Menorca

Second largest of the Balearic islands, boomerang-shaped Menorca stretches west from the enormous natural harbour of Maó to the smaller port of Ciutadella, a distance of just 45km. Each of these two small towns, which together hold around seventy percent of the population, has preserved much of its eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century appearance, though Ciutadella’s mazy centre, with its grand mansions and Gothic cathedral, has the aesthetic edge over Maó’s plainer, more mercantile architecture. Running through the rustic interior between the two is the main Me-1 highway, which spines the island, linking a trio of pocket-sized market towns – Alaior, Es Mercadal and Ferreries – and connecting with a sequence of side roads that branch off to the resorts and beaches that notch the north and south coasts.

The Me-1 highway acts as a rough dividing line between Menorca’s two distinct geological areas. In the north, sandstone predominates, giving a red tint to the low hills that roll out towards the surf-battered coastline, with its myriad coves and inlets. It’s here you’ll find the lovely fishing village and mini-resort of Fornells; the bare and solitary Cap de Favàritx; the rearing cliffs and handsome beaches of the Cap de Cavalleria; and, a little inland, the rich birdlife of the Parc Natural s’Albufera des Grau. To the south of the highway all is limestone, with low-lying flatlands punctuated by bulging hills and fringed by a cove-studded coastline. Wooded ravines gouge through this southern zone, becoming deeper and more dramatic as you travel west – especially around the pleasant little town of Es Migjorn Gran and at Cala Galdana, a popular resort set beneath severe, pine-clad sea cliffs. The south coast also holds the island’s best beaches, some developed – like Son Bou – others relatively untouched, such as Cala Turqueta and Cala Macarella. Straddling the two zones is Monte Toro, Menorca’s highest peak, where the panoramic views reveal the topography of the island to dramatic effect.

The island’s varied terrain is sprinkled with farmsteads that bear witness to an agriculture which, before much of it was killed off by urbanization/modernization, had become highly advanced. A dry-stone wall (tanca) protected every field and prevented the Tramuntana, the vicious north wind, from tearing away the topsoil. Even olive trees had their roots individually protected in little stone wells, while compact stone ziggurats sheltered cattle from both the wind and the blazing sun. Nowadays, many of the fields lie barren, but the walls and ziggurats survive, as do many of the old twisted gates made from olive branches.

The landscape is further cluttered by scores of prehistoric stone monuments, mostly dating from the second millennium BC. Perhaps surprisingly, considering this widespread physical evidence, little is known of Menorca’s early settlers and there has been endless academic debate about exactly what means what. The most common remains are talayots, cone-shaped mounds of stone that may or may not have been watchtowers. It’s from these talayots that the prehistoric Talayotic Period is named, running from 2500 to 123 BC, when the Romans arrived. Four of the finest Talayotic sites are Talatí de Dalt, just outside Maó, Torre d’en Gaumés, near Alaior, Torrellafuda, just off the Me-1 on the approach to Ciutadella, and the Naveta d’es Tudons, also near Ciutadella. Very different are the remains left by the British, who captured Menorca in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession and held it – with one or two interruptions – until 1802. The British planted fortifications along Maó’s deep-water port, the Port de Maó, and one of them, the intriguing Fort Marlborough, has survived in fine fettle – as has the nearby Spanish fortress of La Mola.

Nowadays, Menorca’s tourist industry rules the economic roost, but it has its singularities. It’s dominated by the British, who account for around sixty percent of the island’s visitors, and it’s focused on holiday homes and package tours, with a strong sideline in activity holidays from walking to diving. It’s also very seasonal: outside April/May to October, many restaurants, cafés and hotels close and the bus network is reduced to a skeleton service.

CAP DE FAVÀRITX

Highlights

1 Maó The labyrinthine lanes and alleys of Menorca’s engaging capital ramble along the top of a ridge, high above its deep and long harbour.

2 Talatí de Dalt One of the most satisfying of Menorca’s many prehistoric remains, in a charming rustic setting just outside Maó.

3 Cap de Favàritx A wind-stripped headland where a solitary lighthouse shines out over a lunar-like landscape of tightly layered slate.

4 Monte Toro Menorca’s highest point, offering wonderful views over the whole of the island.

5 Ciutadella The island’s prettiest town, its compact centre an inordinately appealing maze of handsome stone buildings culminating in a delightful Gothic cathedral.

6 Cala Turqueta Menorca has a clutch of unspoilt cove beaches and this is one of the finest, with a band of fine white sand set between wooded limestone cliffs and crystal-clear waters.

Highlights are marked on the Menorca map.

< Back to Menorca

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: MENORCA

BY PLANE

Menorca airport Menorca’s international airport is located just 5km southwest of the capital, Maó. The airport is a smart, compact affair with car rental outlets, ATMs, currency exchange facilities and a tourist office.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Tourist information The tourist office (daily 8am–8.30pm; tel_icon 971 15 71 15) in the arrivals hall issues free island maps and has a selection of free literature, including Menorca Weekly, a leaflet detailing forthcoming events, and Menorca Explorer, a general information booklet which contains simple maps of every town on the island as well as all sorts of listings.

TRANSPORT FROM THE AIRPORT

By bus There is a frequent bus service between Menorca airport and Maó bus station, just off Plaça S’Esplanada (June–Sept daily every 30min, 6am–10pm; Oct–May daily every 30min, 6am–8pm; 15min). Single tickets cost €2.65. At Maó bus station, you can pick up buses to every part of the island. Alternatively, Shuttle Menorca (April–Oct; tel_icon 971 36 99 92, web_icon shuttlemenorca.com) offers affordable minibus transfers between the airport and a wide range of destinations. Single fares average around €12.

By taxi A taxi between the airport to Maó costs about €12; taxi rates are controlled and a list of island-wide fares is available from the tourist office in the Arrivals Hall.

BY FERRY

Ferries and catamarans Boats to Menorca from the other Balearic islands and mainland Spain mostly dock at Maó’s ferry terminal, immediately below the centre of town, but there’s also a limited range of services to and from Ciutadella. For details of routes and sample fares, see Basics.

GETTING AROUND

By bus There’s an excellent year-round bus service running along the Me-1 between Maó and Ciutadella, linking all the larger towns of the interior – Alaior, Es Mercadal and Ferreries. There’s also a reasonably good year-round service to the smaller towns to the north and south of the Me-1, including Sant Lluís, Fornells and Es Migjorn Gran. The island’s coastal resorts are all easy to reach by bus in the tourist season, usually from April to October, but out of season there’s either a skeleton service, or no service at all. Bus timetables are available online at web_icon menorca.tib.org.

By taxi Taxi rates are controlled and a list of islandwide fares is available from any tourist office.

By bicycle Most of the island’s resorts, as well as Maó and Ciutadella, have bike rental outlets. Prices begin at about €12 a day.

By car Big-name car rental companies line up at Menorca airport, including Europcar ( tel_icon 971 36 64 00) and National Asea ( 971 36 62 13). The airport tourist office has a complete islandwide list.

TOURISM MENORCA-STYLE: RESERVES AND CONSERVATION

By design, Menorca’s tourist development is largely confined to individual coves and bays, and only among the sprawling villa villages in the southeast corner of the island has it become at all overpowering. Neither is it likely to spread: determined to protect their island from the worst excesses of the tourist industry, the Menorcans have clearly demarcated development zones and have also created a chain of conservation areas that protect around forty percent of the island. It was this far-sighted plan that prompted UNESCO to declare Menorca a Biosphere Reserve in 1993. The islanders have been especially keen to protect their undeveloped beaches, bringing both them and their immediate hinterland into public ownership as speedily as possible. To this end, the old mule and military track that encircles the island has been turned into a long-distance footpath, the Camí de Cavalls.

Maó

Despite its status as island capital, MAÓ (in Castilian, Mahón) has a sociable, small-town feel – the population is just 29,000 – and wandering around its ancient centre, with its long-established cafés and dinky little shops, is a relaxing and enjoyable way to pass a few hours. Nowadays, most visitors approach Maó from its landward side, but this gives the wrong impression. Thanks to its position beside the largest natural harbour in the Mediterranean, the town has always been a port and it’s only from the waterfront that the logic of the place becomes apparent, its centre crowding the crest of a steep ridge that stands tall against the south side of the harbour. From this angle, Maó is beautiful, its well-worn houses stacked up high and interrupted by fragments of the old city walls and the occasional church.

Spreading along the top of the ridge, the town centre possesses two cultural highlights, the Churrigueresque chapel in the church of St Francesc and the assorted bygones and curios of the Centre d’Art i d’Història Hernández Sanz, but all told it’s the general flavour of the area that appeals rather than any individual sight. The icing on the cake is the centre’s striking and unusual hybrid architecture: tall, monumental Spanish mansions stand cheek by jowl with classical Georgian sash-windowed townhouses, elegant reminders of the British occupation. Below the centre, down by the harbour, you might also enjoy visiting Xoriguer gin distillery, where you can sample as many of the island’s liquors as you can brave, or you might consider venturing a little further afield to see the substantial Talayotic remains of Talatí de Dalt, just west of town along the Me-1.

Port it may be, but there’s no seamy side to Maó. Nightlife is limited to a few bars and clubs near the ferry terminal, and the harbourfront’s main draw is its long string of restaurants and cafés, which attract tourists in their droves – though few stay the night, preferring the purpose-built resorts close by. As a result, Maó has surprisingly few hostales and hotels, which means that you can base yourself here and – if you avoid the waterfront – escape the tourist throng with the greatest of ease.

Plaça Espanya

From behind the ferry terminal, a graceful stone stairway and a narrow, twisting street – the Costa de Ses Voltes – tangle together as they climb up the hill to emerge in the middle of the old town at Plaça Espanya, which is overlooked by a handsome medley of high-sided houses. Here also, on the north side of the square, is an amenable little fish market dating from the 1920s and plonked on top of a sturdy bastion that was originally part of the Renaissance city wall. This mighty zigzag of fortifications, bridges and gates once encased the whole city and replaced the city’s medieval walls, sections of which also survive and are clearly visible from the foot of Costa de Ses Voltes. Work on the new Renaissance walls started under the Habsburgs in the middle of the sixteenth century, though the chain of bastions took more than one hundred years to complete. On the right-hand side of the fish market a narrow, dead-end alley offers fine views down over the port and is home to the café El Mirador.

Plaça Carme

Overshadowing Plaça Carme, immediately to the east of the fish market, is the massive facade of the eighteenth-century Església del Carme, a Carmelite church whose barn-like interior is almost entirely devoid of embellishment, though the high altar is worth a second look for its intricately carved tableaux and trumpeting angels. The adjoining cloisters, the Claustre del Carme, have, after long service as the municipal courts, been refurbished to house the town’s fresh meat, fruit and vegetable market whose stalls – along with those selling tourist knick-knacks – are set against a platoon of vaulted arches. The cloisters were taken from the Carmelites in 1837 under the terms of a national edict that confiscated church property, passing vast estates and buildings to the state in what was the largest redistribution of land since the Reconquista. Unsurprisingly, the edict was bitterly resented by the Church, but it caught the popular mood, a volatile mix of anti-clericalism and self-interest, with many small farmers hoping to buy the confiscated land from the state at knock-down prices. Later right-wing administrations did return some of the ecclesiastical property, but most of the land was lost to the Church for good.

Plaça Constitució

Narrow and particularly pretty, Plaça Constitució is one of Maó’s most engaging squares, where the horses and riders of the Mare de déu de Gràcia fiesta congregate in early September – hence the modern equine statue. One side of the square is dominated by the Església de Santa Maria, but it’s the genteel arcades, bull’s-eye upper windows and wrought-iron grilles of the Ajuntament (Town Hall) that catch the attention. Built by the Spanish, the Ajuntament was subsequently occupied by the island’s colonial governors, including Richard Kane, who donated its distinctive clock. Kane also had portraits of King George III and Queen Charlotte hung in the entrance hall, but these were replaced long ago by portraits of three Spanish kings, Alfonso XIII (1886–1941), Carlos III (1716–88) and Carlos IV (1748–1819), the last two sporting the flamingo-like noses that centuries of inbreeding accentuated among the Spanish Habsburgs.

Església de Santa Maria

Plaça de la Constitució 3 • Daily 7.30am–1pm & 6–8.30pm • €2 • tel_icon 971 36 22 78

Maó’s principal church, the sterling Església de Santa Maria was founded in 1287 by Alfonso III to celebrate the island’s reconquest from the Moors. Rebuilt in the middle of the eighteenth century and remodelled on several subsequent occasions, the church’s exterior is an enjoyable architectural hybrid, its Gothic features encased within later Neoclassical accretions. Inside, the nave is all Catalan Gothic, a hangar-like, single-vaulted construction designed to make the high altar visible to the entire congregation – and indeed there’s no missing it, its larger-than-life Baroque excesses featuring the Virgin Triumphant with a flock of helpful cherubs. Originally, kaleidoscopic floods of light would have poured in through the multitude of stained-glass windows, but most were bricked up ages ago and the nave is now dark and gloomy, its side-vaulting also scarred by some really rather ugly in-fill arches. More in keeping with the original design are the truncated transepts, which sport intricate stuccowork with another flock of cherubs peering out from a swirling, decorative undergrowth. The church’s pride and joy is its organ, a monumental piece of woodwork filling out the elevated gallery above the south entrance. The instrument, with its trumpeting angels and three thousand pipes, was made in Austria in 1810 and lugged across half of Europe at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. Britain’s Admiral Collingwood helped with the move, probably as a crafty piece of appeasement: defiance of their new Protestant masters had played a large part in the locals’ decision to revamp the church during the British occupation.

Carrer Isabel II

Running west from Plaça Constitució, long and slender Carrer Isabel II is distinguished by its Georgian architecture, all handsome wooden doors and fancy fanlights, sash windows, bay windows and ornate ironwork. This was once the heart of the British administration, as recalled by today’s military governor’s house, the eighteenth-century Govern Militar, about halfway along, with its elaborate paintwork and shaded, colonial-style arcades.

There’s a useful – and extremely pleasant – short cut down to the harbour from c/Isabel II along Costa d’es General, an alley at the foot of c/Rector Mort. This alley tunnels through the old city wall before snaking its way down the cliff to the waterfront below.

The Església de St Francesc

Plaça Monestir • Daily 10am–12.30pm & 5–7pm • Free • tel_icon 971 36 25 55

At the end of c/Isabel II, the Baroque facade of the Església de St Francesc appears as a cliff-face of pale stone rising high above the rounded, Romanesque arches of its doorway. The church was a long time in the making, its construction spread over the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries following the razing of the town by the piratical Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1535. Inside, the strong lines of the Gothic nave are disturbed by some clumsy stucco panelling around the shallow side-chapels, but there’s aesthetic compensation in the impressive roof vaulting, not to mention the heavy-duty high altar. The latter is flanked by paintings depicting scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and St Francis, each and every one of them designed to edify the (illiterate) congregation. Tucked away off the north side of the nave, there’s also the Capella de la Concepció (Chapel of the Immaculate Conception), an octagonal wonderland of light-white stone decorated with garlanded vines and roses in the full flourish of the Churrigueresque style. Completed in 1752, the chapel is attributed to Francesc Herrara, the painter, engraver and architect who trained in Rome and worked in Menorca before moving on to Palma in Mallorca.

BARBAROSSA GETS ROUGH

Born on Lesbos, the son of an Ottoman soldier, Hizir Barbarossa (c.1473–1547) cut his nautical spurs early, making a good living from the sea trade of the eastern Mediterranean with a bit of piracy on the side. By 1505, he had established a series of fortified bases in today’s Algeria and Tunisia, and from here he proceeded to attack Christian shipping, ransoming his prisoners or selling them into slavery. It was then that the struggle for control of the western Mediterranean between the Ottomans and the Habsburgs gave him another business opportunity: the Sultan paid him handsomely for lending a helping hand and the sacking of Maó was a prime result. Barbarossa died in 1547, but the war lasted for another twenty years or so, until the Turkish fleet was annihilated at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

Museu de Menorca

Avgda Doctor Guàrdia s/n • April–Oct Tues–Sat 10am–2pm & 6–8.30pm, Sun 10am–2pm; Nov–March Mon–Fri 9.30am–2pm, Sat & Sun 10am–2pm • €2.40 • tel_icon 971 35 09 55

The old monastic buildings adjacent to the Església de St Francesc now accommodate the Museu de Menorca, the island’s largest museum. The collection is spread over three levels, with temporary exhibitions on the ground floor and the permanent collection up above. A visit begins with the old Franciscan cloister that abuts the museum, its sturdy pillars and vaulted aisles dating back to the early eighteenth century and illustrating the high point of the Menorcan Baroque.

The first floor

The first floor holds a wide range of prehistoric artefacts, beginning with bits and pieces left by the Neolithic pastoralists who were well established here by about 4000 BC. Then it’s on to the Talayotic period (2500–123 BC), where the earlier items – household objects and the like – are pretty crude, unlike the later pieces, which exhibit considerable sophistication both in home-made goods and in the use of imported items. In particular, look out for the dainty, rather quizzical-looking bronze bull, probably of fifth-century Phoenician manufacture and found at Torralba d’en Salord, and a small Egyptian bronze of Imhotep unearthed at Torre d’en Gaumés. These key exhibits reflect the final flourishing of Talayotic culture when Menorca became a major port of call for ships sailing through the Mediterranean, particularly between Italy and Spain. The first floor is rounded off by an enjoyable sample of Roman pottery, including a number of whopping amphorae.

