Gordiola Glass Factory

Gordiola is one of the oldest glass manufacturers in Europe, founded in 1719, housed in a castle-like building right on the Ma-15 near Algaida, km 19. The appeal is that real work still happens here. Down in the furnace room the glassblowers sit at the glowing pipes and pull glasses, jugs, figures out of the viscous mass, and you are allowed to watch, for free, often surprisingly close. Upstairs is a rambling little glass museum with pieces from three centuries and from all over the world, worth the twenty minutes. In the shop the typical green-blue Mallorcan glass is stacked high. Nobody has to buy. Good as a short stop on the way from Palma to the east or combined with Algaida (good village restaurants) and the nearby Puig de Randa. In summer the furnace room gets hot, that is part of it.