Many people call Port d’Andratx the prettiest harbour in Mallorca — some would say in the whole Mediterranean. It sits in a deep, fjord-like bay folded into the hills at the island’s southwest tip, where the Serra de Tramuntana meets the sea. Round the last bend of the coast road and the whole thing opens at once: white hulls on still water, pine-green slopes, and the light that has drawn people here for generations.
For most of its life it was simply a fishing port. Boats have sheltered in this bay since at least the late 1700s, and the stone docks were laid in the 19th century. Then, in the 1960s, the wider world found it — the calm water, the amphitheatre of hills, the sunsets — and the quiet village began its transformation into a meeting place for the international jet set. Villas climbed the surrounding hills; the marina filled with yachts. Yet it never quite let go of its roots. Fishing nets still dry on the pier, and in the evening you can still buy the day’s catch straight from the boats at La Llotja, the old fish house on the front.
Watchtowers and the working sea
The harbour has two sides, and two lives. On the north shore, the Club de Vela marina — open since the late 1960s, with hundreds of berths — is the glamorous social heart of the port. On the south, the fishing fleet still works out of the older town. Above it all stand the stone watchtowers, Sant Carles on La Mola and Sant Francesc, raised centuries ago against the North African pirates who once raided this coast. The little church of Nostra Senyora del Carmen anchors the village, and every 16 July the fishing community carries its patron saint, the Virgen del Carmen, out onto the water.
The promenade, and the light
Life gathers along Avenida Mateo Bosch, the waterfront boulevard of cafés and restaurants where a coffee at a marina-side terrace is a Port d’Andratx institution. The back streets hold a boho-chic mix of boutiques, galleries and small food shops. There is no wide beach here — the swimming is off rocks and coves — but the nearest sand is minutes away at Sant Elm and Camp de Mar. And because the bay faces west, almost every evening ends the same way: the sun dropping into the sea behind a forest of masts.
Andratx, just inland
A few kilometres up the valley sits the older town of Andratx — the down-to-earth counterweight to the port’s polish. Its roots reach back to Roman times; the church of Santa María dates from the 13th century, Son Mas castle now serves as the town hall, and the CCA Andratx is one of the most important contemporary art centres in the Balearics. Every Wednesday a market of local produce and crafts fills the streets. Old and new, working and glamorous, side by side — that mix is exactly what makes this stretch of coast so hard to leave.
Living here, shared
This is the setting for Casa Sunshine, the contemporary sea-view villa we are bringing to co-ownership in the hills above Port d’Andratx — a landmark home shared by up to eight owners, move-in-ready and licensed to rent, with 300° of sea and mountain from the door. The harbour is minutes below; the sunsets are free.
Explore Casa Sunshine →
