalls.
- Aim to reach Valldemossa in the morning, before the coaches and day-trippers fill the lanes. The historic Ca'n Molinas shop on Carrer de la Rosa opens mainly in the morning; the café on Via Blanquerna serves all day. According to its website, the Charterhouse is open Monday to Friday 10:00–17:00 and Saturday 10:00–16:00, and closed on Sundays.
- Bring a lock. Valldemossa's old-town lanes are largely pedestrian: lock the bike on the main avenue and walk a few minutes to Via Blanquerna and the Charterhouse square. In Esporles you can sit on Doble's terrace with the bike in view.
- Pack a windproof gilet: you start the Ma-1110 descent at around 400 m straight after a coffee stop, and outside summer 17 km of downhill can get chilly. Tourist coaches use this road, so stay right and brake before the bends. In Palma stick to the bike lanes and never ride onto the Via de Cintura (Ma-20).
- Any road bike from our fleet will do: the steepest 100 m on the route average 9.5%, so compact gearing is plenty. Want more? At the Ma-10 junction by Es Cap des Bosquet turn left, drop 7 km to Banyalbufar and climb back up via Coll de sa Bastida (3.1 km at 6.1%, seven hairpins). That adds roughly 15 km.
Did you know?
- Frédéric Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838–39 in a cell of the Valldemossa Charterhouse. Chopin completed his Preludes Op. 28 there, and Sand turned the stay into her book A Winter in Majorca. source
- Establiments belonged to Esporles until 1837, was an independent municipality for the next 73 years and was annexed by Palma in 1910 – so this ride links two places with a shared history. source
- Ca'n Molinas has been baking in Valldemossa since 1920, and its pastries still come out of the same oven, now more than a hundred years old. source
Places along the route
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19 km
La Seu & Parc de la Mar
The seafront bike path brings you right below Palma's Gothic cathedral, mirrored in the lake of Parc de la Mar. Just beyond, you leave the coast and head inland along the Sa Riera torrent; on the way back you pass here again at around km 55.
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216 km
Establiments
A village at the foot of the Serra, today part of Palma; it was a municipality in its own right from 1837 to 1910. From here the Ma-1040 starts its gentle 5.5 km rise to Coll d'en Portell.
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323 km
Esporles
The plane-tree-lined Passeig del Rei is the heart of the village: Doble is at no. 5, and on Saturdays from 8:00 to 13:00 the avenue fills with the stalls of the weekly market. Park the bike by the terrace, keep it in sight and enjoy the first coffee of the day.
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427 km
Es Cap des Bosquet
The top of the climb from Esporles (330 m) and the junction with the Ma-10. Turn right for Valldemossa; left drops to Banyalbufar and its terraces above the sea if you fancy the longer option.
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531 km
Coll d'en Claret (498 m)
The roof of the loop, reached after four hairpins on the Ma-10. From here it's mostly downhill to Valldemossa; watch for stones and oncoming coaches in the bends.
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635 km
Valldemossa
Lock the bike on the Avinguda de l'Arxiduc Lluís Salvador; the lanes of the old town are largely pedestrian. The pedestrian Via Blanquerna with the Ca'n Molinas café and the Charterhouse square with Barbaflorida are a few minutes' walk away. Chopin and George Sand spent the winter of 1838–39 in the Charterhouse.
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738 km
Ma-1110 descent
The steepest part of the descent, roughly 3.5 km at about 6%, winds down through olive groves with views south towards Palma. Stay right and brake early: tourist coaches share the road.
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857 km
Portixol
The old fishing harbour, with its small boats and a promenade lined with cafés and bars, is the perfect spot for a last coffee about 6 km from the shop. The bike path runs right along the quay.
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