Sóller is a town located on the north west coast of Mallorca. It is set in a green valley surrounded by Mallorca's highest mountains. Much of the town is residential and agricultural: it is full of orange, lemon and olive groves. The resort area of Port de Sóller is four kilometres away and is much more tourist oriented. The combined population of Sóller and Port de Sóller is 12 000. The town has a beautiful square and many of the buildings are of architectural interest.

Sóller is twenty kilometres drive north of Palma de Mallorca on route MA-11. You can either drive through the toll tunnel or go over the top of the Coll de Soller. Once you arrive in Soller, park your car and continue on foot, as the town's narrow streets are not conducive to driving.

The Ferrocarril de Sóller train service runs between Palma's Plaza d'Espanya and Sóller six times a day between 8am and 7pm. Tickets are €10,00 single and €17 return and can be purchased at the station half an hour before the train leaves. The train journey is slow, taking over an hour, but is scenic, with marvellous views of the mountains on both sides of the tunnel. Note that even in the lower seasons the train can be very crowded. The trains are very old-fashioned with outside viewing platforms at the front and rear of each coach. The line is narrow gauge.

TIB operates several bus services to Port de Sóller. The IB-09 service operates between Palma and Port de Sóller; the IB-12 service operates between Peguera, Valldemossa and Port de Sóller; and the IB-15 service operates, except in winter, between Port de Pollença, Lluc, and Port de Sóller.

A tram service operates between the Sóller train station and Port de Sóller approximately every half hour between 7am and 8:30pm. Tickets are €4 per journey and are available on board. Like the train service from Palma, the tram service is very crowded, especially before the last train to Palma leaves in the evening.

For bike lovers there are great tracks for both roadbiking and mountain biking. Please note that mountain biking is in rocky terrain so one needs to be experienced and ride a full suspension bike. The old road to the Sóller Pass (since the tunnel opened there are only a few cars on the road) is a magnificent ride on a road bike. There are approximately 50 hairpin bends if you cross the pass to the other end of the tunnel.

• There's a beautiful church in the centre of Soller that was built by one of Gaudí's students.

• The town of Sóller is located in a bowl surrounded by mountains which makes for very good walking

• You can take the train to Palma or take the tram to the Port de Sóller or simply wander around and look at the beautiful scenery, streets and houses.

• There is a free museum of modern art located at the train station. This has some work by famous artists, notably Joan Miró.

The renowned Jardí Botanic (botanical garden) is on the outskirts of the town and is laid out with the plants of the Balearics and the Mediterranean islands. The Modernista mansion in the garden houses El Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals (The Museum of Balearic Natural Sciences). Despite its location next to the highway the garden is quiet.

The focus of the town is the Plaça Constitució which is surrounded by cafés and has plane trees and a fountain in its centre. The tram passes through the Plaça on its way to and from the main station which has been restored to incorporate a museum of Picasso and Joan Miró. The church of Sant Bartomeu (Saint Bartholomew) facing the east side of the Plaça is flanked by the ajuntament (town hall) and the Banco de Sóller, a remarkable 1912 Modernista building with defining ironwork, by the Catalanarchitect Joan Rubió i Bellver, a follower of Antoni Gaudí. The bank's organisation was founded in 1889 with the money of emigrants who returned prosperous to Sóller. On the other hand, the church can clearly be seen standing out from the canopy of the town from other parts of the Vall de Sóller (the surrounding valley). The original building dates from some time before 1236. The current main interior structure is now largely baroque (1688-1733). The campanar (belltower) blends in well with its neo-gothic design. The remarkable façade is a 1904 construction, also by Joan Rubió. The old street plan is of Islamic origin and lined with historic houses of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The town has a covered market and is bisected by a fast flowing river with a number of bridges. Sóller is also notable for the houses built in the early twentieth century by emigrants who returned wealthy to the town, particularly those on the Gran Via which reflect the fin de siècle Art Nouveau styles of France.

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