PLAYA DE MURO:
The Playa de Muro offers you an ideal climate, typical of the
island of Mallorca, a privileged geographical setting on the island
and exquisite cultural and leisure activities; just the right
ingredients to guarantee an unbeatable stay, whether on holiday
or business or just to indulge in your favourite sports.
Both the S´Albufera Natural Park and the rich cultural offering
of the town of Muro are highlighted in the corresponding articles
that you will find in this magazine.
- CLIMATE AND LOCATION:
The strategic geographic situation of Mallorca in the Mediterranean is well known, as is its characteristic vegetation and the mountain range known as “Sierra de Tramuntana”, but the Playa de Muro enjoys a strategic location in the north of the island that endows it with on the one hand an ideal microclimate with warm winters and cool summers between 15º and 30º during the whole year, while at the same time the connections by road and the nearby railway station enables rapid access from any point in Mallorca, but without the inconvenience of traffic congestion.
- LEISURE ACTIVITIES:
As regards leisure activities, besides our select hotels, we
should mention the 6 Balnearios- modern beach bar restaurants
with public toilet facilities that are distributed strategically
along the beach, in which you can find, apart from a wide range
of gastronomic delights for any time of day, toilets for the disabled,
showers, public telephones and a first aid kit, etc… not
to mention the excellent views from the terraces just to relax
and enjoy yourself. Alongside the services offered by these Balnearios,
you can find the Playa de Muro Restaurant, in which you can enjoy
an unbeatable panorama while trying the excellent cuisine from
the live lobster tanks on the premises, fresh fish and the superb
grill.
Forming party of the leisure activities on offer is the recently
opened Sailing school with specialized monitors and all the facilities
needed to enjoy all he water sports you want.
- SAFETY:
To guarantee your safety the whole beach is monitored by trained
lifeguards, flags which tell you the state of the sea, as well
as all the equipment needed for safety on the beach and at sea
(emergency telephones, jet skis, informative notice boards, etc.).
And should it become necessary, we have two health centres right
on the Playa Muro: a General Hospital, recently built with the
most modern up to date facilities to treat most cases (whether
emergencies or not), with 72 hospital beds, Intensive Care Unit
(ICU), surgical theatres, rehabilitation… as well as a complete
health centre located in the Town Hall building.
The Town Hall building, located in the town centre is where both
the Guardia Civil and the Local Police are based and both forces
have regular patrols to ensure safety at all times.
- TOURIST INFORMATION AND POST OFFICE:
In the very same Town Hall building, you can find the Post Office,
where you can buy stamps, postcards, sent letters, and cards to
your friends at home, and we are sure they’ll be green with
envy!
In the same building, there are professional staffs who will be
pleased to deal with any queries you may have on tourist matters
related to our area or Mallorca in general.
- TRANSPORT:
There are various means of transport available including:
• By road: a regular coach service, with a frequency of
5 min. which will take you to any part of the island; vehicle
hire, all along the beach you can find numerous Rent a Car offices
with a wide range of quality vehicles, cars, motor- bike, bicycles…
• By sea: from the piers installed on the Playa de Muro
there are departures by numerous vessels called “golondrinas”,
which offer you the chance to get to know and enjoy our rich coastline
and even visit nearby islands.
- FESTIVALS AND MARKETS:
The surroundings of the Plaça Comte d´Empúries
are the ideal place to take a stroll and visit the Muro market.
Look at the flowers and vegetables on sale on Sundays and tae
in the wealth of captivating aromas.
Every Saturday in summer there is a market on Playa de Muro, to
be precise in Av. S´Albufera, between the streets Romaní
and Rodríguez de la Fuente. Apart from fresh fruit and
vegetables you can find leather goods and handicrafts, etc.
Open to all influences and peoples, the north of Mallorca is a
land with a rich cultural heritage and which keeps up many popular
festivals and traditions. The festivals take place all along the
cycle of the year with traditional activities full of life and
popular participation.
In the middle of January (16th and 17th) the festival of Saint
Antoni Abad is held in Muro, and the whole town is full of bonfires
and dancing devils and you can witness the most brilliant and
traditional ceremonies of animal blessings in Mallorca.
On Easter Monday the “Pancaritat a l´Oratori de Sant
Vicenç” is celebrated, when everyone is invited to
eat typical “panades”- small lamb pies- along with
the rest of the town in wonderful surroundings.
The first Sunday after Easter, the “Fira de Sant Francesc”
is held in Muro and the whole town is transformed into an enormous
market full of music.
Sant Joan Baptista- John the Baptist’s Day- (24th June)
is the patron saint of the town of Muro, and for a couple of days
all kinds of cultural and sports activities take place, of which
we should like to mention the much renowned bullfight.
On 25th July we celebrate the festival of Sant Jaume- Saint Jame´s
day-, along with other towns on the north coast.
Finally yet importantly, the “Fira de Tardor” or autumn
festival, which is celebrated in the romantic season of the same
name, one Sunday in November after the “Dijous Bo”-
annual agricultural fair, held on Thursday- festival in Inca.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and so we have
selected a small sample of photographs as an example of what we
can offer in the Playa de Muro.
S´ALBUFERA:
The reserve is made up of 1,708 hectares of meadow (wetlands),
marshes and dunes, and is highly valued for its birdlife and scenery.
It is protected by two international conservation declarations:
Area of Special Protection for Birds and an expanse of special
international importance according to the Ramsar Agreement.
It is an almost mythical natural area: birds, game, water, bridges,
canals… a completely enthralling and enticing world, which
have long been a source of richness and a place of leisure.
