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The town’s top attraction is the former monastery where Chopin and Sand stayed, which also incorporates a palace and an excellent municipal museum (see Museu Municipal de Valldemossa). Given to the Carthusian Order in 1399, the estate was a monastery until 1835, when all religious orders were ousted from the island. It was bought by a French banker who rented the rooms to Chopin.

The Neoclassical church has a cupola decorated with frescoes by Fray Bayeu, the brother-in-law of Francisco de Goya. It is distinguished by barrel vaulting and gilt-edged stucco work.

From the church, you can enter the atmospheric cloisters, known as the Myrtle Court. Around them are six chapels and ten spacious monks’ cells.

Laden with tinctures and elixirs, a deconsecrated chapel recreates the estate’s original pharmacy. George Sand bought marshmallow here in an attempt to cure Chopin’s tuberculosis.

The head monk had a private oratory, magnificent library, elegant audience chamber, bedroom, dining room, Ave María (praying alcove) and, of course, a sumptuous garden.

Said to be the rooms that Chopin and Sand rented, they are full of memorabilia, including Chopin’s piano, Sand’s manuscripts, busts and portraits.

The core of the monastery was originally the site of the palace built by Jaume II for his son Sanç. The rooms are regally decorated – an especially beautiful piece is the 12th-century wood-carving of the Madonna and Child.

The old town spills down a hillside, surrounded by farming terraces and marjades (stone walls) created 1,000 years ago by the Moors. The name “Valldemossa” derives from that of the original Moorish landowner, Muza.

Near the bottom of the old town, a rustic, Baroque-style church is dedicated to one of the patron saints of the town. It was built in 1245, shortly after Jaume I conquered Mallorca, and extended in the early 18th century. The bell tower and façade date from 1863.

Mallorca’s only saint, Catalina Thomàs (known affectionately as the “Beatata” for both her saintliness and diminutive stature), was born in 1533 at a house on C/Rectoría, 5. The house was converted into an oratory in 1792 and features saintly scenes and a statue of the “Beatata” holding a bird.