The second floor

The permanent collection continues on the second floor, where a series of displays gallops unconvincingly through the Moorish period up to 1900. Among the items on display is a medieval stone cross retrieved from the ruins of a long-gone castle; a batch of paintings of Maó harbour; a handsome assortment of majolica pottery; and several small features on island skills and crafts: the making of costume jewellery, silver purses, boats and shoes. Look out also for the whimsical wooden figurines (vellons) carved in the likeness of various island notables by two local carpenters, the scurrilous Monjo brothers, in the late nineteenth century.

Plaça Bastió

From the Museu de Menorca, it’s a hop and jump to Plaça Bastió, a pleasant piazza holding Maó’s one remaining medieval gateway, the Portal de Sant Roc, a sturdy affair of roughly hewn stone comprising two turrets, a connecting arch and a projecting parapet. The gateway is named after St Roch, a fourteenth-century hermit who was popular hereabouts as a talisman to ward off the plague: Christian legend asserted that he both recovered from a bout of the plague and cured fellow sufferers, a good recommendation at a time when every city in Europe feared an outbreak.

Carrer Hannover and around

Running up from Plaça Constitució, Maó’s steeply sloping main street is the commercial heart of the old town, flanked by family shops and tiny piazzas. Different parts of the street bear different names, but the longest portions are Costa de sa Placa (Hannover) and c/Moreres, which is where you’ll spy a dinky bust-on-a-plinth of Maó’s Mateu Josep Orfila (1787–1853), to all intents and purposes the founder of modern toxicology. It takes five to ten minutes to walk from one end of the main street to the other and you emerge at Plaça S’Esplanada, the humdrum main square.

Centre d’Art i d’Història Hernández Sanz

c/Anuncivay 2 • Mon–Sat except Tues 10am–1.30pm & 6–8pm, Sun 10am–1.30pm • Free • tel_icon 971 35 65 23

Inhabiting the former mansion of the Oliver family, who made their money from military supplies, the Centre d’Art i d’Història Hernández Sanz is something of a hotch potch, its disparate collection spread over three floors. The ground floor displays the mansion itself to fine advantage, especially its handsome interior staircase and Italianate murals, and here also is a section devoted to the Oliver family in particular and the Mahonese bourgeoisie in general. A further section traces the evolution of Maó as a port with a collection of vintage maps, and yet another – perhaps the most interesting of the lot – is devoted to British Menorca. Here you’ll find a sort of “speaking clock” of Menorcan words and phrases derived from the English language, as well as a vitriolic British cartoon entitled The English Lion Dismember’d: Menorca had been returned to Spain by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 and this clearly infuriated the cartoonist, who shows the English lion with one of his paws chopped off – the offending paw shaped like Menorca. Here also are a couple of historical paintings by Joan Chiesa (1754–1833), recording, in precise detail, the comings and goings of the British army, including the final evacuation of Maó in 1802. Little is known of this Chiesa, but he was related to a one-time Spanish governor of the island, Giuseppe Chiesa (1720–89), whose (very similar) paintings are also displayed in this section.

Upstairs, and of lesser interest, is a section devoted to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Menorca, with lots of cameos of islanders in traditional costume; as well as more maps; a feature on the historian Hernández Sanz, whose idiosyncratic connoisseur’s collection is the core of what is on display today; and temporary displays of modern, mostly local, art.

The quayside

Below Maó’s town centre stretches the 3km-long quayside, in the middle of which is Maó’s ferry terminal. To the west of the terminal, beyond a few bars, restaurants and the Xoriguer gin distillery, the waterfront is occupied by the town’s small fishing fleet and a mini-marina, and then comes an industrial area, which extends round the murky waters at the head of the inlet. To the east, it’s a couple of hundred metres to the departure point for boat tours of Port de Maó and another short stroll to Mô, the pint-sized mermaid created by local sculptor Leonardo Lucarini. Mô announces the start of the town’s main marina, an elongated affair where flashy chrome yachts face a string of restaurants, bars and cafés. By day, the half-hour stroll east along the quayside is tame verging on boring; at night, with tourists converging on the restaurants, it’s rather more animated.

Xoriguer gin distillery

Moll de Ponent 91 • June–Sept Mon–Fri 8am–7pm, Sat 9am–1pm; Oct–May Mon–Fri 9am–1pm & 4–7pm • Free • tel_icon 971 36 21 97, web_icon xoriguer.es

From Maó’s ferry terminal, it’s a couple of minutes’ walk west to the Xoriguer gin distillery showroom, where you can help yourself to free samples of gin, various liqueurs and other spirits. Multilingual labels give details of all the different types, and there are some pretty obscure examples, such as calent, a sweet, brown liqueur with aniseed, wine, saffron and cinnamon; and palo, a liquorice-flavoured spirit supposedly of Phoenician provenance. The lime-green hierbas, a favourite local tipple, is a sweet and sticky liqueur, partly made from camomile collected on the headlands of La Mola. In all its various guises, the main spirit is gin with pomada, a gin cocktail with lemonade, pretty much Menorca’s national drink. British sailors first brought gin to Menorca in the late eighteenth century, but a local businessman, a certain Beltran, obtained the recipe in obscure circumstances and started making the stuff himself. Nowadays, Xoriguer is the most popular island brand, mostly sold in modern versions of the earthenware bottles once used by British sailors and known locally as canecas. Here at the showroom, a litre of Xoriguer gin costs about €12.

Talatí de Dalt

May–Oct daily 10am–8pm; Nov–April open access • May–Oct €4; Nov–April free • web_icon descobreixmenorca.com • The site is 4km west of Maó centre, just south off the Me-1 highway, and is not served by public transport; if you’re driving along the Me-1, watch for the sign and then follow a narrow lane that reaches the site after 300m

Of the several Talayotic sites in the vicinity of Maó, easily the pick is the rusticated remains of Talatí de Dalt. Partly enclosed by a Cyclopean wall, the site features an imposing taula set within a circular precinct. The taula here appears to be propped up by a second T-shaped pillar, though it’s generally agreed that this is the result of an accidental fall, rather than by prehistoric design. Next to the taula are the heaped stones of the main talayot, and just beyond are three subterranean chambers with columns and flagstones forming several rough roofs. These three chambers, which date from the very end of the Talayotic period, abut an inner courtyard and are much more sophisticated in construction than the earlier prehistoric dwellings that dot the rest of the site. Their exact function is not known, but there’s no doubt that the taula was the village centrepiece, and probably the focus of religious ceremonies too. The site’s rural setting is also charming – olive and carob trees abound and a tribe of hogs roots around the undergrowth.

MENORCA’S TALAYOTIC SITES

Menorca’s Talayotic sites conform to a common pattern, though as you might expect there are marked differences in their state of repair. The tallest structure on each site is generally the talayot (from atalaya, Arabic for “watchtower”), a cone-shaped mound between 5m and 10m high, built of stone but without mortar or cement. There are dozens of ruined talayots on Menorca and the detail of their original design varies from site to site: some are solid, others contain one or more chambers. Most are found in and around settlements, but there are solitary examples too. Such diversity has generated considerable academic debate about their original purpose, with scholars suggesting variously that they were built for defence, as dwellings for chieftains, as burial sites or as storehouses. Popular belief has it that they functioned as watchtowers, but it’s a theory few experts accept: they have no interior stairway, for example, and only a handful are found along the coast. Even so, no one has come up with a more convincing explanation. The mystery of the talayots, which are also found on Mallorca, is compounded by their uniqueness. The only Mediterranean structures they vaguely resemble are the Nuragh towers on Sardinia, though a Sardinian kinship is but one of several options, with Egypt, Crete and Greece also posited as possible influences.

These talayots are often positioned a few metres from a taula, a T-shaped structure comprising two huge stones up to 4.5m high. Some sites may contain several talayots, but there’s rarely more than one taula, and this almost always sits in the middle of a circular enclosure whose perimeter is (or was) marked by a low wall. Archeologists have unearthed objects in these enclosures and the remains of firepits have been found against the perimeter wall. These discoveries imply a religious function, though there is insufficient evidence to justify referring to the enclosures as “shrines”. There’s general agreement, however, that the taula and its enclosure formed the public part of the settlement, and on many sites the remains of family dwellings surround them. Finally, Menorca also holds a number of navetas, stone-slab constructions shaped like inverted loaf tins and dating from between 1400 and 800 BC. Many have false ceilings, and although you can stand up inside, they were clearly not living spaces, but rather communal tombs, or ossuaries. The prime example is the Naveta d’es Tudons, outside Ciutadella. Navetas are never found in the same place as the talayots and taulas.

Archeologists divide the Talayotic period into several different eras, but as far as the non-specialist is concerned, the only significant difference between the various phases is the, perimeter wall, a dry-stone affair often several metres high and made up of large stones. These Cyclopean walls were for defence and reflect an increase in piracy across the western Mediterranean: the earlier settlements lack them, while the later ones – from around 1000 BC – do have them. There’s more on the Talayotic period in Contexts.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: MAÓ

BY PLANE

Menorca airport Menorca’s international airport is located just 5km southwest of Maó. A frequent bus service links the airport with Maó bus station, just off Plaça S’Esplanada (June–Sept daily every 30min, 6am–10pm; Oct–May daily every 30min, 6am–8pm; 15min); single tickets cost €2.65. A taxi from the airport to Maó costs about €12.

BY FERRY

Maó ferry terminal The terminal is located directly beneath the town centre, though ferries sometimes moor on the other (north) side of the harbour, a 10- to 15min walk away. From the ferry terminal, it’s a brief walk up the wide stone stairway of Costa de Ses Voltes to Plaça Espanya and the oldest part of town. For details of ferry and catamaran routes, as well as prices, consult Basics (see Ferries and catamarans from mainland Spain and Ferries and catamarans between the Balearic islands).

BY BUS

Maó bus station Long-distance buses arrive and depart from the Estació d’Autobuses, off Avgda Josep Anselm Clavé, a couple of minutes’ walk from the main square, Plaça S’Esplanada. Bus timetables are available online at web_icon menorca.tib.org.

Destinations Alaior (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 10min); Cala Galdana (May–Oct 2 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 2 daily; 50min); Ciutadella (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 1hr); Es Castell (every 30–60min; 10min); Es Grau (mid-June to mid-Sept 4 daily; 20min); Es Mercadal (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 25min); Es Migjorn Gran (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 30min); Ferreries (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 35min); Fornells (mid-June to mid-Sept Mon–Sat 8 daily, Sun 4 daily; mid-Sept to mid-June 2 daily; 35min); Sant Lluís (hourly; 10min); Sant Tomàs (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 1hr); Son Bou (May–Oct every 1–2hr, but no Sun service in May & Oct; 45min).

BY CAR

Driving into Maó The ring road encircling Maó makes driving in easy enough, though the narrow lanes and complicated one-way system of the old town, which stretches from Plaça S’Esplanada to Placa Espanya, are well-nigh impossible to negotiate and you’re better off parking on the periphery.

Parking On-street parking is metered during shopping hours (Mon–Fri 9am–2pm & 4.30–7.30pm, Sat 9am–2pm) with a maximum stay of two hours (€1.60); at other times, it’s free. Note that if the time you’ve paid for overlaps into a free period, your ticket will be valid for the time you’ve got left when the next restricted period begins. On-street parking spaces can, however, be hard to find, and the easier option is to head for a car park: the underground car park below Plaça S’Esplanada, is the largest and convenient for the town centre (Mon–Sat 8.30am–11.30pm; €2.40–2.60/hr).

GETTING AROUND

By bus Local buses (every 30min; single tickets €2.65) link the bus station with the harbour and ferry terminal via the inner ring road.

By bicycle Bike Menorca, out on the ring road to the southeast of the centre at Avgda Francesc Femenias 44 ( tel_icon 971 35 37 98, web_icon bikemenorca.com), rents out road and mountain bikes from €14/day.

By taxi There are taxi ranks on Plaça S’Esplanada, at the bus station and on Plaça Espanya; alternatively, phone Radio Taxi Menorca on tel_icon 971 36 71 11.

INFORMATION

Tourist information There’s a tourist information desk at the airport and a main office down on Maó’s harbourfront, metres from the ferry terminal at Moll de Llevant 2 (May–Oct daily 9am–8.30pm; Nov–April Mon–Fri 10am–1pm & 5–7.30pm, Sat 10am–1pm; tel_icon 971 35 59 52, web_icon menorca.es). There is also a seasonal office in a glass cube in the old town on Plaça Miranda (June–Sept Mon–Fri 9.30am–1.30pm & 5.30–8.30pm, Sat 9am–2pm). All three will provide a free map of the island and leaflets on everything from beaches to bus timetables as well as a weekly events schedule. The main office also sells the best Menorca road map on the market – the Mapa de Menorca (1:75,000; €2.50) – and packs of information on the Camí des Cavalls long-distance footpath. None of the three will help you find accommodation.

ACCOMMODATION

Maó does not perhaps have the range of accommodation you might expect, but it does have a handful of inexpensive hostales close to the town centre and, although they are not especially inspiring, they’re reasonable enough and convenient – unlike Maó’s smarter hotels, which are – with one bijou exception – stuck out on the edge of town.

Hotel del Almirante Carretera Maó (Me-2) tel_icon 971 36 27 00, web_icon hoteldelalmirante.com. About 2km east of Maó beside (and signed from) the coastal road to Es Castell, this maroon and cream Georgian house was once the residence of British admiral Lord Collingwood. The delightful lobby is crammed with ancient bygones, and although the traditional bedrooms beyond are modest, all are perfectly adequate. The garden terrace is especially attractive, there’s an outside pool and views down along the Maó inlet. Package-tour operators use the place, but there are often vacancies. From the town centre, take a taxi or the Es Castell bus and ask to be dropped off. Closed Nov–April. €110

Hotel Artiem Capri c/Sant Esteve 8 tel_icon 971 36 14 00, web_icon artiemhotels.com. Enjoyable and really rather friendly four-star hotel in a modern block that’s handily located near the old centre of Maó, just a couple of minutes’ walk west of Plaça S’Esplanada. The pleasant, large-ish rooms have been given a splash of colour and style over the past few years, and most have spacious balconies. The hotel also has a rooftop spa and pool. €80

Hotel Catalonia Mirador d’es Port c/Dalt Vilanova 1 tel_icon 971 36 00 16, web_icon hoteles-catalonia.com. This well-equipped, three-star chain hotel, with its own pool and gardens, occupies a modern block perched on a hill, about a 15min walk west of Plaça Bastió. The interior is kitted out in brisk minimalist style and many of the bedrooms have balconies with harbour views. €80

author_pick Hotel Jardí de ses Bruixes c/San Fernando 26 tel_icon 971 36 31 66, web_icon hotelsesbruixes.com. Bijou hotel occupying a handsome old Spanish townhouse, complete with courtyard. The rooms vary considerably in size, but they are all immaculately turned out in a sort of John-Lewis-meets-country-house style. One has a splendid balcony, a reminder of its days as the home of a local merchant, while the attic rooms have bull’s-eye windows and beamed ceilings. There’s an excellent restaurant here, too. €140

Hostal La Isla c/Santa Caterina 4 tel_icon 971 36 64 92, web_icon hostal-laisla.com. Rooms at this amenable one-star hostal may be on the small side, but they are reasonably attractive and comfortable, and all have private bathroom and TV. There’s a bar and restaurant downstairs. €50

Hostal-residencia Jume c/Concepció 6 tel_icon 971 36 32 66, web_icon hostaljume.com. Centrally located on a narrow side street, this large, old-fashioned, one-star hostal occupies a five-storey modern block and has thirty or so frugal en-suite rooms. €60

Hotel Port Mahón Avgda Port de Maó s/n tel_icon 902 09 11 47, web_icon sethotels.com. Attractive, colonial-style four-star in a superb ridge-top location above the harbour and with grand views down along the Maó inlet. There’s an outside swimming pool and a patio café, plus each of the eighty-odd rooms is kitted out in smart, modern style with air conditioning. It takes about 20min to walk to the hotel from the town centre or you can get there via the harbour and a steep flight of steps; you can also get here by local city bus. €140

Hotel San Miguel c/Comercio 26 tel_icon 971 36 40 59, web_icon hotelsanmiguelmenorca.com. Somewhat austere from the outside, this three-star hotel has sixteen rooms of modern demeanour – nothing special, but comfortable enough. It’s located on a dull side street a few minutes’ south of Plaça Espanya. €80

GASTRONOMIC ACCIDENTS: MAÓ AND MAYO

Maó has a curious place in culinary history as the birthplace of mayonnaise (mahonesa). Various legends, all of them involving the French, claim to identify its eighteenth-century inventor: take your pick from the chef of the French commander besieging Maó; a peasant woman dressing a salad for another French general; or a housekeeper disguising rancid meat from the tastebuds of a French officer. The French also changed the way the Menorcans bake their bread, while the British started the dairy industry and encouraged the roasting of meat.

EATING AND DRINKING

Most of Maó’s restaurants are dotted along the town’s elongated quayside and, although standards vary considerably, there are several first-rate places here. The town centre, on the other hand, has yet to make much of a gastronomic impact, with its assorted cafés and café-bars long on local atmosphere and short on tip-top food, though things are beginning to change and improve.

CAFÉS AND CAFÉ-BARS

Café Baixamar Moll de Ponent 17 tel_icon 971 36 58 96, web_icon cafebaixamar.es. An attractively decorated little café-bar, with old-fashioned mirrors and pastel paintwork, serving tasty traditional Menorcan snacks – island cheese and sausage, for example – from as little as €5. Good wines, too. Perfect for a snack before a trip on one of the sightseeing boats from the nearby quay. Daily: May–Oct 9am–1am; Nov–April noon–11pm.

El Mirador Plaça Espanya 2 tel_icon 971 35 21 07. Located footsteps from the fish market – and just off the main stairway leading from the harbour to the town centre – this appealing little café-bar offers a good range of snacks and tapas (from €5), and has superb views over the harbour from its terrace. Jazz is the favoured background music with occasional live gigs. Mon–Sat noon–midnight.

