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Attractions:

The medieval monastery of Sant Salvador is undoubtedly the most well known attraction in the municipality and one that the majority of visitors will make a bee line for. This is with good reason as it really is a magnificent structure: the monastery is found to the south-east of Felanitx and is easy to reach via a comfortable winding road formerly known as Pilgrims Way, which passes by an impressive stone cross. The name of the road relates to the fact that the monastery was once one of the most important sites of pilgrimage on the island.

The foundation stone of the monastery was laid in 1348, when the primitive church dedicated to the "Passió de la Imatge" was built. The present building was constructed at the beginning of the 18th Century. The exterior of the building looks more like a fortress than a religious institute and this is partly due to the stormy history of the monastery - in the Middle Ages the resident monks had to defend themselves against numerous attacks by Arab pirates.

However, the interior of the monastery gives quite the opposite impression as it has been richly decorated - a magnificent carved stone altarpiece of alabaster dates from the 16th Century and depicts the Last Supper and parts of the Passion, and was created by the artist Guillem Sagrera. A statue from the 15th century, of the Lady of Sant Salvador, is also in place above the altar.

At a height of 510m and with fantastic views over the surrounding hills, the monastery is a popular place to visit and is still used regularly for worship, weddings and communions. Mass is usually celebrated on Sundays and religious holidays at 5pm.

On the Sunday closest to September 8th each year there is a special service to commemorate the coronation in 1934 of the Image of Our Lady. The 7m high statue that was donated to the municipality by a former Canon of Palma Cathedral, who was born in Felanitx.

Another ancient building well worth visiting is the aforementioned Santueri Castle. Today, the property is perhaps not in the greatest condition but it is still of great interest. Some of the towers and walls are still in good order, and there are remains of buildings and the water cisterns. Some of the walls and floors are of particular architectural interest as they were built using the "opus spicatum" technique, which is so characteristic of the Middle Ages and consists of placing bricks together in the shape of fish bones.

The castle’s magnificent location offers wonderful views of the villages of Porto Colom, Porto Petro, a wide coastal stretch of the Migjorn (the southern tip of Majorca), and on clear days it is even possible to make out the silhouette of the nearby island of Cabrera. It also offers good views of the monastery of Sant Salvador, which, by bearing left near the final approach to the castle, one can walk up to from here.

Elsewhere in the municipality, the parish church of Sant Miquel is also worth a look. The church face contains a memorial to 414 people who died when a wall collapsed in 1844, and beneath the rose window there is a particularly intricate statue of the Archangel Michael standing on the Devil’s head.

There are several festivals held in Felanitx, notably the festival of Santa Margalida on the 19th and 20 July, and the festival of Sant Agusti on the 28th of August. Celebrations in Felanitx are often accompanied by the famous "Els Cavallets" dance, in which seven children of between 10 and 13 years of age, wearing white trousers, red tops and green hats, dance around another child known as "La Dama" - who waves a handkerchief in time to the music. All dancers were male until fairly recently, when young girls were permitted to join.

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