Created through the valiant efforts of community volunteers, Desert Awareness Park is 26 acres of educational and outstanding natural wealth. There are self-guided tours through the Park to allow for exploration of the land’s desert plants and flowers. Significant changes can be seen through the seasons: autumn brings lush leaves, winter brings flowers, seeds, and berries, and spring brings a bounty of cacti with delightfully colored flowers. Ramadas and barbecues enable visitors to enjoy lunch in the outdoors, and there’s a playground for the kids.

Built in the 13th century, the Palace Of Kings of Majorca is one of the most remarkable examples of medieval civil and military architecture in southern France. The main courtyard and its ensemble of Gothic buildings, as well as the garden, are worth your attention, but this majestic palace is worth a visit even just for the views of the city.

Further inland, in the southern part of the island, lie the so-called masticochoria (mastic villages). These well-preserved, fortified villages date from the 14th-16th centuries and were centres for the cultivation of mastic. Mastic is the sweet-tasting gum of the lentisk bush, which was exported all over the Mediterranean – and the area still produces around 300 tonnes of mastic every year. The most picturesque villages are Pyrgi, with its houses decorated in black and white geometric patterns called xysta Mesta, where towers and walls surround a baffling labyrinth of village streets as well as Olympoi and Vessa are all a worth a visit.

Nowhere else on the island is the scenery more reminiscent of the middle ages than in the tiny village of Olympi, where many of the narrow windy streets aren't lit up at night, which helps create an eerie medieval feel. Make sure to check out the nearby caves as well.