Cristanal y Gradinata c/Isabel II, 1 tel_icon 971 36 33 16. Tucked away in the old town, this easy-going café is an attractively decorated little place whose speciality is manolitos, mini boccadillos with a variety of fillings – try the sausage. Snacks from €5. Mon–Fri 9am–3pm & 7–10pm, Sat noon–3pm & 7–10pm.

RESTAURANTS

author_pick Jardí de ses Bruixes c/San Fernando 26 tel_icon 971 36 31 66, web_icon hotelsesbruixes.com. This delightful hotel has a first-rate restaurant, where the menu is a canny combination of Spanish and Italian dishes. Home-made pastas are a key feature, though it’s perhaps the risottos which really get the tastebuds humming. Eat inside in the ornate dining room or outside in the courtyard. Mains from €15. Tues–Sat 1–3.30pm & 7.30–10pm.

L’Arpó Moll de Llevant 124 tel_icon 971 36 98 44. Unlike many of its quayside neighbours, this long-established restaurant has not jazzed itself up, but although the decor may be routinely modern, they serve an outstanding range of seafood – probably the widest selection in town. Attentive and friendly service too. Mains from €18. April–Oct daily 1–4pm & 5–11pm; Nov–March hours vary – call ahead.

author_pick Sa Gavina II Moll de Llevant 157 tel_icon 971 35 06 91. With its neat, modern decor and dinky little pavement terrace, this harbourside café-restaurant serves absolutely delicious (and substantial) tapas, including meatballs in tomato sauce and ravioli stuffed with spinach. No microwaved food here, and electric-fast service too. Tapas average €8. April–Oct daily 1–11pm, kitchen 1–4pm & 6–11pm; Nov–March hours vary – call ahead.

S’Espigó Moll de Llevant 267 tel_icon 971 36 99 09, web_icon sespigo.com. Well-regarded, family-run restaurant that does a great line in both steaks and seafood – try, for example, the red peppers stuffed with seafood or the baked sea bream. Mains average €20. April–Oct daily 1–3.30pm & 8–11.30pm; Nov–March Tues–Sat 1–3.30pm & 8–11pm, Sun 1–3.30pm; closed Jan.

BARS AND NIGHTLIFE

Akelarre Moll de Ponent 41 tel_icon 971 36 85 20. Opposite the ferry terminal, down on the waterfront at the foot of the old city walls, this is probably the best – and certainly the most fashionable – bar in town, occupying an attractively renovated ground-floor vault with stone walls and a miniature garden-cum-terrace at the back. Jazz and smooth modern sounds form the backcloth, with occasional live acts. No website, but they do have a Facebook page. Usually Mon–Thurs 7pm–3am, Fri–Sun 3pm–4am.

La Cava del Ars Plaça Príncep 12 tel_icon 971 35 18 79, web_icon lacavadelars.com. This cellar space has been retro-fitted as a bar and small concert space that is very popular with twenty-somethings. They also do food, especially tapas (from €4), and great cocktails. Daily 6pm–3am.

Nou Bar c/Nou 1 tel_icon 971 36 55 00, web_icon barnou.com. This ground-floor café, with its leather armchairs and gloomy lighting, is a dog-eared sort of place much favoured and flavoured by the locals. Standing room only whenever there’s a major festival – as there often is. Daily 6–11.30pm.

SHOPPING

Espai c/Cos de Gràcia 14 tel_icon 971 36 34 07, web_icon espai14.com. Friendly little bookshop with a reasonably good selection of Spanish/Catalan novels. They also sell a few English-language guidebooks and have a small selection of Menorca road maps, though the main tourist office down on the harbour has a wider selection of both road and hiking maps. Mon–Fri 9am–1.30pm & 5–8pm, Sat 10am–2pm.

Fish market Plaça Espanya. In a pretty little 1920s building, the fish market is the place to come for fresh seafood, mostly – but not exclusively – caught locally. The market shares its premises with a number of food stores selling local produce, especially cheese. Mon–Sat 9am–2pm.

General market Plaça S’Esplanada. Popular with tourists, Maó’s main square is home to a twice-weekly general market, mostly clothes and assorted trinkets with a few food stalls thrown in for good measure. Tues & Sat 9am–2pm.

Produce market Plaça Carme. Housed in the old cloisters of the Església del Carme, Mao’s biggest and best market has around eighty stalls selling all things Balearic – from wine and cheese through to sausages and oils. Daily 8.30am–9pm.

BOAT TRIPS FROM MAÓ – AND THE ISLANDS OF PORT DE MAÓ

A boat trip is the only way to get close to the three islets that dot the Port de Maó inlet – four if you count the most westerly, tiny Illa Pinto (no public access), a naval base which sits opposite Maó’s boat dock and is attached to the north shore by a causeway. The first of the islands to the east of Illa Pinto is the Illa del Rei ( web_icon islahospitalmenorca.org), whose dilapidated buildings once accommodated a military hospital. This was also where Alfonso III landed at the start of his successful invasion of Muslim Menorca in 1287. Next comes pocket-sized Illa Quarentena, a pancake-flat islet that has been used variously as a quarantine station and a naval base. Finally, the larger Illa del Llatzeret is the site of a former hospital for infectious diseases, which remained in service until 1917. The sturdy, late eighteenth-century stone walls surrounding Llatzeret were built for the daftest of reasons: the Spanish Secretary of State was convinced that contagion could be carried into town by the wind, so he had the walls built high and thick to keep the germs inside. Internal walls separated patients suffering different diseases for precisely the same reason. Llatzeret was only separated from the mainland in 1900 when a canal was cut on its landward side to provide a more sheltered route to the daunting La Mola.

BOAT TRIPS ALONG THE PORT DE MAÓ

Departing from the dock near the foot of Maó’s Costa de Ses Voltes, various companies run regular boat trips along the Port de Maó, with the standard tour comprising an hour-long scoot down and around the inlet for €12 per person. Frequency depends on the season: from May to October there are departures every hour or so, whereas in January there are only a handful of sailings every week, if any at all. Almost all the boats have glass bottoms for underwater viewing. Of the three main companies, each of which has a harbourside ticket kiosk, Yellow Catamarans ( tel_icon 639 67 63 51, web_icon yellowcatamarans.com) is as good as any. They also offer longer tours, the pick of which sails right down the inlet before exploring some of Menorca’s eastern shore (April–Oct 1–2 weekly; €25).

WATER TAXIS TO LA MOLA

A reliable water taxi service (April–Oct Mon–Sat 9.30am–8.30pm; tel_icon 616 42 88 91, web_icon watertaximenorca.com) links Maó’s harbourfront with the massive La Mola fortress, located right down the inlet at the tip of the north shore. A single fare costs €9, return €12, and advance reservations of at least a couple of hours are required. The same company also offers longer trips, with a cruise down the inlet and along Menorca’s east coast (2–3hr; €80) being the pick of the crop; again, advance reservations are required. The departure point for the water-taxi service is something of a moveable feast, but currently it’s from the pontoon at the Restaurante La Minerva, just to the east of the main boat dock at Moll de Llevant 87.

Es Castell

Tucked in tight against Port de Maó’s south shore just 3km from Maó, the gridiron streets of ES CASTELL were laid out by the British, who installed a garrison here, in what they christened Georgetown, in the 1770s. After the British left, the town changed its name, but kept its military character, retaining a garrison till very recently. As it always has been, the town centre is ranged around Plaça S’Esplanada, the old parade ground-cum-plaza, whose elongated barracks and Georgian-style town hall, with its stumpy, toy-town clock tower, bear witness to the British influence. The same British heritage is amplified in the cramped and narrow streets edging the square, where sash windows, doors with glass fanlights, and wrought-iron grilles adorn many of the older houses. It only takes half an hour or so to explore the centre, including a stroll down c/Stuart, which leads from the main square to the harbour, a pleasant spot occupying the thumb-shaped cove of Cales Fonts.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ES CASTELL

By bus Buses from Maó to Es Castell (every 30–60min; 10min) stop just off the Me-2 at the end of c/Victori, which leads north to Plaça S’Esplanada, a 4min walk away.

ACCOMMODATION

Hotel Carlos III c/Carlos III, 2 tel_icon 971 36 31 00, web_icon artiemhotels.com. Above the seashore on the north side of Es Castell, this pleasant three-star hotel, with its sleek and spacious rooms decorated in whites and greys, occupies a prime location and comes complete with outside pool and expansive terrace. The better rooms have inlet-facing balconies. Lots of personality throughout, evident in unique touches such as lobby jazz on weekend evenings and printed recipes for organic Menorcan dishes left on your pillow during the day. Adults only. €80

Fort Sant Felip

Carretera Sant Felip s/n • Guided tours only: June–Sept Thurs & Sun at 10am; Oct, Nov & March–May Sat at 10am • €5 • tel_icon 971 36 21 00, web_icon museomilitarmenorca.com

Beyond Es Castell, the main coastal road continues down towards the mouth of Port de Maó before veering right for Sant Lluís. Keeping straight, you soon pass the turning for Cala Sant Esteve, from where it’s a further 300m or so to the gates of a zona militar. This restricted military area sprawls over the bumpy headland that guards the inlet’s southerly entrance, and it was here that the Emperor Charles V built an imposing star-shaped fortress in the 1550s, naming it Fort Sant Felip after his son, later Philip II. Once Menorca’s greatest stronghold, the fort was adapted by the British, who controlled the seaway from the multitude of subterranean gun batteries they and their predecessors had carved in the soft sandstone. Unfortunately, this irritated the Spanish so much that once Menorca was returned to them in 1782 they promptly destroyed the fort in a fit of pique – a rather misguided move since the lack of defences allowed the British to recapture the island with the greatest of ease just a few years later. Today, next to nothing survives, save the most fragmentary of ruins above ground with several old Spanish and British gun galleries and tunnels down below.

Cala Sant Esteve

From Fort Sant Felip, it’s about 1.5km to CALA SANT ESTEVE, an extraordinarily picturesque little village, where old fishermen’s houses necklace a slender cove with a turquoise sea lapping against crumbly cliffs. There’s nowhere to stay and nothing much of a beach, but the village is home to the intriguing Fort Marlborough.

Fort Marlborough

Cala Sant Esteve • April & Oct–Nov Tues–Sun 9.30am–2.30pm; May–Sept Mon 9.30am–4.30pm, Tues–Sat 9.30am–8pm • €3 • tel_icon 971 36 04 62 • Parking at the beginning of Cala Sant Esteve, a 10min walk away

Towards the far end of Cala Sant Esteve, on the south side of the cove, is Fort Marlborough, easily the most interesting of the assorted fortifications inhabiting Port de Maó. Named after one of Britain’s most talented generals, Sir John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, the fort is an intricate, largely subterranean affair, built by the British to guard the southern approach to Fort Sant Felip between 1710 and 1726 and substantially reinforced sixty years later. The fort begins with a long gallery dug into the soft rock with counter-galleries cut at right angles to detect enemy attempts to mine into the fortress. In addition, the main gallery encircles an interior moat – dry now, but once filled with water – and is equipped with gun slits that would have been used to fire on intruders negotiating the moat from every angle imaginable. In turn, the moat encircles a small fortified hillock, the most protected part of the fortress and once the site of an artillery battery that had this stretch of the coast in its sights. The fort was besieged twice – by the French in 1756 and the Spanish in 1781 – and although it was captured on both occasions, it was only after a prolonged assault. One of the advantages of this type of fortress was that it could tie up a large enemy force for weeks, and yet required a minuscule garrison – the British installed just sixty men here.

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Southeast Menorca

Bounded by the road between Maó and Cala en Porter, southeast Menorca consists of a low-lying limestone plateau, fringed by a rocky shoreline with a string of craggy coves. This part of the island has been extensively developed with a sequence of low-rise villa-villages gobbling up large chunks of land. It’s difficult to be enthusiastic, especially in Cala en Porter, the biggest and perhaps the ugliest urbanització of the lot, though earlier developments, principally the attractive resort of Cala d’Alcalfar, which flanks an especially pretty cove, are much more appealing. Away from the coast, the interior is dotted with holiday homes, but it’s all very discreet and for the most part this remains an agricultural landscape crisscrossed by country lanes and dotted with tiny villages, plus one town – mildly diverting Sant Lluís.

Sant Lluís

Just 5km south from Maó along the Me-8, trim SANT LLUÍS is a one-square, one-church, one-horse town of brightly whitewashed terraced houses. As at Es Castell, the town’s gridiron street plan betrays its colonial origins: on this occasion, it was a French commander, the Duc de Richelieu, who built Sant Lluís to house his Breton sailors in the 1750s, naming the new settlement after the thirteenth-century King Louis IX, who was beatified for his part in the Crusades. The French connection is further recalled by the three coats of arms carved on the west front of the large whitewashed church – those of the royal household and two French governors.

CLUBBING AT THE CLIFF-FACE: THE COVA D’EN XOROI

Sprawling Cala en Porter may be an unappetizing urbanització, but it does possess one of the island’s most popular attractions, the Cova d’en Xoroi, c/Sa Cova 2, a large cave set in the cliff-face high above the ocean with a dramatic stairway leading to the entrance from the clifftop up above. During the day, the cave is open to visitors (daily: May & Oct from 3pm; June–Sept from 11.30am; €8 including one soft drink), but at night it really comes into its own as a nightclub (May–Sept Fri–Sun 11pm–5am; tel_icon 971 37 72 36, web_icon covadenxoroi.com), showcasing some big-name DJs and offering some oh-so-sophisticated cocktails; check the website to see who is on and when.

The cave is also the subject of one of the island’s best-known – and least savoury – folk tales. Legend has it that a shipwrecked Moor named Xoroi (literally, “One Ear”) hid out here, raiding local farms for food. Bored and lonely, he then kidnapped a local virgin – the so-called “Flower of Alaior” – and imprisoned her in his cave. Eventually, Xoroi’s refuge was discovered when locals picked up his tracks back to the cave after a freak snowstorm. Cornered, Xoroi committed suicide by throwing himself into the ocean, while the girl, and the children she’d borne, were taken back to Alaior, where presumably they tried to live happily ever after.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: SANT LLUÍS

By bus Buses from Maó to Sant Lluís (hourly; 10min) stick to the main road (the Me-8) running along the east edge of town – and a couple hundred metres from the main street, c/Sant Lluís; get off at the c/Duc de Crillon stop.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

Hotel Rural Biniarroca Camí Vell 57, Sant Lluís tel_icon 971 15 00 59, web_icon biniarroca.com. In an attractively renovated old finca, this smart hotel has eighteen comfortable guest rooms decorated in a straightforward modern manner, but with retro flourishes. There’s an outside pool, especially lovely gardens, and a first-rate restaurant (daily noon–3pm & 7–10.30pm; reservations required), where the menu features home- and island-grown ingredients; mains start at €20. The hotel is located just to the north of Sant Lluís and is signed from the Me-6. Closed mid-Oct to April. €170

Cala d’Alcalfar

Located about 5km southeast of Sant Lluís via the Me-8, CALA D’ALCALFAR is perhaps the most agreeable of the resorts sprinkled over southeast Menorca, comprising little more than a smattering of holiday homes and old fishermen’s cottages set beside an inlet of flat-topped cliffs and a turquoise sea. Here development is restrained, and you can enjoy the sandy beach, then stroll out across the surrounding headlands, one of which has its own Martello tower, built by the Spanish in the 1780s.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: CALA D’ALCALFAR

By bus Buses to Cala d’Alcalfar from both Maó (May–Oct Mon–Fri 7 daily; 15min) and Sant Lluís (May–Oct Mon–Fri 7 daily; 5min) stop on c/Ample, on the north side of the cove and about 200m east of the Hostal Xuroy.

ACCOMMODATION

Alcaufar Vell Carretera Alcalfar km8 tel_icon 971 15 18 74, web_icon alcaufarvell.com. This delightful fifteenth-century stone farmhouse, just off the Me-8 about 2km northwest of Cala d’Alcalfar, has been boutique-ified to become one of Menorca’s most atmospheric hotels. The 21 rooms are simple, awash with whitewashed stone and adobe-coloured tiles, and some of them have pitched roofs and beamed ceilings, but all have jacuzzi-style baths. €305

Hostal Xuroy c/Llevant 1 tel_icon 971 15 18 20, web_icon xuroymenorca.com. The main footpath down to Cala d’Alcalfar’s beach runs through the family-run Hostal Xuroy, a pleasant two-star establishment with forty-odd spick-and-span (but basic) modern rooms, the pick of which have sea-facing balconies; it’s a popular spot, so advance reservations are advised. Closed Nov–April. €110

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The northeast coast

Stretching out between Es Grau and the Cap de Cavalleria, Menorca’s northeast coast holds some of the island’s prettiest scenery, its craggy coves, islets and headlands rarely rattled by the developers, as the harsh prevailing wind – the Tramuntana – makes life a tad too blustery for sun-seeking packagers. There are developed coves for sure – and four of them contain substantial villa resorts – but these are the exceptions rather than the rule, and for the most part this stretch of coast remains delightfully pristine.

Much of the northeast coast is readily reached via the enjoyable, 25km-long Me-7, linking Maó and Fornells. This runs alongside cultivated fields protected by great stands of trees, with the low hills that form the backbone of the interior bumping away into the distance. At regular intervals you can turn-off towards the seashore, with the first turning to the northwest of Maó taking you to both the hamlet of Es Grau, the starting point for a delightful two- to three-hour hike along the coast, and the Parc Natural s’Albufera des Grau, whose freshwater lake is noted for its birdlife. The next major turning – just beyond the Camí d’en Kane – clips north to the windy bleakness of the Cap de Favàritx, and the two turnings after that head north again for the four big villa resorts hereabouts – Port d’Addaia, Na Macaret, Arenal d’en Castell and Son Parc. Much more rewarding, however, is Fornells, whose bayside location and more measured development have made it one of the most appealing resorts on the island, with a batch of excellent restaurants to boot. There’s no beach to speak of at Fornells, but the resort does makes a great base for visiting some of the more remote cove beaches nearby, most memorably the Platja de Cavalleria or, at more of a stretch, Cala Pregonda.

