The bay at Puerto de Sóller is almost circular — a near-enclosed natural harbour that keeps the water calm even when the open Mediterranean beyond the headlands is kicking up whitecaps. The beach runs along the inner shore in a curve of sand and fine gravel, the water shifting from pale turquoise at the shallows to a deeper blue-green further out. Hemming the whole scene are the grey-green slopes of the Tramuntana, which come down steeply enough that the valley feels more enclosed than open — dramatic rather than simply pretty.
The promenade that lines the inner shore fills in summer with cafes and restaurants doing a steady trade in coffee and cold drinks, but the bay itself remains the draw. It is one of the few places in Mallorca where the landscape around the beach is as compelling as the beach itself. Swimmers who time it right can have much of the water to themselves in the morning before the day boats arrive — the light on the mountains in early morning is particularly good, the kind of thing that makes you understand why so many painters ended up in this corner of the island.