Lights, Camera, Mallorca: The Island That Keeps Stealing the Scene

Have you ever watched a film and found yourself googling where it was shot? Mallorca tends to have that effect. Directors keep coming back for the light, the coast, the mountain roads, the medieval villages, and the varied landscapes that cinematographers can so easily play around with.

The island has doubled for the French Riviera, the Pacific Islands, and Mauritius. It has been a mystery setting, a spy-thriller location, a royal getaway, and a love-story destination. Here are 9 films and series that put Mallorca on our radar.

Me Before You (2016)

The holiday scenes in this romantic drama, where wheelchair-bound Will and his carer Lou go on a trip from England to Mauritius, were actually filmed along the shores of Platja de Formentor⁠ and the resort overlooking it.

One of the most emotional scenes in the film, where they sit on the beach at night, and (spoiler) Will tells Lou he is going to Switzerland, was filmed right there. A celebrated stretch of sand, backed by a pine forest and framed by the peninsula's mountains. That beach is all crystal-clear water, white sand, and mountains that drop straight into the sea. It's easy to see why the filmmakers chose it to stand in for Mauritius.

The Last Letter From Your Lover (2021)

A 1960s love story set on the French Riviera, starring Shailene Woodley and Callum Turner. A scene everyone remembers, where Jennifer spots Anthony for the first time on the beach, and he looks back at her, was filmed at Platja de Formentor⁠. The sailing scenes, with the Tramuntana mountains rising dramatically in the background, were also filmed along the Mallorcan coast.

Other scenes were filmed near the village of Deià⁠, on the western slopes of the Tramuntana, known for its stone houses, its community of artists and writers, and the views so beautiful that made the poet Robert Graves⁠ live there for decades. The French Riviera glamour that the movie needed was already there, just wearing a different name.

Cloud Atlas (2012)

From the creators of The Matrix, this epic is one of the most ambitious films ever made, featuring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. The opening scene, where 19th-century sailor Mr. Ewing first meets the mysterious Dr. Goose on a beach in the Pacific, was filmed at Sa Calobra⁠, the dramatic cove at the foot of the Tramuntana mountains, reached via one of the island's most winding roads. Further scenes were filmed in Port de Sóller's horseshoe bay and in the woods near Formentor.

The scenes that were set in places like the Pacific and Hawaii were all secretly filmed in Mallorca. The Tramuntana range, recognised not only for its scenery but also for the thousand years of human cultivation still visible in its terraces and olive groves, was granted UNESCO World Heritage⁠ status in 2011. It turned out to be a very convincing prehistoric setting for the film.

The audience saw the edge of the world, but the camera never left northern Mallorca.

The Hustle (2019)

Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson star in this comedy about rival con artists working the French Riviera. The French Riviera in question is ⁠almost entirely Mallorca, with the exception of a few scenes filmed in France and the UK. The marina scenes were filmed at ⁠⁠Puerto Portals⁠, where Hathaway's character Josephine runs her cons among the superyachts and waterfront restaurants. Puerto Portals was built in the 1980s with exactly that type of clientele in mind, making it a natural fit for the French Riviera.

Manacor, Cala Ratjada, and Palma also feature across the movie, covering a good cross-section of the island's different moods and geography.

On screen, the South of France. Behind the scenes, the Balearic Islands.

Evil Under the Sun (1982)

You know that feeling when a book tells a story set on a beautiful island, and you think, "That place can't possibly be real?" Well, in Agatha Christie's⁠ original 1941 novel, it wasn't. She set her Poirot⁠ mystery on a sun-drenched fictional island where wealthy guests gather at a seaside hotel, and nobody can leave until the case is solved. But when this ⁠classic film adaptation came along, the directors needed somewhere real that could match it. They chose Mallorca.

The story's central murder took place in Cala Blanca⁠, with the cliffs of Formentor visible in the background of some of its most dramatic shots. Christie's imaginary island turned out to look a lot like northern Mallorca all along.

Agatha Christie imagined an island. Mallorca made it real.

The Mallorca Files (2019-2024)

This warm crime series follows two mismatched detectives working cases across the island, giving the production an excuse to move through ⁠Palma's old town, the mountain villages of the Tramuntana, the northern coast, the Caves of Drach⁠ in the east, and the wetlands of Es Trenc in the south. Valldemossa's⁠ cobbled streets keep reappearing in the show's quieter moments, while the Serra de Tramuntana, Port de Pollença, and Deià all feature across the seasons. A love letter to Mallorca disguised as a crime procedural.

The Night Manager (2016)

The BAFTA⁠ and Golden Globe-winning⁠ adaptation of John le Carré's spy thriller needed a villain's lair, and Mallorca delivered. La Fortaleza, a privately owned 16th-century fort overlooking Port de Pollença, became the home of Richard Roper, one of the main characters.

One of the series' most memorable scenes, in which Richard Roper's son, Danny, is taken from his table during a tense confrontation, was filmed at Ca's Patro March⁠, a small restaurant built into the rocks above the water in Cala Deià. It has since become one of the island's most visited spots. The harbour at Port de Sóller and the streets of Palma also feature throughout. The series is worth watching for the locations as much as the story, which is saying something, given how excellent the story is.

The Crown (2016-2023)

For Seasons 5 and 6, the production needed to recreate the French Riviera and the Mediterranean in the late 1990s. The production landed on Mallorca. Puerto de Andratx⁠, Palma, Sóller, and San Telmo⁠ were used to depict Princess Diana's last summer of 1997, which she spent partly on holiday with Dodi Al-Fayed, her partner at the time. That iconic image of Diana perched on the edge of a diving board in a blue swimsuit is one of the most recognisable photographs of her final weeks, and it was recreated on the Mallorcan coast by actress Elizabeth Debicki.

The superyacht Titania stood in for the real Jonikal, the private yacht owned by Dodi's father. One of the most-watched dramatisations of a real historical event was shot almost entirely on the island.

Special Ops: Lioness (2023)

Taylor Sheridan's Paramount+ spy thriller brought Nicole Kidman, Zoe Saldaña, and Morgan Freeman to Mallorca for several weeks. While the series was filmed across multiple countries, some of its most pivotal scenes were shot on the island, including the high-stakes wedding at the centre of the plot, filmed at La Fortaleza, the same clifftop fortress above Port de Pollença that featured in The Night Manager. Filming also took place throughout Palma's old town, at the Club Náutico, and on the streets of Pollença.

Between shooting days, Nicole Kidman spent her time off visiting Valldemossa and Deià, loving the island so much she posted about it on Instagram⁠. Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman discovered a small Italian restaurant in Palma called Sandro⁠, where he enjoyed the Bolognese so much he went back three times.

Ready to see it for yourself?

Several of our Pollença and Alcudia properties put you within easy reach of one of the most filmed coastlines in the Mediterranean. If you have not seen some of these films yet, some of our properties come with a cinema room, the perfect place to watch them before stepping outside and finding the locations for yourself. Your own Mallorca scene starts here.