A DAY’S HIKE: ES GRAU TO SA TORRETA

Circular • 9km • 150m ascent • 3hr–3hr 30min • Easy • Trailhead GPS: +39° 56’ 56.99”, +4° 16’ 3.26”

This coastal walk takes you from the small resort of Es Grau along one of the wildest sections of the Menorcan seaboard, with a circular detour inland past the S’Albufera lagoon to visit the Talayotic complex of Sa Torreta, one of the most remote prehistoric sites on the island. The going is mainly easy and largely along well-marked tracks, with only one modest ascent towards the highest point of the walk at Sa Torreta farm. Note that some of the gates on the route are inscribed “Propriedad Privato” (private property): you can safely ignore these signs, but make sure that you keep to the tracks.

THE HIKE

Starting at the tarmac car park (and bus stop) at the entrance to Es Grau, walk round the large sandy beach and follow the path on the far side as it climbs up onto the low cliffs. At the top, ignore the well-defined track that heads off left and continue straight on, descending very sharply, then follow the path as it bears right until you see a solitary white house ahead.

About 50m before you reach the house, a path branches off uphill to the left. Follow this to the top of the hill, with the low-slung Illa d’en Colom (island) off the coast directly ahead, after which the path swings left, giving expansive views of the rugged coast beyond, without a single sign of human habitation to be seen until, about 50m further on, the lighthouse on Cap de Favàritx hoves into view. As soon as you see the lighthouse, watch out for the path that descends to your right. Clamber down this path, past a curious little stone shelter built into the cliff side, then continue leftwards along the coast, which is clothed in wild maquis, comprising low, convoluted clumps of mastic and wild olive dotted with spiky pincushions of Launaea cervicornis. Aim about 45 degrees left of the Martello tower ahead, keeping left of the bare, rocky headland to your right, and follow any of the various paths that cross the maquis to reach the small bay of Fondejador des Llanes, a tiny, driftwood-covered cove, plus a longer, sandier inlet immediately beyond.

Follow the path directly above the beach, which is waymarked with posts inscribed “Camí de Cavalls”, to a wall with a gap. Twenty metres beyond this is a small sandy clearing that accommodates a large information board relating to Cala Tamarells, a neighbouring beach. Bear left at the end of the clearing, following a path for a few more metres to reach a wide track (remember this point carefully for later on). Turn left and follow the track inland as it climbs up and then downhill through a beautifully secluded valley. After 750m the track gradually swings right and you have your first proper view of the S’Albufera des Grau lagoon to your left, one of Menorca’s richest ornithological sites. The track slaloms right and gradually ascends for a further 1km, climbing steadily uphill (ignore the couple of subsidiary paths which head off to the left). The island’s highest point, 357m Monte Toro, now becomes visible in the distance as you ascend, while near the top to your left there’s an overgrown and impassable walled track, typical of many of the island’s abandoned donkey trails.

Go through a Menorcan-style gate to reach a T-junction, then go left to arrive at the farmhouse of Sa Torreta. Go through another gate, then turn right and walk 100m to a second T-junction. Go left here through a third gate. After 25m you’ll pass a large circular threshing floor on your left, with Sa Torreta’s taula and talayot now visible ahead. Just past the threshing floor, go through the gap in the wall on your right and cross the field to reach the walled Talayotic enclosure, one of the least-visited prehistoric sites on Menorca, and one of the few on the northern side of the island. The fine 4m taula and partly collapsed talayot here are proof of the longevity of Menorca’s megalithic culture, postdating earlier examples by as much as a thousand years.

You’re now at the highest point of the walk, with grand views down to the coast below. Retrace your steps past the threshing floor and back to the (third) gate, then turn left, continuing on along the main track for 1km downhill (ignoring a prominent left turn just before you rejoin the seafront) through a Menorcan-style gate to reach Cala Sa Torreta, a remote, scrub-covered beach littered with dried seaweed and sea-borne rubbish – not much good for swimming, though the clump of Aleppo pines behind the beach is a pleasant spot for a picnic and some birdwatching.

The track continues behind the beach to reach a fork. Go left here and past a small stone building, then across a small headland back towards the small bay of Tamarells des Nord and the Martello tower which you saw earlier. Here the path swings away from the shore. Walk inland on the track and continue for about 500m until you reach the narrow path on your left leading back to the sandy clearing with the Cala Tamarells information board. From this point retrace your steps back to Es Grau.

Es Grau

Neat and trim, the hamlet of ES GRAU shunts up against a wide, horseshoe-shaped bay, where scrub and sand dunes fringe a vaguely unenticing arc of greyish sand that’s interrupted by a faint stream trickling out into the bay – the only outlet for the lake at the heart of the Parc Natural S’Albufera des Grau. The shallow waters of Es Grau are ideal for children, however, and at weekends the handful of bars and restaurants that dot the main street are crowded with holidaying Mahonese; the village is also a handy starting point for a day-hike to Sa Torreta.

Parc Natural S’Albufera des Grau

Carretera de Maó a Es Grau, km3.5 • Park Daily dawn to dusk • Free • Information centre April–Oct Tues–Thurs 9am–7pm, Fri–Mon 9am–3pm; Nov–March Tues–Thurs 9am–5pm, Fri–Mon 9am–3pm • tel_icon 971 17 77 05, web_icon en.balearsnatura.com

The scrub-covered dunes behind Es Grau’s beach form the eastern periphery of an expanse of dunes encircling the freshwater lagoon of S’Albufera des Grau. Only 2km from east to west and a couple of hundred metres wide, the lagoon was once fished for bass, grey mullet and eels – a real island delicacy – but fishing and hunting have been banned since the creation of the Parc Natural S’Albufera des Grau in the 1990s. The park boasts a varied terrain, including dunes (which are glued together by a combination of Aleppo pine, marram grass and beach thistle), and wetland, concentrated at the west end of the lake and containing patches of saltworts and rushes. Not surprisingly, the lagoon and its surroundings are rich in birdlife, attracting thousands of migrant birds in spring and autumn.

The well-maintained access road into the park begins about 2.5km back from Es Grau on the road towards Maó. Just 1.5km long, this skims past a scattering of villas before reaching the park information centre. Beyond here, veer left at the fork and keep going until you reach the mini car park, from where clearly marked paths run along the lake’s southern shore. It’s easy walking and the scenery is gentle on the eye, with the blue of the lake set against the rolling greens and yellows of the dunes. Birders – both casual and enthusiasts – should aim for Es Prat, the large patch of wetland at the west end of the lake. You would be best set to bring binoculars; for more on Menorca’s birds, see Contexts.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ES GRAU

Buses Buses from Maó (mid-June to mid-Sept 4 daily; 20min) pull in at the bus stop on the approach road to Es Grau, about 4min from the village itself.

EATING AND DRINKING

Bar Es Grau Plaça des Mestre Jaume 13 tel_icon 626 47 67 27. The hamlet’s most popular place to eat is this low-key, café-cum-snack bar, whose shaded terrace perches on the water’s edge at the start of the village. Avoid the pizza; order a salad (about €6). Daily 9.30am–11pm.

Tamarindos Passeig Des Tamarell 14 tel_icon 971 35 94 20, web_icon barrestaurantetamarindos.es. Es Grau is short of restaurants, but this waterside spot does something to fill the gastronomic gap – a cosy little place where you should stick to the seafood; main courses average €18. Daily: May & Oct 7–9pm; June–Sept noon–4pm & 7–10.30pm.

Cap de Favàritx

Heading northwest on the Me-7 from the Es Grau turning, it’s a short hop to the right turn for the solitary Cap de Favàritx. At first, the road to the cape cuts along a wide valley and slips through dumpy little hills, but before long the landscape becomes barer – and the grass gives way to succulents and bare rock. At the cape itself, just 8km from the Me-7, even the succulents can’t survive and the lighthouse shines out over a bare lunar-like landscape of tightly layered, crumbly slate. The lighthouse is closed to the public, but the views out over the coast are dramatic and you can pick your way along the adjacent rocks, though if the wind is up (as it often is) this isn’t much fun. The lighthouse itself was erected in 1922 and is one of the earliest buildings on Menorca to be made of concrete.

INDECISION OFF THE CAPE: FAVÀRITX AND ADMIRAL BYNG

In 1756, the Cap de Favàritx witnessed one of the British navy’s more embarrassing moments when Admiral Byng (1704–57) anchored his fleet off here for no particular reason. The French had besieged the British garrison at Fort Sant Felip at the start of the Seven Years’ War and Byng had been dispatched to Menorca to save the day. Instead, he dillied and dallied, allegedly reading and re-reading the Admiralty’s instruction book, and managed to get caught with his nautical trousers down when the French fleet turned up off Cap de Favàritx too. The resulting battle was an inconclusive affair, but Byng faint-heartedly withdrew to Gibraltar, abandoning the British garrison to its fate. Back in London, the prime minister, the Duke of Newcastle, fumed: “He shall be tried immediately; he shall be hanged directly” – and proceeded to carry out his threat, if not exactly to the letter. On his return, Byng was court-martialled and shot by firing squad on his own flagship in Portsmouth harbour, an event which famously prompted Voltaire to remark in Candide that the British needed to shoot an admiral now and again “pour encourager les autres”.

Fornells

FORNELLS, about 25km northwest of Maó, may be expanding in some haste, with modern villas trailing over its immediate surroundings, but in essence it remains a classically pretty fishing village at the mouth of a long and chubby bay. The place has been popular with visitors for years, above all for its seafood restaurants, whose speciality, caldereta de llagosta (langosta in Castilian), is a fabulously tasty – if wincingly expensive (think €70) – lobster stew. Fornells also possesses a wild setting with austere, rocky headlands rising to its north and east, their vegetation stripped right down by winter storms and ocean spray. This bleak terrain envelops various fortifications – evidence of the harbour’s past importance – with the earliest begun in the late seventeenth century to ward against the threat of Arab and Turkish corsairs and including the battered remains of the Castell de Sant Antoni (open access; free), by the bay in the centre of the village. Later, the British went further, constructing a string of mini-forts, and then posting a garrison. One of the British commanders here exceeded his military brief, turning a local chapel into a tavern and incurring the disapproval of fellow officer John Armstrong: “In the Temple of Bacchus, no bounds are set to their [the soldiers’] Debauches and such a quantity of Wine is daily swallowed down, as would stagger Credulity itself.” Quite – but there again, there wasn’t much else to keep the poor old squaddies occupied.

Torre de Fornells

April–Oct Mon–Thurs 10am–3pm, Fri–Sun 10am–3.30pm • €3 • tel_icon 971 36 86 78

Of the several remaining British fortifications in and around Fornells, only the Torre de Fornells is easy to reach, perched on a bare and windy headland at the northern end of the village and approached up a wide walkway. The short haul up to this imposing circular watchtower is worth the effort as the views over the coast are panoramic.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: FORNELLS

By bus The bus stop for services to and from Fornells is on c/Verge del Carme, one block in from the waterfront and a 2min walk south of the main square – Plaça S’Algaret – via the pedestrianized c/Rosari.

Destinations Es Mercadal (mid-June to mid-Sept Mon–Sat 8 daily, Sun 3 daily; mid-Sept to mid-June Mon–Sat 2 daily; 15min); Maó (mid-June to mid-Sept Mon–Sat 8 daily, Sun 4 daily; mid-Sept to mid-June Mon–Sat 2 daily; 35min).

By car Parking can be a pain: the long approach road leading into Fornells is often jam-packed, but there’s nearly always space in the large car park up the hill to the west of the main square: just follow the signs.

ACTIVITIES

The village’s sweeping inlet provides ideal conditions for scuba diving – the coastline around here offers the best diving in Menorca – and windsurfing, as evidenced by the flocks of windsurfers periodically scooting across the calm waters at the southern end of the bay as you approach Fornells.

Aventura Náutica Passeig Marítim 41 tel_icon 609 67 09 96, web_icon aventuranauticamenorca.es. Aventura Náutica, just south of the centre along the waterfront, organizes speedboat excursions round the north coast with snorkelling and swimming part of the deal. Prices start from €60, which includes refreshments and snorkelling equipment hire.

Diving Center Fornells tel_icon 971 37 64 31, web_icon divingfornells.com. The Diving Center Fornells, on the waterfront towards the south end of the village, rents out equipment and organizes diving courses for both novice and experienced divers. Dives, including full equipment rental, start from €60 in high season; open-water diving courses cost €450 in high season. Advance reservations for courses and equipment are strongly advised, though 24hr is usually enough except at the height of the season.

Wind Fornells tel_icon 664 33 58 01, web_icon windfornells.com. Wind Fornells, located beside the bay towards the southern edge of the village, offers windsurfing tuition to both novices and more experienced hands, and teaches sailing skills too. Two-hour windsurfing courses start at around €80.

ACCOMMODATION

Hostal La Palma Plaça S’Algaret 3 tel_icon 971 37 66 34, web_icon hostallapalma.com. Pleasant, neat little two-star hostal, with simple but cheerfully bright and colourful en-suite rooms. There’s also an outside pool, and they have larger apartments for longer stays. Closed Nov–March. €90

Hostal S’Algaret Plaça S’Algaret 7 tel_icon 971 37 65 52, web_icon hostal-salgaret.com. Straightforward two-star hostal with some thirty guest rooms, all en suite and decorated in brisk modern style, plus a small outside pool. Closed Nov–March €90

EATING AND DRINKING

Es Cranc c/Escoles 31 tel_icon 971 37 64 42. A 5min walk north of Plaça S’Algaret, along the pedestrianized main street and just past the church, this popular and very informal, canteen-style restaurant offers a wide variety of fish dishes served in whopping portions. The daily specials, featuring such delights as hake and chips, are a snip at around €15, but although they do serve a caldereta de llagosta (€69), it tastes better elsewhere. Reservations advised. April to mid-Nov daily 1–3.30pm & 7.30–10.30pm.

Es Port c/Riera 5 tel_icon 971 37 64 03. On the waterfront, just south of Plaça S’Algaret, this relaxed and easy-going restaurant with its traditional decor specializes in a magnificent caldereta de llagosta (€75). Reservations advised. April–Oct Tues–Sun 1–4pm & 8–11pm.

author_pick Sa Llagosta c/Gabriel Gelabert 12 tel_icon 971 37 65 66. This cosy little restaurant, in a sympathetically converted old fisherman’s house just along the waterfront from Plaça S’Algarete, has a small but select menu with the emphasis on local dishes and ingredients. The portions may be petite but the flavours are delicious, with each dish carefully prepared and presented. Main courses average around €25, though the caldereta de llagosta will cost you €75. Reservations advised. April–Oct daily 1–4pm & 7.30–11pm.

Sa Proa Passeig Maritím 13 tel_icon 971 37 65 97. Cosy, modern restaurant, on the waterfront just south of Plaça S’Algaret, that offers a wide-ranging menu, including pizzas and an inventive range of seafood dishes; the fish risotto is especially tasty, as is the goat’s cheese salad. Mains start at €18. April–Oct daily 12.30–11pm.

FORNELLS

Cap de Cavalleria peninsula

Fornells is within comfortable striking distance of the knobbly peninsula that pokes out into the Mediterranean as far as the Cap de Cavalleria, Menorca’s northernmost point. The road there begins at the staggered crossroads just 3km south of Fornells, where the Me-15 (from Es Mercadal) intersects with the Me-7 (from Maó). From the junction, a signposted turning leads west down a pretty country lane through a charming landscape of old stone walls and scattered farmsteads. After about 3km, keep straight on at the intersection and proceed for another kilometre or so to the signposted right-turn that leads north to the cape, running past the car park for several north-coast beaches on the way.

Port de Sanitja

About 1km beyond the car park for the Cap de Cavalleria’s beaches, the road swings up and round to offer long-distance views of the cape with the foreground revealing a long and slender inlet, the Port de Sanitja, whose sheltered waters, once the harbour for the small but important Roman settlement of Sanisera, are flanked by low scrub. Dating from 123 BC, Sanisera was built on the ruins of an earlier Phoenician settlement, this combined history being quite enough to encourage several archeological digs, though there’s nothing to see here today.

Cap de Cavalleria

The Cap de Cavalleria itself, which is named after the cavalleries (baronial estates) into which the island was divided after the Reconquista, is a bleak and wind-buffeted hunk of rock with 90m-high sea cliffs topped by a lonely lighthouse (far; no access). If you’re lucky you’ll glimpse some of the Balearic shearwaters that congregate here – a recent environmental project to restore their habitat has boosted their numbers.

Cap de Cavalleria beaches

The large dirt car park beside the road on the way to the cape marks the start of the 500m-long footpath – part of the Camí de Cavalls – that leads to the Platja de Cavalleria, a long, wide and very appealing double-curved beach of reddish sand framed by low-lying hills. There’s rarely much of a crowd here, but you can continue west along the Camí de Cavalls to even more secluded coves. The two obvious targets are the Platja de Binimel-Là, a shale beach about 2.8km further west, where the waters are clear and good for swimming and snorkelling, though seaweed can be a problem; and, 2km further along, Cala Pregonda, a seastack-studded bay with a wide sandy beach. On all these beaches, there are no facilities – so bring your own food and drink.

