Real Cartuja de Valldemossa

The Real Cartuja (Royal Charterhouse) of Valldemossa occupies a dramatic position in the heart of the Tramuntana mountains, a former Carthusian monastery that is today one of Mallorca's most visited cultural sites. Founded in 1399 by King Martin of Aragon, the complex was sold following the suppression of the Carthusian order in 1835 and converted into rental apartments, making it unique among Spanish monasteries. The site owes much of its international fame to the winter of 1838-39 when Polish composer Frédéric Chopin and French novelist George Sand rented cells 2 and 4, a stay that produced Chopin's Rainy Day Preludes and Sand's controversial travel memoir 'A Winter in Mallorca.' The monastery museum is organized around these cells and contains Chopin's actual Pleyel piano — transported by ship at enormous expense — handwritten musical manuscripts, personal items, and a first edition of Sand's memoir. Beyond the Chopin museum, the complex contains a pharmacy with original 18th-century pharmaceutical jars and equipment, a printing press once used by the monks, an art gallery with donated paintings, and the Gothic church of Sant Bartomeu. The gardens and cloister offer pleasant respite with citrus trees, fountain courtyards, and mountain views. The surrounding village of Valldemossa with its ochre stone and terracotta-tiled houses is considered one of Mallorca's most photographically rewarding, and the traditional coca de patata sweet pastry is available from stalls at the monastery entrance.