Beach resorts in Mallorca

As you drive through this small town you cannot help noticing the strings of vegetables hanging outside several of the shops - peppers, aubergines, garlic and, above all, tomatoes. These are the famous tomatigues de ramallet, sold on their stalks to be spread over pa amb oli.

Vilafranca is also known for its honeydew melons, whose harvest is celebrated with a large melon festival each September. The other reason for coming here, apart from food, is to visit Els Calderers, a manor house between Vilafranca and Sant Joan. This was once at the centre of a great wine estate but like so many others it fell victim to the phylloxera disease. Reopened in 1993, the 18th-century house is now a museum of Mallorcan furniture and traditions; you can visit the wine cellar, granary, bakery, chapel and wash-house as well as wander around the main house with its paintings, guns and toys.