< Back to Menorca

Central Menorca

In between Maó and Ciutadella, central Menorca is the agricultural heart of the island, its rippling hills and rolling plains speckled with scores of whitewashed farmsteads. Things aren’t, perhaps, quite as good as they once were – witness the many unkempt fields – but it’s still possible to make a good living on the land and many Menorcans still do. The countryside also carries the myriad marks of past agrarian endeavours in its dry-stone walls and stone ziggurats (barraques), which were built to shelter cattle from wind and sun, and is liberally sprinkled with Talayotic sites in various states of disrepair.

By accident or design, the four little towns of the interior – Alaior, Es Mercadal, Ferreries and Es Migjorn Gran – have escaped full-on modernization and each holds an attractive ensemble of antique houses dating back to the eighteenth century, sometimes longer. First-up as you head west from Maó – either along the main road, the Me-1, or the more rusticated Camí d’en Kane – is the hilltop town of Alaior, which is itself close to two of the island’s most extensive prehistoric sites, Torralba d’en Salord and Torre d’en Gaumés. Further west still is Es Mercadal, a hamlet in the shadow of Monte Toro, the island’s highest peak, from where there are wonderful views. From Es Mercadal, it’s a short journey southwest to Es Migjorn Gran, a pleasant if unremarkable little town that is the starting point for an excellent two- to three-hour hike down the Barranc de Binigaus, while nearby lurks another big resort, Sant Tomàs. Back on the Me-1, you’ll soon reach Ferreries, the fourth of the towns of the interior, from where it’s a short hop south to Cala Galdana, an attractive resort of manageable proportions that’s within easy hiking distance of several isolated cove beaches, most notably Cala Macarella and Cala Turqueta.

RICHARD KANE AND THE CAMÍ D’EN KANE

In 1712, during the first British occupation of the island, Richard Kane (1662–1736) was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Menorca, a post he held – with one or two brief interruptions – until the year of his death. When Kane arrived in Menorca, he found a dispirited and impoverished population governed from Ciutadella by a reactionary oligarchy. His initial preoccupation was with the island’s food supply, which was woefully inadequate. He introduced new and improved strains of seed corn and had livestock imported from England – hence the Friesian cattle that remain the mainstay of the island’s cheese-making industry. Meanwhile, a tax on alcohol provided cash to improve the port facilities at Maó and build the first road right across the island. Much of this road, the Camí d’en Kane, has since disappeared beneath newer versions, but part of it – from just north of Maó to Es Mercadal – has survived and now serves as a scenic alternative to the Me-1.

Kane’s innovations were not at all to the taste of the Menorcan aristocracy, who, holed up in Ciutadella, were further offended when Kane moved the capital to Maó. They bombarded London with complaints, eventually inducing a formal governmental response in an open letter to the islanders entitled “A Vindication of Colonel Kane”. Most Menorcans, however, seem to have welcomed Kane’s benevolent administration – except in religious matters, where the governor caused great offence by holding Protestant services for his troops in Catholic churches. That apart, there’s little doubt that, by the time of his death, Kane was a widely respected figure, whose endeavours were ill-served by the colonial indifference of many of his successors.

Alaior

ALAIOR, an old market town some 12km from Maó, has long been a nucleus of the island’s dairy industry, but in recent years it has also become something of a manufacturing centre, its tangle of new – and newish – buildings spreading formlessly across the flat land north of the Me-1. This modern part of town is uninspiring, but beyond, about 1km up a steep hill, is the more appealing old centre, whose rabbit warren of narrow lanes and alleys surrounds the parish church of Santa Eulalia, on c/Retxats, a splendid edifice of fortress-like proportions built between 1674 and 1690. The church’s main doorway is a Baroque extravagance, its exuberant scrollwork dripping with fruits and fronds, while the facade above accommodates a rose window and a pair of balustrades. Beyond the church – just up the hill to the northwest along bendy c/Angel – a mini-watchtower is plonked on top of the Munt de l’Angel, a hill from where you can look out over the countryside. From c/Angel, it’s also a few metres north to the old town’s main square, Plaça Nova, an attractive piazza flanked by pastel-painted civic buildings of considerable age.

The best time to be in Alaior is the second weekend of August, when the town lets loose with the Festa de Sant Llorenç, a drunken knees-up with displays of horsemanship. At its climax, a procession of horses tears through the packed town square, bucking and rearing, with their riders clinging on for dear life. Although no one seems to get hurt, you might enjoy the spectacle more from the safety of a balcony.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ALAIOR

By bus Buses to Alaior loop through the southern edge of town, stopping on Carretera Nova at the foot of c/Miguel de Cervantes; from here, it’s a steep (and convoluted) 500m haul north to the church of Santa Eulalia.

Destinations Maó (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 10min); Cala Galdana (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 2 daily; June–Sept 2 daily; 40min); Ciutadella (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 50min); Es Mercadal (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 15min); Es Migjorn Gran (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 20min); Ferreries (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 25min); Sant Tomàs (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 35min); Son Bou (May–Oct every 1–2hr, but no Sun service in May & Oct; 35min).

ACTIVITIES

Balearic Outdoor Holidays Alaior tel_icon 0800 072 4832, web_icon balearicoutdoorholidays.com. This family-owned outfit offers an outstanding range of week-long guided holidays, from birdwatching to painting, hiking and cycling. Their main focus is Menorca, where a week-long hiking tour costs in the region of €950–1100, and they operate from late April to mid-June and from early September to mid-October, with the occasional New Year extra. Hiking tours are geared to suit most levels of fitness and the majority involve the use of sections of the Camí de Cavalls, the long-distance footpath that encircles the island. They provide all the necessary equipment, including coffee, tea and drinking water en route. Day-hikes (around €60 per person) are also available by prior arrangement; book well ahead of time.

Torralba d’en Salord

Carretera Alaior a Cala en Porter • April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 10am–6pm; June–Sept Mon–Sat 10am–8pm; Nov–March Mon–Fri 10am–2pm • €4, but free Nov–March • web_icon descobreixmenorca.com • The site is 3km southeast of Alaior beside the road to Cala en Porter, but isn’t served by public transport

One of the island’s more extensive Talayotic settlements, Torralba d’en Salord is muddled by the old (and disused) Cala en Porter road, which slices right through the site, and by the modern stone walls built alongside both the old and new roads. From the car park, signs direct you around the remains of a talayot, just beyond which is the taula, one of the best preserved on the island. The rectangular enclosure surrounding it is also in good condition, and has been the subject of much conjecture by archeologists, who discovered that several of the recesses contained large fire pits, which may well have been used for the ritual slaughter of animals. It was, however, the unearthing of a tiny bronze bull, now in Maó’s Museu de Menorca, that really got the experts going. The theory was that the Menorcans (in common with several other prehistoric Mediterranean peoples) venerated the bull, with the taula being a stylized representation of a bull’s head. The argument continues to this day. Beyond the taula, the signed trail circumnavigates the remainder of the site, which contains a confusion of stone remains, none of them especially revealing. The most noteworthy are the battered remains of a second talayot just next to the taula, and an underground chamber roofed with stone slabs.

Torre d’en Gaumés

Carretera Son Bou s/n • Site April, May & Oct Tues–Sat 9.30am–6pm, Sun–Mon 9.30am–3pm; June–Sept Tues–Sat 9.30am–8pm, Sun–Mon 9.30am–3pm; Nov–March daily dawn to dusk • €3, but free Nov–March • Visitor centre April–Oct Tues–Sun 9.30am–2pm • web_icon descobreixmenorca.com • There’s no public transport to the site; to get there by car take the Son Bou turning off the Me-1 at Alaior & then, after about 2.5km, veer left at the signposted fork

A visit to Torre d’en Gaumés, a rambling Talayotic settlement about 3.5km southwest of Alaior, begins at the pocket-sized visitor centre, where they show two short if eminently missable films on Talayotic life. From here, it’s about 800m to the site itself, where the higher part – the area near the entrance – possesses three talayots, the largest of which is next to a broken-down taula in the centre of a walled, horseshoe-shaped enclosure. Together, the taula and the enclosure form what is presumed to have been the public part of the village, and it was here that archeologists unearthed a little bronze figure of the Egyptian god of knowledge, Imhotep, now in the Museu de Menorca in Maó, a discovery that reinforced the theory that these enclosures possessed religious significance. In the lower part of the settlement, there are the scant remains of several more houses, another walled enclosure and a comparatively sophisticated storage chamber – the subterranean Sala Hipostila. Here also are the clearly discernible remains of a water collection system, in which rainwater was channelled down the hillside between a series of shallow, artificial indentations to end up in underground cisterns and a cave. The latter had previously served as a funerary chamber – the site was inhabited and continually modified well into Roman times.

Son Bou and Sant Jaume Mediterrani

The coastal resort of SON BOU, located roughly 7km southwest of Alaior, boasts an extensive cave complex, cut into the cliff-face above the final part of the approach road. There are also the foundations of an early Christian basilica, set behind the beach at the east end of the resort, but these pale in comparison to the beach, a whopping pale-gold strand some 3km long and 40m wide. This is Menorca’s longest beach, and behind it has mushroomed a massive tourist complex of skyscraper hotels and villa-villages that spreads west into the twin resort of SANT JAUME MEDITERRANI. The sand shelves gently into the sea, but the bathing isn’t quite as safe as it appears: ocean currents are hazardous, particularly when the wind picks up, and you should watch for the green and red flags. The beach accommodates several bars, and watersports equipment is widely available – everything from jet-skis, snorkels and windsurfing boards down to sunloungers and pedalos. The development is at its crassest – and crowds at their worst – towards the east end of the beach, while bathing is much better to the west: here a strip of dune-fringed, marshy scrubland runs behind the strand, providing the shoreline with some much-needed protection and pushing the villa developments 1km or so inland.

FIVE GREAT MENORCAN BEACHES

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: SON BOU AND SANT JAUME MEDITERRANI

By bus Buses to Son Bou and Sant Jaume Mediterrani travel along the road behind the beach with several stops on the way. The principal bus service is to Alaior (May–Oct daily every 1–2hr, but no Sun service in May & Oct; 35min) and Maó (May–Oct daily every 1–2hr, but no Sun service in May & Oct; 45min).

ACCOMMODATION

Sol Milanos/Sol Pingüinos Platja de Son Bou tel_icon 971 37 12 00, web_icon melia.com. Alongside each other, these two high-rise hotels boast 600 rooms between them and share facilities, including sun terraces, trampolines, outside pools, bars and restaurants. Neither has the most fashionable of rooms and they do tend to have bland white bathrooms, but they’re acceptable enough, and half the rooms have small balconies with sea views – so ask for one of these. Closed mid-Oct to April. €80

Camping Son Bou Carretera St Jaume-Torre Solí, km3.5 tel_icon 971 37 27 27, web_icon campingsonbou.com. One of Menorca’s rare campsites, the Son Bou is located on the more westerly of the two access roads linking the Me-1 with Sant Jaume Mediterrani. It’s a well-equipped campsite with several hundred pitches set among the pine woods, as well as its own swimming pool, sports area, laundry and supermarket. Closed Oct–March. Tent pitch for two people with vehicle €35; cabin €75

Es Mercadal

ES MERCADAL, 9km northwest of Alaior along the Me-1, sits at the very centre of the island. Another old market town, it’s an amiable sort of place whose antique centre of whitewashed houses and well-kept allotments is now edged by modern houses of a neat and trim demeanour. At the heart of the town, the minuscule main square, Plaça Constitució, has a couple of sleepy cafés and is a few paces from the Ruritanian Ajuntament (Town Hall), at c/Major 16, where locals come to shoot the breeze. That’s just about it for sights unless, that is, you’re bound for the summit of Monte Toro, which looms over the east side of town.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ES MERCADAL

By bus Es Mercadal’s main bus stop is on Avgda Mestre Gari, just off the Me-1 on the southern edge of town, a 5min walk from Plaça Constitució: walk straight down Avgda Mestre Gari and its continuation, c/Nou.

Destinations Alaior (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 15min); Cala Galdana (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 2 daily; June–Sept 2 daily; 25min); Ciutadella (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 35min); Es Migjorn Gran (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 4 daily; June–Sept 4 daily; 15min); Es Mercadal (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 10min); Maó (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 25min).

ACCOMMODATION

Hostal Jeni c/Mirada del Toro 81 tel_icon 971 37 50 59, web_icon hostaljeni.com. In a brightly decorated modern building, this hostal has fifty-odd spick-and-span en-suite bedrooms, as well as a swimming pool and sauna. It’s situated on the south side of the town centre just off the Me-1 – and about 100m from the bus stop. Tasty breakfast buffet, too. €90

Monte Toro

Es Mercadal is the starting point for the ascent of MONTE TORO, a steep 3.2km climb along a serpentine but easily driveable road. At 357m, the summit is the island’s highest point and it offers wonderful views: on a good day you can see almost the whole of the island; in inclement weather, you can still see at least as far as Fornells. From this lofty vantage point, Menorca’s geological division becomes apparent: to the north, Devonian rock (mostly reddish sandstone) supports a hilly, sparsely populated landscape edged by a ragged coastline; to the south, limestone predominates in a rippling, wooded plain that boasts the island’s best farmland and, as it approaches the south coast, its deepest wooded gorges (barrancs).

It’s likely that the name of the hill is derived from the Moorish al-Thor (“high point”), though the medieval Church invented an alternative etymology: in predictable fashion, this involves villagers (or monks) spotting a mysterious light on the mountain and, on closer investigation, being confronted by a bull (toro) which, lo and behold, obligingly leads them to a miracle-making statue of the Virgin. Whatever the truth, a statue of the Virgin – the Verge del Toro – was installed in a shrine here in the thirteenth century and Monte Toro has been a place of pilgrimage ever since. The ceremonial highlight is on the first Sunday of May, when the Festa de la Verge del Toro (Festival of the Virgin of the Bull) begins with a special Mass on the summit of Monte Toro and continues with a knees-up down in Es Mercadal.

The Augustinians added a monastery to the original hilltop shrine in the seventeenth century, but fearful islanders soon interrupted their monkish reveries by building a small fortress here against the threat of an Ottoman invasion. Bits of both the fort and the monastery survive, the former in a square stone tower that now stands forlorn and neglected, the latter incorporated within the present complex of buildings, where, flanking a cobbled courtyard, you’ll find a couple of gift shops, a terrace café, a restaurant and the old monastery church, the Santuari del Toro. But there aren’t any monks – they left decades ago. High above the complex stands a statue of Christ the Redeemer, erected in honour of those Menorcans who died in a grubby colonial war launched by Spain in Morocco in the 1920s.

A DAY’S HIKE: ES MIGJORN GRAN TO THE COAST

Circular • 8km • 150m ascent • 3hr–3hr 30min • Moderate • Trailhead GPS: +39° 56’ 58.42”, +4° 3’ 2.57”

Despite its modest dimensions, Menorca packs a surprising diversity into its landscape. One of the island’s most unexpected topographical features are the dramatic limestone gorges, or barrancs, which score the southern coast, running from the hills inland down to the sea. Starting in the inland village of Es Migjorn Gran, this walk follows one of these gorges, the Barranc de Binigaus, down to the coast near Sant Tomàs, passing through an area rich in Talayotic remains and impressive natural limestone formations.

The walk starts on the edge of Es Migjorn Gran at the car park outside the municipal sports stadium (Camp Municipal d’Esports), by the town’s main roundabout. From here, walk along the right-hand side of the main road (Avgda del Mar) in the direction of Sant Tomàs as far as the Bar S’Auba. Turn right up the hill along Avgda David Russell and continue to the T-junction with the Escola Publica in front of you and turn left – a total distance of about 450m.

The first half of the walk follows the road that you are now on. After a short while, it becomes a stony track, meandering slowly downhill towards the coast. The road starts by running picturesquely between limestone walls flanked by handsome old Aleppo pines, an old enclosure housing the substantial remains of two talayots, and a cemetery. Some 200m further on you’ll pass another talayot on your right, followed by an attractive ensemble of white houses and Menorcan-style gates. Continue for a further 1km, passing enclosures littered with limestone boulders, until you reach the attractive old whitewashed farmstead of Binigaus Vell.

Just past here you’ll have your first sight of the sea. The path continues for a further 750m, with the dramatic limestone formations of the Barranc de Binigaus coming into view on your left. Beyond here, the track passes through an intricate but overgrown system of terraces and enclosures before climbing past a potholed limestone outcrop to reach the brow of the hill. Two more talayots are now visible to your left; the land hereabouts holds an incredible jumble of natural, prehistoric and more recent agricultural stone-working, with the Barranc de Binigaus issuing into the sea via a narrow defile – your eventual goal – far ahead and below.

Descend through a Menorcan-style gate to the farmhouse of Binigaus Nou, a striking baronial-looking structure. About 50m before a second farm gate, turn right off the track onto a narrow path signed Cova-y-Platja. This leads to an unusual (but strangely unsigned) Talayotic hypostyle chamber and a fine view of the limestone cliffs of a secondary arm of the barranc behind. From the chamber continue along the path to rejoin the track. From here, the track hairpins down into the barranc beneath high walls of limestone and then proceeds past further wildly overgrown agricultural terracing before reaching the bottom of the hill at a Menorcan-style gate opposite a path signposted to the Cova dels Coloms.

The route continues along this path to the cova (cave). If you want to make the brief detour to the coast, walk through the gate ahead and continue straight on for 150m to reach the sea next to an old gun emplacement buried in the dunes and covered in windswept vegetation. If you’re in need of refreshment, detour left here and walk along the beach for 750m to reach the resort of Sant Tomàs. Back on the main route, head along the path signposted to the Cova dels Coloms. This path gradually ascends back into the barranc for 1km through woodland before reaching a large dry-stone wall and a fork. Head right here, along the narrowing gorge and beneath increasingly impressive limestone cliffs, scored with caves, until, after a further 750m, you reach a gap in another large wall marked with a splash of red paint. Pass through the gap and then bear left – ignoring the path going straight ahead – up a narrow path through thick woodland for about 500m, where you need to look out for a narrow side path joining acutely from the right. Take this side path and follow it uphill for 20m and then turn left up a zigzagging stone terrace to reach the Cova dels Coloms – a huge natural cave, impressive for its size if nothing else (the copious graffiti and overpowering smell of guano are less appealing).

