Black and white photos on the walls of Puerto Pollensa's older hotels show a sleepy fishing village with wooden boats pulled up on to the beach and old women in the shade mending fishing nets.

Puerto Pollensa lies in the rugged and stunning landscape of the north of Mallorca Island. The town itself is set in a wide and sheltered bay, walled in by rocky mountains. The resort lines the crescent of sand that slips into the blue water.

At dawn the sea is flat and still, and for the few people up at that time, sunrise is a sight not to be missed. During the day, the sea breezes blow inland. Waves lap the shore and the deeper sea is dotted with colourful sails of yachts criss-crossing the bay.

The long beach, of white sand, is clean and quiet and definitely not crowded - a description which fits the resort as a whole. Some lovely hotels, literally yards from the shore along the pedestrianised Palm Way, command some of the best sea views to be had on Mallorca. The village itself is clustered around the old town square; half of which contains the church, the other half is shaded by palm trees and is lined with restaurants and cafés where locals and hotels mix.

There are lots of narrow streets of whitewashed houses, pools of shade under awnings or palm trees, and shops through which you can browse away the afternoons. Puerto Pollensa is a world away from the exuberant resorts of Magaluf and Palma Nova, and is a real favourite for couples and families. Going out in the North of the island is more expensive than in the south, but then the quality of the food is also higher.

It would be hard to go hungry in a place like Puerto Pollensa because the food is varied and usually excellent. There are a few restaurants that cater for British taste buds, but for the more adventurous there is the excellent seafood cooked in the Spanish and Mallorcene styles.

There are also tapas bars and pizzerias a plenty, a few Chinese and even a Kashmiri Restaurant on the town square. If you're an adventurous soul who likes to try something new, then the twice weekly market gives you a chance to mix with the locals - and try their food!