art walk in Deià, Mallorca

painting of Deià by Leila Ward

I have two top tips for visiting Deià, a cute stone village on the northern coast of Mallorca.

1. Stay at Belmond La Residentia, truly one of the best resorts I've ever visited. Typical of all Belmond properties, it is an historic property with local flavor and understated luxury. The simple but elegant rooms have simple white plaster walls, splashes of color being provided by original works of local artists. My suite (number 42) is just wonderful, filled with the light of the afternoon sun streaming through its abundant windows — and there's a painting by Leila Ward right over my desk (the same artist who created the picture of Deià at the top of this article).

2. Enjoy the Artist's Walk, a complimentary activity offered to guests every Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. This means you should plan to spend Monday evening at La Residentia to take advantage of this opportunity. Otherwise, make plans with the hotel in advance to book a private tour for you. You'd never be able to duplicate this walk on your own. Just finding the studios on your own would be a challenge, and the artists may not be in studio — or prepared to welcome you — unless the visits are scheduled in advance.

Van Gogh and his Apple computer by Arturo Rhodes

I enjoyed meeting some of the most creative souls I've ever encountered, including David Templeton, Leila Ward, and Arturo Rhodes whose picture of Van Gogh (shown above) demonstrates his delightful eccentricity. Van Gogh is working on an MacBook computer, his ear taking the place of the Apple logo and a live "mouse" to move the cursor.

This short summary can only hint at what awaits you. The Artist's Walk more than exceeded my expectations as we strolled the winding streets of Deià and engaged with some of the village's resident artists.

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