Contents: ALCUDIA (SEE, TOP TEN) - ALGAIDA * - ANDRATX *  - ARTA ** - AUTO-SAFARI * - BANYALBUFAR **  - BINISSALEM *
	ALCUDIA (SEE, TOP TEN) ALGAIDA * Algaida is a typical Mallorcan town, all green shutters, narrow streets without pavements and a central square dominated by a sandstone church. Few visitors make it into the town centre; the attractions are all on the outskirts, on the Palma-Manacor road. The main one is Ca'n Gordiola, a glass factory housed in a mock castle. The ground floor contains a workshop (though it looks more like a church with its arches and stained glass} where you can watch glass being blown; upstairs there are museums devoted to both glass and perfume. A further 2km along the road to Manacor is a string of well-known restaurants, where the people of Palma head at weekends for old-fashioned Mallorcan cuisine. ANDRATX * Like many towns around the coast, Andratx was built severe kilometres inland from its port in a bid to deter pirate raids in the late 20th century the town is reaping an unexpected benefit - tourists pour into the port, spending money which the town collects in taxes, yet except on market day Andratx sees little of the visitors and its people are left to get on with their lives. Surrounded by orange groves, and almond trees which leave a 'snowfall' of blossom each February, Andratx is a sleepy town which only really gets animated on Wednesdays when the streets are taken over by market stalls selling vegetables, cheeses and fish. When you have finished your shopping, climb to the top of the town to see the 13th-century church of Santa Maria. ARTA ** Derived from the Arabic word jertan ('garden'), Arta has been occupied for at least 3,000 years, as evidenced by the remains of a Bronze Age site at Ses Paisses just outside the town. Nowadays Arta is a prosperous little town near the coast, which gets particularly lively each Tuesday on market day. From the parish church of Transfiguracio del Senyor, an avenue of cypress trees leads to Arta's crowning glory, its hilltop fortress and Santuari de Sant Salvador The view down over the rooftops, a jamble of tiles in every shade of brown, is one of the sights of Mallorca on the site. On the site of a Moorish fortress, the original sanctuary walls and chapel were rebuilt in the l9th centrury. Walk around the battlements, rest in a peaceful courtyard, then look into the sanctuary church with its vivid paintings of two Mallorcan heroes Jaume the Conqueror receiving the surrender of the Walls, and Ramon Llull being stoned to death in Tunisia. There is also a painting of Sant Antoni, patron saint of Arta and of animals, seen here as always, with a small pig. Each January the saint is commemorated with a masked procession and a blessing of pets Arta's big festival, Sant Antoni de Juny, dates back to 1581 and features dancers with cardboard horses strapped to their hips Arta's small museum, housed inside Sa Nostra bank, has archaeologica discoveries from Greek and Roman periods. AUTO-SAFARI * Mallorca's only zoo consists of a 4-km drive through open countryside, passing giraffes, zebra, flamingos and deer (keep your car windows shut against marauding monkeys), followed by a 'baby zoo' with elephants, crocodiles and various young animals. You can also explore the 44 hectare reserve by a special 'mini-train' for which you pay a hefty supplement on top of the already considerable cost of entry. Carretera Porto cristo - Son Servera, km 5 * Tel: 971810909 * Time: 9.00AM - 7.00PM BANYALBUFAR ** People come to Banyalbufar to see one thing - its terraced hillsides, sloping down to the sea. Developed by the Moors and divided by drystone walls, these terraces speak powenfully of man's ingenuity in creating farmland out of inhospitable cliffs. Until recently it was the custom for each generation to add a further tier. In Moorish times the town, whose Arabic name means 'vineyard by the sea', was famed for its Malvasia wine - nowadays the terraces are mostly used to grow vegetables, though a few vines have been planted once again. Banyalbufar's popularity with foreign artists has led some people to conclude that it will be the next Deia. BINISSALEM * If you order Mallorcan wine in a restaurant, it will probably come from Binissalem. Viticulture was introduced here by the Romans and has survived in much reduced form. The reputation of Binissalem red wines, made with the local grape Manto Negro, has been growing in recent years - the best-known bodega, Jose L Ferrer, is on the right as you enter the town from Palma. If you are buying, remember crianza is good, reserva even better, gran reserva the best.