Retrace your steps to the main path and turn right. After a few metres the path climbs to the left and becomes boulder strewn. It then zigzags up out of the gorge and returns you to the original track that you came down on at a point between Binigaus Vell and Binigaus Nou. Turn right and retrace your steps uphill to Es Migjorn Gran.

The Santuari del Toro

The Santuari del Toro is entered via a low and deep stone porch decorated with flowers and shrubs. Inside, the barrel-vaulted nave is a modest, truncated affair dating from 1595, its gloominess partly dispelled by a central dome. The most prominent feature is the gaudy 1940s high altarpiece, whose fancy woodwork swarms with cherubs and frames the much-venerated Verge del Toro, depicting the crowned Virgin holding Jesus in her arms with the enterprising bull of folkloric fame at her feet. The statue is typical of the so-called black Catalan Madonnas, made either from black-stained wood or dark stone.

Es Migjorn Gran

Trailing along a low ridge amid intricate terraced fields, ES MIGJORN GRAN (“great southerly wind”) is a sleepy little hamlet that lies some 7km southwest of Es Mercadel. One of several settlements founded on the island in the eighteenth century, it is the only one not to have been laid out by foreigners and, consequently, the gridiron streets of the likes of Es Castell are replaced by a more organic layout, the houses of the old agricultural workers straggling along the elongated main street, c/Major, as it curves through town. While the village hardly sets the pulse racing, it is a peaceful and relaxing spot and it is also the starting point for an excellent hike.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ES MIGJORN GRAN

By bus Buses pull in beside the roundabout on the bypass (the Me-18) on the southeast side of Es Migjorn Gran, a 5min walk from c/Major.

Destinations Alaior (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 20min); Ciutadella (Mon–Fri 2 daily; 35min); Es Mercadal (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 4 daily; June–Sept 4 daily; 15min); Ferreries (Mon–Fri 3 daily; 20min); Maó (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 30min); Sant Tomàs (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 15min).

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

author_pick Fonda S’Engolidor c/Major 3 tel_icon 971 37 01 93, web_icon sengolidor.es. This small, family-run hotel-cum-B&B, in an attractively restored old terrace house, has five extremely cosy guest rooms decorated in a bright and breezy style, with a scattering of bygones to catch the eye. It’s located on the main street towards the west (Ferreries) end of town and is also home to an excellent restaurant. Closed Nov–April. €80

Hotel Rural Binigaus Vell c/Camí de Sa Mala Garba tel_icon 971 05 40 50, web_icon binigausvell.es. One of the swankiest places to stay on the entire island – and definitely worthy of the term boutique – this whitewashed hotel rural occupies an immaculately renovated old farmhouse. The rooms have very high ceilings and spacious baths, and the best are built into the stone that once made up the stables. Every mod con, which is reflected in the price. Just 1km southwest of Es Migjorn Gran. €240

author_pick S’Engolidor c/Major 3 tel_icon 971 37 01 93, web_icon sengolidor.es. On the ground floor of the Fonda, this is a smashing little restaurant, where the emphasis is on traditional Menorcan cuisine with mains around €19. The restaurant has a charming, (summer-only) courtyard garden with views over a wooded gorge; reservations are strongly advised. Tues–Fri 7–11pm, Sat & Sun 1–4pm & 7–11pm.

Sant Tomàs

South of Es Migjorn Gran, the road scuttles along a wooded ravine that leads down to the south coast and the really rather crass hotel and apartment buildings of SANT TOMÀS. The resort’s saving grace is its inviting 3km-long sandy beach, very similar to that of Son Bou, a couple of headlands away to the east. The road reaches the shore halfway along the beach, which is called Platja Sant Adeodat to the west and Platja Sant Tomàs to the east. The latter is easily the more congested, and it’s here you’ll find the resort’s high-rise hotels, as well as your choice of watersports facilities, including windsurfing boards, jet-skis and pedalos.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: SANT TOMÀS

By bus Buses to Sant Tomàs scoot along the seafront boulevard, stopping – among several places – in front of the Hotel Nelson.

Destinations Alaior (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 35min); Es Migjorn Gran (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 15min); Maó (May–Sept Mon–Sat 6 daily, Sun 4 daily; Nov–April Mon–Sat 4 daily; 1hr).

ACCOMMODATION

Sol Beach House Menorca Platja Sant Tomàs s/n tel_icon 971 37 00 50, web_icon melia.com. Smart and modern high-rise four-star hotel, overlooking the beach and with all the facilities you might expect, including outside pools. The rooms are briskly modern – and very chain – but most have sea-facing balconies. Closed Nov–April. €150

Ferreries

Tucked into a hollow beneath a steep hill, FERRERIES is an unassuming little town, about 8km west of Es Mercadal, whose ancient whitewashed houses flank and frame a batch of narrow, sloping streets. A surprise here is the pagoda-like piece of modern sculpture in the main square, the Plaça Espanya, while just up the hill at the back of the plaça – up along c/Fred – stands the neatly shuttered Ajuntament, primly facing the parish church of Sant Bartomeu, a largely eighteenth-century edifice with an 1884-vintage belfry tacked onto the top. The liveliest time to be here is on Saturday morning, when a small food and crafts market (9am–1pm) is held on Plaça Espanya.

Jaime Mascaró Factory Shop

Carretera General s/n • Mon–Sat 9.30am–8pm • tel_icon 971 37 38 37, web_icon mascaro.com

Ferreries has a long history as a centre of Menorca’s shoe-making industry, and although the cottage-cobblers of yesteryear are long gone, the town is still home to a big-name shoe manufacturer, Jaime Mascaró. They have a large factory shop here, about 1km or so east of the town centre along the main drag (Carretera General) on what was formerly the Me-1, though this now loops round the town to the north.

Hort Sant Patrici

Camí de Sant Patrici s/n • May–Sept Mon–Sat 9am–1pm & 4.30–8pm; Oct–April Mon–Fri 9am–1pm & 4–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm • Free • Guided tours on Tues, Thurs & Sat at 10am with advance reservations recommended • tel_icon 971 37 34 85, web_icon santpatrici.com • There’s no public transport; to get there follow the signs from the Me-1 as it swings round the northern edge of Ferreries

In a pleasant rural setting just to the north of Ferreries, the enterprising Hort Sant Patrici comprises an assortment of farm buildings surrounding a good-looking hacienda, all set in attractive gardens. The main deal here is the locally produced Menorcan cheese: this is the most enjoyable of the several cheese-making plants open to the public on the island and the place is well set up for visitors, who can watch cheese being made at the factory, buy it at the shop and pop into the cheese museum. You can also stroll the well-maintained gardens, eat at the restaurant, drop by the winery – Patrici has its own vineyard – and stay here at the Ca Na Xini hotel. As for the cheese, which is known generically as Queso Mahon after the island capital from where it was traditionally exported, it’s a richly textured, white, semi-fat cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk with a touch of ewe’s milk added for extra flavour. It’s sold at four different stages of maturity, either tierno (young), semi-curado (semi-mature), curado (mature) or añejo (very mature).

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: FERRERIES

By bus Buses to Ferreries cut through the northern edge of the town centre, stopping in front of the Nou Vimpi café, a 4min walk from Plaça Espanya via Avgda Verge del Toro.

Destinations Alaior (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 25min); Cala Galdana (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 6 daily; June–Sept 5–6 daily; 15min); Ciutadella (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr 25min); Es Mercadal (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 10min); Es Migjorn Gran (Mon–Fri 3 daily; 20min); Maó (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 35min).

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

Ca Na Xini Camí de Sant Patrici s/n tel_icon 971 37 45 12, web_icon canaxini.com. A self-styled “boutique” hotel of minimalist design, shoehorned into the bright and cheerful old manor house of the Hort Sant Patrici estate. There are just eight guest rooms here, all with shades of white and cream to the fore. Two-night minimum stay applies for most of the year. No children. €220

Hotel Loar Avgda Verge del Toro 2 tel_icon 971 37 41 81, web_icon loarferreries.com. This straightforward three-star hotel occupies a four-storey modern block right in the centre of town. There’s a pleasant rooftop pool and terrace, and although the rooms are decoratively uninspired, they are comfortable and functional. €50

Nou Vimpi Plaça del Princep Joan Carles 5 tel_icon 971 37 31 99. Something of a local institution, this popular café-bar serves a tasty range of tapas (from €4) and has a large terrace at the front beside the town bus stop. Daily 6am–11.30pm.

Hotel Ses Sucreres Sant Joan 13 tel_icon 971 37 41 92, web_icon hotelsessucreres.com. Formerly a village candle shop, this cosy three-star hotel has just six rooms of modest demeanour, but with local paintings hanging on the walls. It’s all very nicely done – indeed it’s charming. In the centre of the village, the briefest of walks from Plaça Espanya. €140

Cala Galdana

The bustling resort of CALA GALDANA, 9km south of Ferreries, occupies what was once a much-loved beauty spot, its clutter of high-rises and low-rises disfiguring – at least in part – a once-beautiful cove framed by wooded, limestone cliffs. More positively, the curving sandy beach and its pint-sized rocky promontory are still very appealing; the resort boasts several good hotels; you can rent all sorts of watersports equipment, from pedalos and water scooters to windsurfing boards and snorkelling tackle; and you can escape the crowds by hiking west or east along the coast to more secluded coves.

COASTAL WALKS AROUND CALA GALDANA

There are several exquisite cove beaches within easy walking distance of Cala Galdana via the Camí de Cavalls. The most obvious choice is Cala Mitjana (no facilities), just 1km to the east, a broad strip of sand set at the back of a chubby little cove with wooded cliffs to either side. One favourite sport here is jumping into the crystal-clear waters from the surrounding cliffs. It’s reached via a 30min walk along a footpath that begins at the Plaça Na Gran car park, near the main entrance to the Hotel Melia Gavilanes.

Heading west from Cala Galdana, it takes about an hour to walk to Cala Macarella and a few minutes more to get to the neighbouring Cala Macarelleta: climb the steps opposite the large Hotel Artiem Audax, which stands near the beach at the west end of the resort, and keep going along the path. Continuing west along the coast from Cala Macarella on the Camí de Cavalls, it takes about 2hr to walk to the next major beach, Cala Turqueta.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: CALA GALDANA

By bus Buses to Cala Galdana stop in the centre of the resort on Passatge Riu, a brief stroll from the beach.

Destinations Alaior (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 2 daily; June–Sept 2 daily; 40min); Ciutadella (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 6 daily; June–Sept 5–6 daily; 40min); Es Mercadal (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 2 daily; June–Sept 2 daily; 25min); Ferreries (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 6 daily; June–Sept 5–6 daily; 15min); Maó (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 2 daily; June–Sept 2 daily; 50min).

ACCOMMODATION

Camping S’Atalaia Carretera Cala Galdana, km4.5 tel_icon 971 37 42 32, web_icon campingsatalaia.com. This medium-sized campsite has a full battery of amenities, including an outdoor swimming pool, a café, a laundry and a supermarket. It’s a popular spot, not least because pine trees shade much of the site, so advance reservations are advised. The campsite is located about 3km from Cala Galdana, beside the road from Ferreries, and there is a bus stop outside – but be sure to let the driver know you want to get off here, otherwise you will go whizzing by. Pitch prices include vehicle and electrical hook-up. Closed Oct–March. Two-person pitch €30

Melia Gavilanes Avgda Sa Punta s/n tel_icon 971 15 45 45, web_icon melia.com. Cala Galdana has four large chain hotels, the pick of which is this four-star, set in its own verdant grounds and built against the cliffs that frame the beach. The hotel has every facility, from air conditioning and swimming pools to satellite TV, and most of the attractive, modern guest rooms have sea-facing balconies. Closed Nov–April. €180

Torrellafuda

Open access • Free • web_icon descobreixmenorca.com • The site is just south of the Me-1, 8km from Ferreries & 9km from Ciutadella; take the clearly signed, 800m-long dirt road from the Me-1

Travelling west from Ferreries, the Me-1 soon leaves the central hills behind for the flatlands that herald Ciutadella. These are dotted with some of the island’s more important prehistoric sites, the first one of real significance being Torrellafuda. From the car park, it’s a brief walk to the site, where a particularly well-preserved talayot stands close to the taula, which is hidden away in a little wooded dell. The rustic setting is delightful – and it’s a perfect spot for a picnic.

Naveta d’es Tudons

Easter–Oct Mon 9am–2.30pm, Tues–Sun 9am–8.30pm; Nov–Easter open access • €2, but free Nov–Easter • web_icon descobreixmenorca.com • To get to the site, take the turning off the Me-1, almost 3km west of the Torrellafuda turning & 5km east of Ciutadella

Standing in a field a short stroll from the Me-1, the conspicuous Naveta d’es Tudons is easily the best-preserved naveta on the island. Seven metres high and 14m long, it consists of massive stone blocks slotted together using a sophisticated dry-stone technique. The narrow entrance on the west side leads into a small antechamber, which was once sealed off by a stone slab; beyond lies the main chamber where the bones of the dead were stashed away after the flesh had been removed. Folkloric memories of the navetas’ original purpose survived into modern times – Menorcans were loath to go near these odd-looking and solitary monuments until well into the nineteenth century.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP CALA TURQUETA; CIUTADELLA; NAVETA D’ES TUDONS

Lithica Pedreres de S’hostal

Camí Vell, km1 s/n • May–Oct Mon–Sat 9.30am–2.30pm & 4.30–8.30pm, Sun 9.30am–2.30pm; Nov–April daily 9.30am–2.30pm • €5, free Nov–March • tel_icon 971 48 15 78, web_icon lithica.es • The site is clearly signed from the outer ring road (the RC-2), just south of the main Me-1

One of the island’s more unusual sights, the Lithica Pedreres de S’hostal occupies a former quarry on the edge of Ciutadella, some 2km to the east of town. Stone was quarried here for several centuries, only ending in 1994, and the old workings are now open to the public. From the ticket office, you descend to the old quarry floor, where you can wander among a labyrinth of giant stone stacks cut to all sorts of fanciful shapes. It was long the custom for the quarrymen to plant gardens in some of their old workings and there’s a lovely verdant garden here today, shaded by orange and almond trees, as well as a stone maze and an open-air theatre, which is used for live performances.

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Ciutadella

Like Maó, CIUTADELLA sits high above the sea, but here navigation into its old city-centre harbour is far more difficult, up a narrow channel too slender for all but the smallest of cargo ships. Nonetheless, despite this nautical inconvenience, Ciutadella was the island’s capital right up until the eighteenth century, when it was usurped by Maó, initiating a long period of economic stagnation which only ended with the tourist boom of the last decades. One happy consequence of this stagnation is evident today in Ciutadella’s compact town centre, which has barely been touched by modern development, its narrow, cobbled streets flanked by old and distinguished mansions and a fine set of Baroque and Gothic churches, all very much in the grand Spanish tradition. An ambitious renovation programme has further enhanced the centre, restoring most of the old stone facades to their honey-coloured best, and although it’s the whole ensemble that gives Ciutadella its appeal, rather than any specific sight, the Cathedral is a real Gothic highlight and stately Plaça d’es Born is undoubtedly the Balearics’ finest piazza. All in all, it’s a lovely place to stay, and nothing else on Menorca rivals the evening passeig (promenade), when the townsfolk amble the narrow streets of the centre, dropping in on pavement cafés as the sun sets. Allow at least a couple of days – the town has several good places to stay and several excellent restaurants – more if you seek out one of the beguiling cove beaches within easy striking distance: there are several wonderful spots to choose from, but Cala Turqueta and Cala Macarella are probably the pick of the bunch. Save time also for the prehistoric sites hereabouts, especially Naveta d’es Tudons and Son Catlar.

Brief history

Chosen by the Romans, adopted by the Moors (as Medina Minurka) and then rebuilt by the Catalans during the Reconquista, Ciutadella was razed by Turkish corsairs in 1558, a brutal episode that was actually something of an accident. The Ottomans had dispatched 15,000 soldiers and 150 warships west to assist their French allies against the Habsburgs. With no particular place to go, the Turks rolled around the Mediterranean for a few weeks and, after deciding Maó wasn’t worth the candle, they happened on Ciutadella, where the garrison numbered just forty. For the locals, the results of the assault were cataclysmic. The Turks carried off some three thousand captives – around eighty percent of the population – transporting them to the slave markets of Istanbul, and when the new Spanish governor arrived, he was forced to live in a cave. As news spread of the disaster, the pope organized a European whip-round and, with the money in his bag, an intrepid Menorcan doctor, one Marcos Martí, ventured east to buy the slaves back. Martí was remarkably successful and the returning hostages, together with the survivors of the assault, determinedly rebuilt Ciutadella in grand style. They refortified the town centre and then, reassured, set about adorning it with fine stone churches and sweeping mansions.

Throughout the seventeenth century, Menorca’s leading landowners chewed the cud in Ciutadella, confident of their position and power. They were, however, in for a shock: the colonial powers of the eighteenth century had little time for the town’s feeble port when compared with Maó’s magnificent inlet, and the British simply – and abruptly – moved the capital to Maó in 1722. Thereafter, Maó flourished as a trading centre, while Ciutadella hit the skids, though the bulk of the Menorcan aristocracy decided to stay exactly where they were. As a result, the island’s foreign rulers pretty much left them to stew in their own very Catholic juice – an increasingly redundant, landowning class far from the wheels of mercantile power. Bypassed and ignored by just about everyone, Ciutadella slipped into a long-lasting economic reverie that has, by coincidence, preserved the town’s old and beautiful centre as if in aspic.