S´Albufera is an ancient lake whose origins go back some
18 million years, separated from the sea by a line of dunes, and
which has filled up with sediment over the centuries. Its water
is the basis of its biological richness, and the fact that the
greater part of the reserve is flooded allows a continual growth
of vegetation. The many species of plants give food and shelter
to a host of animals, which in turn provide food for many more.
Because of this abundance of water, there is a very great diversity
of living organisms, with S´Albufera being the complex of
ecosystems with the greatest biodiversity in the whole of the
Balearic Islands.
The visually dominant vegetation is made up of reeds, Great Fen
sedge and bulrushes, giant grasses that live in flooded freshwater
areas; not for getting Grey Club- rushes and salicornia where
the water is more brackish, together with white poplars, elms
and tamarinds. However, the rarest and most beautiful of the plants
is the marsh orchid. We should not forget the 66 existing species
of fungi, one of which, Psatyrella Halofila, is new to science
and was only discovered in 1992.
Of particular note in S´Albufera´s fauna is its rich
variety of fish- 29 species, the most important being eels and
mullets. Frogs are the dominant amphibian and the most common
reptiles are the water snake and the leprous turtle. The most
widely found mammals are rodents and bats- 8 species, with important
rarities like the wood bat.
Nevertheless, a great part of S´Albufera´s ecological
richness is due to its ornithological interest. Birds, able to
travel easily between wetlands that are hundreds or thousands
of kilometres apart, find food and shelter among its lagoons and
reed beds. S´Albufera alone accounts for more than two thirds
of all the species of the Balearic Islands, i.e. some 230 different
species either are present, as migrants or winter residents. Mallard
ducks and nightingales are found in abundance throughout the area,
as are coots and moorhen in the canals. Also frequently seen are
little grebe, water rail and European marsh harriers. Noteworthy
among those birds that visit but do not nest are the fish eagle,
the common kestrel and the falcon.
The Reserve´s opening hours are from 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.
from April 1st to September 30th, and from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
from October 1st to March 30th. A free visitor´s permit
is required, which can be obtained at the reception centre. Access
to the Reserve is by way of the Pont dels Anglesos, located on
the Port d´Alcúdia- Artà Road, in the centre
of Playa de Muro.
THE ELITE FOR SPORTS TOURISM:
- SPORTS AND NATURE:
We not only have the best beach in Majorca and most renowned
quality hotels, but we are also situated in the perfect surroundings
for sports such as golf, cycling, sailing, trekking, fishing,
beech volleyball, diving, and, naturally, keeping fit in the hotels
marvellously equipped gyms.
If you want to enjoy a day´s golf, there are several internationally
renowned golf courses near the hotel, offering different discounts,
depending on the establishment.
The situation and geographical surroundings of Playa de Muro are
ideal for cycling. Nearly all our hotels have special facilities
for bicycles and offer additional services such as picnic baskets,
isotonic drinks, etc.
You may enjoy our privileged beach to relax and have a quiet swim,
but the climate is also perfect for water sports, such as water
skiing, surfing, windsurf, at the Sailing Club in the middle of
the beach, in addition to diving, catamaran sailing or fishing.
Moreover, our excellent location offers trekking through the S´
Albufera National Park, located at Playa de Muro itself, or on
any of the twenty walking routes in the area.
For these and many other reasons, we invite you to relax and get
into shape, playing the sport of your choice, at Playa de Muro.
VILLA DE MURO
- OUR VILLA:
Muro is one of the oldest Mallorcan townships. It was declared
a town in the year 1300 by the first monarch of the kingdom: James
II. It boasts of the title of a loyal town bestowed by the Emperor
Charles V of Germany and I.
Muro is set on a hill, 100 metres above sea level in the NE part
of the island. Regarding its situation it enjoys a privileged
position dominating the fertile farming valley of “Marjals”,
the bay of Alcudia and the large lake of “S´Albufera”.
Protected by the northern mountain range, the town is sheltered
from the strong winds and the frost avoiding floods by its raised
position.
As well as the beautiful natural scenery that surrounds the town
Muro is rich artistic- architectural examples, a cultural heritage
being a constant reminder of the first most noble town inhabitants,
worth special mention are the Parish Church (1570), The Saint
Anne Convent (1560) and the Cloister of the same XVII century,
“L´Esglesieta de la Sang” (XV century) the old
county district, like the other buildings and façades all
are silent witnesses of a splendid and wealthy past.
From the present century, also of interest are: the original bullring
“La Monumental” (1910), the Ethnology Museum installed
in 1965 in the old Alomar House (1670), the Public School (1929)
and the Municipal Building (1948).
On the boundary limits, Muro has fertile agricultural land with
plenty of water for irrigation and an extensive line of pine trees
edging the magnificent white sandy beach, 7 kilometres long, mingling
with the S´Albufera Natural Park.
Almost 6.000 of the population in Muro dedicate their activities
to the hotel business, construction and auxiliary industries.
Forty years ago farming was practically the only occupation, now
today very diminished and selective.
The most important fairs and festal days that are traditionally
celebrated in Muro are: Sant Antoni (17/1), Romería de
Sant Vicencs (Easter Monday) Sant Francesc (first Sunday after
Easter), Sant Joan (24/6), Sant Jaume (25/7) and Sa Fira (second
Sunday in November). In addition, every Sunday morning there is
a market for fruit, vegetables and other essential farm products.
The people from Muro are friendly, open and kind to their visitors
and they take pride in greeting them, being attentive and introducing
them to the numerous places, monuments and local products, all
of which everyone who visit us may enjoy, and who are always welcome
to our town.