Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an <a href="/facts/Archipelago/50BeC9tl">archipelago</a> in the western <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_Sea/Vr2pzVbM">Mediterranean Sea</a>, near the eastern coast of the <a href="/facts/Iberian_Peninsula/ztFXI8zt">Iberian Peninsula</a>. The archipelago forms a <a href="/facts/Provinces_of_Spain/nw4PG6nM">province</a> and <a href="/facts/Autonomous_communities_of_Spain/tkAEH5bh">autonomous community</a> of Spain, with <a href="/facts/Palma_de_Mallorca/FhG4zSs3">Palma de Mallorca</a> being its capital and largest city.
Formerly part of the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Majorca/Mu0TUbNM">Kingdom of Mallorca</a>, the islands were made a province in the 19th century provincial division, which in 1983 received a <a href="/facts/Statute_of_Autonomy_of_the_Balearic_Islands/w1ca2yEH">Statute of Autonomy</a>. In its later reform of 2007, the Statute designates the Balearic Islands as one of the <a href="/facts/Nationalities_and_regions_of_Spain/1Doj3YPj">nationalities</a> of <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a>. The official <a href="/facts/Languages_of_Spain/qESpag4H">languages</a> of the Balearic Islands are <a href="/facts/Catalan_language/W2uTbK8Q">Catalan</a> and <a href="/facts/Spanish_language/95BgYNfv">Spanish</a>.
The archipelago islands are further grouped in western <a href="/facts/Pityusic_Islands/K1ruIAJw">Pytiuses</a> (the largest being <a href="/facts/Ibiza/CcIrfuxH">Ibiza</a> and <a href="/facts/Formentera/5Uo79DD3">Formentera</a>), and eastern <a href="/facts/Gymnesian_Islands/ALu85gxT">Gymnesians</a> (the largest being <a href="/facts/Mallorca/3mAERwSU">Mallorca</a> and <a href="/facts/Menorca/qoaphuvL">Menorca</a>). Many of its minor islands and islets are close to the larger islands, including <a href="/facts/Cabrera%2c_Balearic_Islands/EavW4Lvq">Cabrera</a>, <a href="/facts/Dragonera/VN5Vmpxw">Dragonera</a>, and <a href="/facts/S%2527Espalmador/RFEABPaz">S'Espalmador</a>. It is the second largest and most populated archipelago in Spain, after the <a href="/facts/Canary_Islands/7lfpqymu">Canary Islands</a>.
The islands have a <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_climate/gGsJAKE5">Mediterranean climate</a>, and the four major islands are all popular tourist destinations. Ibiza, in particular, is known as an international party destination, attracting many of the world's most popular <a href="/facts/Disc_jockey/5YYYRqPB">DJs</a> to its <a href="/facts/Nightclub/krTvUzaj">nightclubs</a>. The islands' culture and cuisine are similar to those of the rest of Spain but have their own distinctive features.

Balearic Islands open-in-new

Balearic Islands