Forbes has just published the world’s most beautiful villages for 2025 - according to Unforgettable Travel Company and Valldemossa comes in at number 17 in the rankings. It is described as “Sleeping in the folds of Mallorca’s Tramuntana mountains, Valldemossa rises like a stone lullaby—its heartbeat pulsing from the Real Cartuja, a 14th-century Carthusian monastery (once a royal palace) where composer Frédéric Chopin and novelist George Sand spent the winter of 1838. Their former cells - now a museum - still cradle Chopin’s Pleyel piano and Sand’s handwritten letters. Meanwhile, winding alleys lead past plaques of Saint Catalina Thomàs—Mallorca’s patron saint—born in the village in 1533. Her serene image graces doorways as locals tell tales of her miracles - especially during Festes de la Beata - when flower-drenched processions honor her legacy.”
However, the top spot has gone to Bibury in England. “Nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds, Bibury unfurls like a watercolor dream - where honey-slicked cottages line Arlington Row; their mossy roofs whispering tales of 14th-century weavers. The River Coln murmurs gently here - weaving through golden buttercups and forget-me-nots, while plump ducks paddle lazily beneath canopies of willow. Nearby, Bibury Trout Farm invites visitors to feed fish or enjoy a riverside picnic, and St. Mary’s Church offers a moment of stillness amid ancient stone - while the air carries the smell of blooming lavender, mingling with freshly-baked scones,” says the experts.
And Michael Douglas and his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, are two regular visitors to Vallemossa during the Mallorcan summer. The family property in Mallorca is located on the coast near Valldemossa. The famous actor paid $3.5 million for s’Estaca in 1990 and put it up for sale first for £60 million in 2014, then for £32 million in 2019, and, unable to find a buyer, finally decided to take it off the market. Now he and his wife spend long periods in the house, which has been extensively renovated over the years.
The property is located in the unrivalled setting of the village of Valldemossa, where the price of housing stands at £4,019 per square metre according to data from the Idealista website for August 2024. Situated in a majestic valley surrounded by mountains, it is the highest village in the Balearics, at 437 metres above sea level.
It has a population of approximately 2,000 inhabitants, thanks to which it manages to maintain its traditional charm, surrounded by unspoilt countryside. From its port to its residential developments, this municipality is a haven of peace and a real cultural treasure, waiting to be discovered around every corner.