Plaça d’es Born

Primarily a nineteenth-century creation, Plaça d’es Born is a handsome affair whose centrepiece is a soaring obelisk commemorating the futile defence against the Turks in 1558. The obelisk’s original Latin inscription, penned by the politician and historian Josep Quadrado (1819–96), reads “Here we fought until death for our religion and our country in the year 1558.” Such grandiose poppycock was typical of Quadrado, then the region’s most prominent politician and leader of the reactionary Catholic Union, which bombarded Madrid with complaints and petitions whenever the local governor did anything progressive.

The Ajuntament

Plaça d’es Born 15 • No public access, except for ground-floor tourist office

The Plaça d’es Born is flanked by several notable buildings, beginning on its western side with the Ajuntament (Town Hall), whose early nineteenth-century arches and crenellations mimic Moorish style, purposely recalling the time when the site was occupied by the Wali’s alcázar (palace), which was razed to the ground after the Reconquista.

Teatre d’es Born

Plaça d’es Born 19

On the Plaça d’es Born’s north side, architectural pride of place goes to the Teatre d’es Born, a neat, late nineteenth-century structure built to salvage some municipal pride: the merchants of Maó had just completed their opera house, so the oligarchs of Ciutadella promptly followed suit – though they weren’t quite as energetic when it came to getting people to perform here and the building lay neglected for years. It’s now reopened as a cinema.

The Palau Torresaura

Plaça d’es Born

The northeast corner of the Plaça d’es Born is dominated by the sweeping lines of the Palau Torresaura, built in the nineteenth century, but looking far older, and the grandest of several aristocratic mansions edging the plaza. Embellished by two handsome loggias, its frontage proclaims the family coat of arms above a large wooden door leading into a spacious courtyard. The antique interior, however, is off limits – like most of its neighbours, the house is still owner-occupied.

Església de St Francesc

c/Purissima s/n • Core hours Mon–Sat 9am–1pm • Free

The Església de St Francesc, standing in the southeast corner of the square, is a clean-lined, unpretentious structure whose hybrid architecture reflects the island’s ups and downs. The original church was constructed shortly after the Reconquista, and it was here in 1301 that Jaume II met his nobles to parcel up Menorca into the feudal estates – the Cavalleries (from cavaller, the Catalan for baron) – that cemented his kingdom. In 1558, the Turks fired the church, but it was rebuilt to the original specifications in the 1590s, with further embellishments added later: the Baroque side door in the eighteenth century, the dome in the nineteenth. Like most of Ciutadella’s churches, Republicans ransacked the place during the Spanish Civil War, but bits and pieces have survived, notably a motley crew of polychromatic saints. There’s a further reminder of the war above the confessional at the transept, where you’ll spot a black-and-white photograph and memorial to Juan Huguet Cordona, a young priest who was killed by the Republicans in 1936, earning him the church’s accolade as a martyr.

The Cathedral

Plaça Catedral s/n • Core hours Mon–Sat 10am–4pm • €3, free when unattended in winter; combined ticket with Sant Agustí €5 • tel_icon 971 35 65 23

The handsome Catedral (Cathedral) was built by Jaume II on the site of the chief mosque in the fourteenth century, but was subsequently remodelled after the Turkish onslaught of 1558. During the rebuilding, the flying buttresses of the original version were partly encased within a thick stone wall to guard against future attack, a modification that gives the cathedral its distinctive appearance today. The Gothic side door – on the south side of the church – was, however, left intact, its arching columns decorated with strange-looking beasts and the coats of arms of Aragón and Ciutadella, all surmounted by a delicate carving of the Magi honouring the infant Christ. Another survivor was the set of fierce-looking gargoyles that decorates the buttresses at roof level. The principal (west) entrance was added much later, in 1813, its flashy Neoclassical portico contrasting with the rest of the church and the intricate rose window above.

The interior

Inside, light filters through the stained glass of the narrow, lofty windows to bathe part of the nave and high altar in an ethereal glow. There’s also a sequence of glitzy Baroque side chapels, though these look mediocre when compared with the beautifully carved stonework of the chapel just off the top left-hand corner of the nave. Most of the church’s old furnishings and fittings were destroyed when the Republicans took control of Menorca during the Civil War – there are photos of the destruction on display in the sacristy and vestry at the back of the church among a scattering of ecclesiastical baubles, vestments, chalices, reliquaries and so forth. There was good reason for this outburst of anti-clericalism. Though the British had made Maó the island’s capital in 1722, Ciutadella remained Menorca’s ecclesiastical centre and, almost without exception, its resident Catholic hierarchy were rich and reactionary in equal measure. The priesthood enthusiastically proclaimed its support for the officers of the Maó garrison when the latter declared for Franco in July 1936, but this turned out to be a major gaffe. The bulk of the garrison stayed loyal to the Republic and, allied with local left-wing groups, they captured the rebels, shot their leaders and savaged Ciutadella’s main churches as retribution.

Palau Olivar

Plaça de la Catedral 8 • Daily: May, Sept & Oct 10am–2pm; June–Aug 10am–3pm & 7–9pm • €3 • tel_icon 647 63 44 87

Directly opposite the cathedral’s main entrance is the Palau Olivar, whose stern, eighteenth-century facade is partly relieved by a pair of miniature balconies fronted by wrought-iron grilles. The mansion is still in private hands, but during the summer it’s usually open to the public, who can wander through a set of formal rooms with family portraits and a mishmash of period furniture. In 1707, the house witnessed one of the town’s crueller episodes, when a reclusive mother and daughter who worked and lived here were accused of witchcraft. Found guilty on palpably potty charges, the older woman was sent to prison for life, and the younger was executed – by any standard, a heavy price to pay for not joining in the town’s social life.

Església del Roser

c/Roser • Hours vary with exhibitions, but core hours Mon–Sat 10.30am–1.30pm & 5.30–8.30pm • Free • tel_icon 971 38 35 63

Dating from the seventeenth century, the Església del Roser is fronted by a hulking Churrigueresque facade, whose quartet of pillars is festooned with intricate tracery. The church was the subject of bitter controversy when the British governor Richard Kane commandeered it for Church of England services, which was not at all to the liking of the Dominican friars who owned the place. Now deconsecrated, the church’s interior has been covered in cream paint and is used for temporary exhibitions of contemporary, mostly local, art and crafts.

Carrer Josep Maria Quadrodo

Plaça Catedral fades east into c/Josep Maria Quadrado, one section of the narrow main street that cuts right across the old town and the spot where – near the corner with c/Seminari – you’ll spy a perky bronze effigy of a lamb stuck on a column. The lamb concerned, the Estatua des Be, which symbolizes the Lamb of God, carries a flag bearing the cross of St John the Baptist and is a reminder of Ciutadella’s biggest shindig, the Festa de Sant Joan. Beyond the lamb, the next stretch of c/J.M. Quardodo is crimped by a block of whitewashed vaulted arches, Ses Voltes, distinctly Moorish in inspiration and a suitable setting for a string of busy shops and cafés. Further on is Plaça Nova, an attractive little square edged by popular pavement cafés, and then it’s onto Plaça Alfons III, where you leave the cramped alleys of the old town behind.

Carrer Seminari

At the north end of c/Seminari, just metres from the cathedral, it’s hard to miss the flamboyant facade of the Capella del Sant Crist (no fixed opening hours; free), a Baroque extravaganza with garlands of fruit and a pair of gargoyle-like faces. Inside, the intimate nave supports an octagonal stone dome and is also home to a charming if unattributed medieval panel painting depicting three local saints of obscure significance. Overseeing proceedings from above the high altar is an effigy of the crucified Christ, which is supposed to have dripped with sweat in 1661 and remains a popular object of devotion even today.

Next door to the church is a savings bank that occupies part of the Palau Saura, built in grand style by the British for a Menorcan aristocrat, Joan Miquel Saura, in return for his help in planning their successful invasion of 1708: a life-long opponent of the Spanish Bourbons, Saura took full advantage of the British occupation to take revenge on his Menorcan enemies; the British turned a blind eye.

Claustre de Convent de Sant Agustí

c/Seminari 7 • May–Oct Mon–Sat 10am–4pm • €3, combined ticket with Cathedral €5 • tel_icon 971 48 12 97

The mildly enjoyable Claustre de Convent de Sant Agustí (Cloister and Convent of St Augustine) is tucked away behind an elongated perimeter wall, a sober, stone affair interrupted by two doorways – one for the cloisters and the museum, the other for the church, which was deconsecrated long ago. This old church doorway is surmounted by the most bizarre of sculpted cameos, depicting the Virgin Mary armed with a cudgel and standing menacingly over a cringing, cat-like dragon-devil.

The cloisters and museum

Sant Agustí’s well-preserved cloisters are an exercise in Baroque symmetry, their vaulted aisles sporting a neat set of coats of arms and religious motifs. The rooms surrounding the cloisters now accommodate a modest museum, a hotchpotch of a collection which begins with an assortment of Talayotic and early classical archeological finds, most memorably a selection of small and delicate effigies. Among them is a superbly crafted miniature bull and a similarly exquisite little mermaid (sirena), almost certainly Greek bronzes dating from the fifth century BC.

A further room is devoted to the Impressionistic paintings of Ciutadella’s Pere Daura (1896–1976). Daura concentrated on still-lifes, landscapes and village scenes, but as a one-time Communist and Republican soldier, he was obliged to leave Spain after Franco seized power, spending most of his later life in France and the USA. Look out also for the paintings of José Roberto Torrent (1904–90). The son of a cobbler, Torrent is usually regarded as Ciutadella’s finest painter, a prolific and versatile artist who began with deftly coloured Menorcan landscapes in the Realist tradition. Later, in the 1960s, his paintings became more expressionistic, rendering island scenes in striking colours and shapes, but perhaps his most evocative work was produced in his old age with paintings of infirmity, loneliness and isolation.

Moving on, the vaulted refectory is a good-looking chamber with some dreadful eighteenth-century religious paintings; finally, on the left-hand side of the cloister, is the domed and single-aisled Església dels Socors, whose standard-issue Baroque decoration culminates in an extraordinarily artless high altar.

The market

Plaça Francesc Netto & Plaça Llibertat • Mon–Sat 9am–2pm

Ciutadella’s principal market (mercat) rambles over two miniature squares, Plaça Francesc Netto and Plaça Llibertat. This is another delightful corner of the old town, where fresh fruit, vegetable, meat and fish stalls mingle with lively and inexpensive cafés selling the freshest of ensaimadas. The fish stalls occupy a dinky little structure of 1895; the rest fill out a slender arcaded gallery that was constructed thirty years before as part of a municipal drive to clean up the town’s food supply.

Convent of Santa Clara

c/Santa Clara • No public access

From c/J.M. Quadrado, a long, straight street – c/Santa Clara – slices north, hemmed in by the walls of old aristocratic palaces. At the top is the Convent of Santa Clara, a mundanely modern incarnation of a centuries-old foundation. In 1749, this was the site of a scandal that had tongues clacking from Ciutadella to Maó. During the night, three young women hopped over the convent wall and placed themselves under the protection of their British boyfriends. Even worse, as far as the local clergy were concerned, they wanted to turn Protestant and marry their men. In this delicate situation, Governor Blakeney had the room where the women were staying sealed up by a priest every night. But he refused to send them back to the convent and allowed the weddings to go ahead, thereby compounding a religious animosity that had begun in the days of Richard Kane.

Museu Municipal

c/Portal de Sa Font s/n • May–Sept Tues–Sat 10am–2pm & 6–9pm; Oct–April Tues–Sat 10am–2pm • €2.50, free on Wed • tel_icon 971 38 02 97, web_icon ajciutadella.org

The Museu Municipal occupies part of the old city fortifications, a massive bastion overlooking a slender ravine that had, until it was redirected, a river running along its base and on into the harbour. The museum consists of a long vaulted chamber that is mostly given over to a wide range of archeological artefacts, primarily a substantial collection of Talayotic remains, featuring finds garnered from all over the island. Each cabinet is clearly labelled in Catalan (a free English guide is available at reception), but the displays are not chronological, which unfortunately tends to confuse matters.

The earlier pieces, dating from around 1500 to 700 BC, include many examples of crudely crafted beakers and tumblers as well as a set of six skulls, which appear to have been subjected to some form of brain surgery, though no one is sure quite how or why. Later work – from around 700 BC – reveals a far greater degree of sophistication, both in terms of kitchenware, with bowls and tumblers particularly common, and bronze weaponry. From this later period, which ended with the arrival of the Romans in 123 BC, comes most of the (imported) jewellery, whose fine detail and miniature size suggest a Carthaginian origin.

Carrer Sa Muradeta and the harbour

Beginning beside the Museu Municipal, Carrer Sa Muradeta provides pleasant views over a ravine as it cuts down towards the Plaça d’es Born. As you near the square, a wide flight of steps – the Baixada Capllonc – bounces down to the harbour, where yachts and fishing smacks bob around in front of a series of waterside restaurants, with the old town walls forming a scenic background. The harbour is as flat as a millpond almost all of the time, but every so often, for reasons that remain obscure, it is subjected to a violent disturbance, the Rissaga. This begins with sudden changes to the sea level and is followed by a dramatic rush of water into the harbour before normality returns. The last great Rissaga took place in 1984 and submerged the harbourside beneath 2m of water, giving everyone an almighty shock.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: CIUTADELLA

By bus Buses from Maó and points east pull into the bus station on Plaça de La Pau, on the south side of the centre – and a 5–10min walk from Placa d’es Born. Buses from the tourist resorts of the west coast stop right in the centre, on the north side of Plaça dels Pins.

Destinations Alaior (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 50min); Cala Galdana (April, May & Oct Mon–Sat 6 daily; June–Sept 5–6 daily; 40min); Cala Morell (May–Oct 3–4 daily; 20min); Es Mercadal (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 35min); Es Migjorn Gran (Mon–Fri 2 daily; 35min); Ferreries (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 25min); Maó (Mon–Fri every 30min–1hr, Sat & Sun every 1–2hr; 1hr).

By ferry Car ferries and catamarans from Barcelona and Mallorca’s Port d’Alcúdia dock at the Son Blanc ferry port, located at the western end of the outer ring road (the RC-2), about 4km south of the town centre. Bus #63 runs from Son Blanc to the centre of town, stopping on the north side of Plaça dels Pins. Its timetable matches ferry arrivals and departures and the journey time is about 15min. A taxi costs around €8. For ferry company details and routings, see the sections on Ferries and catamarans from mainland Spain Ferries and catamarans between the Balearic islands; tickets are available direct from the operators at the ferry terminal, but it’s easier to buy them online. Note that Menorca’s car rental companies do not allow their vehicles to leave the island.

By car If you’re driving into Ciutadella from the east, there’s no missing the inner ring road, which, under various names – principally Avgda Jaume I El Conqueridor and Avgda Negrete – encircles the old town. Approaching on the main road from the east (the Me-1), turn left when you reach the T-junction and keep going until you reach its conclusion on Plaça dels Pins. Driving east out of Ciutadella is more difficult as the last stretch of the Me-1 is westbound only; the solution is to use the outer ring road – just follow the signs. This outer ring road is named the RC-1 north of the Me-1 and the RC-2 to the south.

Parking Most of the town centre is pedestrianized, but you can pretty much guarantee there will be vacant on-street parking spaces on Passeig Sant Nicolau, which runs west from Plaça dels Pins at the end of the inner ring road.

GETTING AROUND

Bicycle and moped rental There are several bicycle and moped rental companies in Ciutadella, but one of the most reliable is Tot Velo, just west of Plaça dels Pins at c/Eivissa 59 (Mon–Fri 9.30am–1.30pm & 5–8.30pm & Sat 10am–1.30pm; tel_icon 971 48 11 48, web_icon totvelo.com). They rent bikes from €12/day.

Car rental The resorts of Menorca’s west coast are sprinkled with big-name car rental companies, including Europcar, in Cala en Blanes (May–Oct; tel_icon 971 38 94 90). The tourist office has a complete list.

By taxi There’s a taxi stand on Plaça dels Pins. Alternatively, call tel_icon 971 48 22 22. The (regulated) taxi fare from Ciutadella to Menorca airport is about €55.

INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES

Tourist information The main tourist office is located inside the town hall – the Ajuntament – at Plaça d’es Born 15 (May–Oct Mon–Sat 9.30am–8.30pm, Sun 9.30am–3pm; Nov–April Mon–Fri 9am–2pm & 4–8pm, Sat 9.30am–1.30pm; tel_icon 971 48 41 55, web_icon ajciutadella.org). It has a good range of information on Menorca as a whole and Ciutadella in particular, including bus timetables, ferry schedules, lists of hostales and hotels and free maps, but doesn’t help with finding accommodation.

Boat rental Menorca Boats, down on the harbour at Passeig Moll 78 ( tel_icon 609 61 19 58, web_icon menorcaboats.com), rents out all manner of speed boats. Prices begin at a hefty €350/ day in high season, €170 in low.

Diving Dive Inn Menorca, down near the harbour at Es Pla de Sant Joan 10 ( tel_icon 651 64 43 19, web_icon diveinnmenorca.com), organizes a wide range of deep-sea diving trips out amid the crystal-clear waters of the west coast. Introductory, day-long sessions start at €240 (Oct–May €190).

Horseriding Cavalls Son Àngel, Camí de Cala Morell-Algaiarens, km1 ( tel_icon 609 83 39 02, web_icon cavallssonangel.com), specializes in horseriding excursions – anything from a quick, hour-long trot (€25) to a five-day expedition. Many of their excursions use the Camí de Cavalls.

ACCOMMODATION

IN THE CENTRE

Hotel Can Faustino c/Sant Rafel 9 tel_icon 971 48 91 93, web_icon canfaustino.com. Super-deluxe hotel in a beautifully renovated old mansion in a great location, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the Cathedral. The rooms are slick and modern – think creams and browns – with every mod con, and some have terraces overlooking the hotel’s gardens with and without city views. Naturally, there’s a spa and naturally the hotel is expensive, but not perhaps as expensive as you might expect. €180

Hostal Ciutadella c/Sant Eloi 10 tel_icon 971 38 34 62, web_icon alojarseenmenorca.com. Well-maintained, two-star hostal in a pleasantly updated older building on a side street off Plaça Alfons III. Has around twenty small and modest but comfortable rooms, each decorated in shades of yellow and brown. €90

author_pick Hotel Géminis c/Josepa Rossinyol 4 tel_icon 971 38 46 44, web_icon hotelgeminismenorca.com. Distinctively painted in pink and white, this well-tended, comfortable two-star hotel has thirty rooms, each decorated in bright if somewhat frugal modern style. The rooms at the front have Art Deco-style balconies and overlook a quiet suburban street; those at the back overlook a small pool and courtyard. To get there, walk a few paces down c/Mossèn J. Salord i Farnés from the ring road and watch for the archway on the right; go through the arch and the hotel’s on the right. Closed Nov–March. €90

Hotel Madrid c/Madrid 60 tel_icon 971 38 03 28, web_icon hotelmadridmenorca.com. Located near the ocean, a 20min walk west of the town centre, the one-star Madrid comprises 22 reasonably comfortable if somewhat spartan rooms in a run-of-the-mill villa-style building with an outside pool. To get there, follow Passeig Sant Nicolau from the Plaça dels Pins, take the fourth turning on the left (c/Saragossa) and you’ll soon hit c/Madrid – just a block and a half east of the hotel. Closed Nov–April. €65

Hotel Menorca Patricia Passeig Sant Nicolau 90 tel_icon 971 38 55 11, web_icon hotelmenorcapatricia.com. Smart, modern three-star popular with business folk and in a great location, a few minutes’ walk from the town centre. The 44 comfortable, well-appointed rooms come with all facilities, the only downer being the lack of a sea view – though the best rooms have rooftop balconies with wide vistas over the town centre. There’s also an outside swimming pool. €95

Hotel Port Ciutadella Passeig Marítím 36 tel_icon 971 48 25 20, web_icon sethotels.com. A 15min walk southwest of Plaça dels Pins, this smart and ultra-modern four-star hotel has a cleverly designed outside pool and around one hundred brightly decorated bedrooms with all mod cons. To get there head south on c/Mallorca and turn right at the roundabout at the end. Closed Nov–April. €150

author_pick Hostal Sa Prensa c/Madrid 70 tel_icon 971 38 26 98, web_icon saprensa.com. Close to the rocky seashore at the end of c/Madrid, a 20min walk west of the centre, this neat and trim, villa-like, one-star hostal has eight straightforward, modern bedrooms, four of which have balconies and sea views. To get there, follow the directions for the Hotel Madrid and carry on for a further 200m or so towards the seashore. €85

Hotel Tres Sants c/Sant Cristòfol 2 tel_icon 971 48 22 08, web_icon grupelcarme.com. One of a small chain, this boutique hotel (with a fancy website) offers just eight light and airy modern rooms in an extensively renovated eighteenth-century townhouse that was built on top of the island’s first Christian church. There are pleasant views from the terrace, and breakfasts are delicious. Minimum three-night stay during the peak season. €220

OUT OF THE CITY

author_pick Hotel Rural Morvedrà Nou Camí Sant Joan de Misa, km7 tel_icon 971 35 95 21, web_icon morvedranou.es. In a rural location, about 6km south of Ciutadella on the way to the cove beaches of the south coast, this delightful hotel occupies a sympathetically converted stone farmhouse set in its own gardens. The nineteen guest rooms are decorated in an unfussy manner and come complete with beamed ceilings and old stone walls. There is an outside pool, too, plus extremely helpful staff. Closed Nov–March. €200

Hotel Sant Ignasi Camí de Sant Ignasi s/n tel_icon 971 38 55 75, web_icon santignasi.com. This handsome seventeenth-century manor house has been tastefully converted into an immaculate hotel. Each of the 25 bedrooms is decorated in a style that blends with the original building, and there are gardens and an outside pool. It’s located in a rural setting about 4km northeast of Ciutadella – and clearly signposted (down a very narrow 1.5km-long lane) from the road to Cala Morell. Closed mid-Oct to April. €200

EATING AND DRINKING

For an early breakfast the best place to go is the market (mercat) on Plaça Llibertat, where a couple of simple cafés serve coffee and fresh pastries. Later in the day, around lunchtime, aim for c/J.M. Quadrado or Plaça Nova, which together hold a good selection of inexpensive café-bars offering tapas and light meals. In the evening, most tourists make a beeline for the restaurants that line up along the harbourside, but – with the odd exception – you’re better off seeking out the better-value places among the side streets near Plaça d’es Born. Incidentally, although the outside terraces on the harbourside restaurants look enticing, the nautical activity along the waterfront can be deafening.

CAFÉS AND CAFÉ-BARS

Café-Bar Ulises Plaça Llibertat s/n tel_icon 971 38 00 31. This easy-going and very fashionable café-bar, in the heart of the city market, has loads of atmosphere (think white-plank wooden flooring, cabinets of old wine and spirit bottles) and is popular with a youngish local clientele. Offers a tasty range of pastries and tortillas in the morning, more substantial main courses (from €10) later, and lots of drinks plus (turned-down) house music/jazz at night – as well as the occasional live concert. Mon–Sat 8am–late.

Imperi Plaça d’es Born 5 tel_icon 971 38 22 20. Green-shuttered, neatly turned out café-bar offering good (Illy) coffee, snacks and cakes (from €4). Abutting the main square, its tiny terrace is a fine spot to observe the milling crowd. Daily 7am–midnight.

Sa Xarxa c/Sebastià 3 tel_icon 971 48 03 23. Agreeable café-bar serving a good line in tapas and snacks, all at inexpensive prices (from €6). Its pavement terrace is set just off the main drag, which means it’s a good place to watch the evening passeig/paseo. Daily 10am–11pm.

RESTAURANTS

El Horno c/Forn 12 tel_icon 971 38 07 67. Smart and neat cellar restaurant near the northeast corner of Plaça d’es Born featuring a canny combination of Menorcan and French dishes. Try the rabbit or the mussels. Mains average a very competitive €14. Daily 7–11pm.

author_pick La Guitarra c/Nostra Senyora dels Dolors 1 tel_icon 971 38 13 55. Located a short walk from the cathedral in an old cellar, whose stone walls sport a scattering of agricultural antiques, this is arguably the best restaurant in town, a family-run affair featuring the very best of Menorcan cuisine with main courses, such as rabbit with onions, averaging an extremely reasonable €15; neither should you miss the traditional trempó (salad) for just €8. Mon–Sat 11.30am–3.30pm & 7.15–11pm.

Pins 46 Plaça dels Pins 46 tel_icon 971 48 16 74, web_icon cafebalear.com. In an immaculately modernized old townhouse, this smart restaurant – one of a small local chain – offers a well-chosen menu featuring such delights as lobster with onion or grilled local prawns. Mains start at €18 and you can eat either inside or outside in the garden courtyard at the back and the pavement terrace at the front. Daily 11am–midnight.

Restaurant Café Balear Es Pla de Sant Joan 15 tel_icon 971 38 00 05, web_icon cafebalear.com. Part of a small chain, this appealing restaurant sits at the back of the harbour by the bridge – at a safe distance from the chuntering boats. The waterside terrace is the best place to eat, but there are tables inside too. The food is first-rate, with shellfish and fish the big deals – go for the swordfish carpaccio if it’s available – though the steaks are good too. Main courses average €20. Reservations advised. May–Oct Mon–Sat 12.30–4pm & 7.30–11.30pm.

Ses Voltes Ses Voltes 16, c/J.M. Quadrado tel_icon 971 38 14 98, web_icon recibaria.com. This casual café-restaurant serves tapas, salads, baguettes and pizzas – try the delicious mozzarella with tomatoes, local sausage and honey. Set across two floors, it has comfy benches, and funky art on the walls, and just about everything on the menu is under €5. Daily 9am–midnight.

NIGHTLIFE

BARS AND CLUBS

Jazzbah Es Pla de Sant Joan 3 tel_icon 971 48 29 53. This cool indoor/outdoor bar is one of Menorca’s best places for a night out. It has several individual spaces with live music, and DJs when the bands have the night off. A large dance space means lots of regular parties. No website, but they are on Facebook. Note that hours can vary. Fri & Sat 11pm–6am.

La Margarete Sant Joan 6 tel_icon 971 48 20 97, web_icon lamargarete.flavors.me. In the town centre, near Plaça d’Artrutx, this is a hip and groovy garden bar with a young, mainly local clientele and regular DJs playing out in the open air. Daily 9pm–3.30am.

Space Pla de Sant Joan 15 web_icon spacemenorca.com. This portside version of the renowned Ibiza club brings high-powered sound systems, fancy lighting and great DJs to Ciutadella. There is a well-appointed terrace with lounge seating up the stairs from the main dance floor. Hours vary – check website for details.

SHOPPING

Libreria d’es Racó c/J.M. Quadrado 40 tel_icon 971 38 19 62. Right in the centre of town, this busy newsagent is an Aladdin’s cave of a place stocked high with books, magazines and toys, and selling a limited range of island road maps. Mon–Sat 10am–2pm & 5.30–7.30pm.

La Torre de Papel Camí de Maó 46 tel_icon 971 38 66 81. The best bookshop in town, offering a first-rate selection of contemporary Spanish (and Catalan) literature. Also sells a good range of used books, though few are in English. Mon–Sat 10am–2pm & 5.30–8.30pm.

HIKING THE ISLAND: THE CAMÍ DE CAVALLS

With great forethought, the Menorcans have restored and revived the Camí de Cavalls ( web_icon camidecavalls360.com), the old agricultural and military footpath that runs right round the island’s coast for a distance of 185km. For the most part the hiking is fairly easy and the coastal views splendid – though the northern portion is a tad wilder and more challenging – and on the way the Camí passes dozens of beaches, some developed, others not. Particularly delightful stretches include Cala Galdana to Cala Turqueta on the south coast, and Cala Morell to Cala d’Algaiarens and Es Alocs on the north, with the latter stretch negotiating a string of short but steep hills. The Camí de Cavalls Guidebook (€18), on sale at Maó’s quayside tourist office, provides detailed descriptions of every section, and can be used in conjunction with a (fairly rudimentary) box of maps (€16), also on sale here.

Son Catlar

Open access • Free • Seasonal buses run between Ciutadella bus station and Son Catlar (early May to mid-June & late Sept to mid-Oct Mon–Sat 3 daily; mid-June to late Sept Mon–Sat hourly; 15min)

Deep in the countryside, about 7km south of Ciutadella, Son Catlar is the largest prehistoric settlement on Menorca, a sprawling set of ruins that are hard to decipher, but enjoyable all the same. To get there from Ciutadella’s outer ring road (the RC-2), take the signed, cross-country Camí de Sant Joan de Missa southeast and, after about 3km, you reach the Son Vivó farmhouse, where the road branches into two: take the more westerly fork and, after another 3.2km, you’ll reach Son Catlar, which was still expanding when the Romans arrived in force in 123 BC. The most impressive feature of this sprawling Talayotic village is its extraordinary stone wall, originally 3m high and made of massive blocks – the square towers were added later. Inside the walls, however, all is confusion. The widely scattered remains are largely incomprehensible and only the taula compound and the five battered talayots make much sense.

Platges Son Saura

Car park €5 • Seasonal buses run between Ciutadella bus station and the Platges Son Saura car park (early May to mid-June & late Sept to mid-Oct Mon–Sat 3 daily; mid-June to late Sept Mon–Sat hourly; 30min)

South of Son Catlar, it’s about 1.2km to the ornate gateway of the Torre Saura farmhouse, where the lane narrows and swings left for the final 2km jaunt down to the large and distinctly scrawny car park. From here, it’s just a 3min walk to the west side of a wide horseshoe-shaped cove, whose twin beaches make up the Platges Son Saura. Parts of the cove are often sticky with seaweed, but there is usually less of the stuff on the more sheltered western side, where pines fringe a wide arc of white sand. There are more facilities here than at most of its neighbours, including a summer beach bar (no set opening hours).

Cala Turqueta

Car park €5 • Seasonal buses run between Ciutadella bus station and Cala Turqueta (early May to mid-June & late Sept to mid-Oct Mon–Sat 3 daily; mid-June to late Sept Mon–Sat hourly; 30min)

Cala Turqueta, one of the island’s most lauded beaches, is within easy striking distance of Ciutadella. Head southeast from Ciutadella’s ring road (the RC-2) on the Camí de Sant Joan de Missa, and it’s about 3km to the Son Vivó farmhouse, where the road forks: take the more easterly fork and it’s a further 1.5km to the conspicuous Ermita de St Joan de Missa, a squat church with a dinky little bell tower. There’s a signed fork here too – turn left for Cala Macarella and Cala Macarelleta, but keep straight for Cala Turqueta. About 4.5km from the church, you turn at the sign, going through the gateway to cross the 500m-long dirt road that brings you to the car park. From here, it’s a ten-minute walk to the cala, which fills out a handsome cove flanked by a heavily wooded limestone bluff. The beach is a sheltered horseshoe of white sand that slopes gently into the sea, making it ideal for bathing. It’s a popular spot, so it’s best to arrive early before the crowds, and although a beach bar sometimes appears, sometimes it doesn’t – so bring your own food and water.

Calas Macarella and Macarelleta

From the Ermita de St Joan de Missa, a country lane leads the 7.5km east, then south, to Cala Macarella, with the final portion of road twisting down through a deep wooded gorge before coming to a sudden halt at the first of two dirt car parks: one car park is free, but is a twenty-minute walk from the beach; the other costs €5 and is a five-minute walk from the beach. The beach itself is a hoop-shaped affair with a wooded limestone bluff behind and crystal-clear waters in front. In the unlikely event it’s crowded – there is no bus service, but there is a beach bar – you can stroll round the bay along the signposted Camí de Cavalls footpath to Cala Macarelleta, smaller and possibly even prettier, and with the same formula of turquoise waters and limestone cliffs.

Cala Morell

Seasonal buses run between Ciutadella bus station and Cala Morell (mid-June to late Sept Mon–Sat hourly; early May to mid-June & late Sept to mid-Oct Mon–Sat 3 daily; 15min)

Signposted from Ciutadella’s outer ring road (the RC-1), a well-surfaced country lane cuts northeast across a pastoral landscape bound for the small(ish) tourist settlement of CALA MORELL, just 8km from town. This is one of the island’s more refined urbanitzacions, its pueblo-style villas – on streets named in Latin after the constellations – hugging a steep and rocky dog-legged bay. There’s swimming off the rocky beach here, and you can also visit some of the old caves for which Cala Morell is noted, visible beside the road as you drive down into the resort. Dating from the late Bronze and Iron Ages, the caves form one of the largest prehistoric necropolises known in Europe, and are surprisingly sophisticated, with central pillars supporting the roofs and, in some instances, windows cut into the rock and classical designs carved in relief. No one owns the caves, so there’s unlimited access – just scramble up from the road – but if you’re after more than just a quick glimpse, bring your own torch.

North coast headlands

On the west side of Cala Morell, c/Orio slips north along the bay, but peters out to be replaced by a rough footpath that continues north along a bare and rocky promontory to the Punta de S’Elefant headland, which offers wide views over the surrounding coastline. This part of Menorca is wild and windswept with vegetation almost nonexistent, but only the truly adventurous will attempt the very difficult hike west from Cala Morell to the next headland along, the Punta de S’Escullar, the site of one of the largest colonies of Cory’s shearwaters in the western Mediterranean, with thousands of birds returning to their cliffside burrows in the late afternoon throughout the summer.

Cala d’Algaiarens

Car park €5 • Seasonal buses run between Ciutadella bus station and Cala d’Algaiarens (early May to mid-June & late Sept to mid-Oct Mon–Sat 3 daily; mid-June to late Sept Mon–Sat hourly; 25min)

On the road from Ciutadella to Cala Morell, a signed turning leads east along a country lane to one of the north coast’s best beaches, Cala d’Algaiarens. Well surfaced for the most part, the lane is alarmingly narrow in places, but the end car park is only a few minutes’ walk from the beach, where low cliffs frame a wide arc of bright-white sand. The water deepens quite quickly off the beach and the currents can be strong, but there are no facilities, so the beach is usually very quiet.

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Menorca

Highlights

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: MENORCA

BY PLANE

AIRPORT INFORMATION

TRANSPORT FROM THE AIRPORT

BY FERRY

GETTING AROUND

TOURISM MENORCA-STYLE: RESERVES AND CONSERVATION

Maó

Plaça Espanya

Plaça Carme

Plaça Constitució

Església de Santa Maria

Carrer Isabel II

The Església de St Francesc

BARBAROSSA GETS ROUGH

Museu de Menorca

The first floor

The second floor

Plaça Bastió

Carrer Hannover and around

Centre d’Art i d’Història Hernández Sanz

The quayside

Xoriguer gin distillery

Talatí de Dalt

MENORCA’S TALAYOTIC SITES

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: MAÓ

BY PLANE

BY FERRY

BY BUS

BY CAR

GETTING AROUND

INFORMATION

ACCOMMODATION

GASTRONOMIC ACCIDENTS: MAÓ AND MAYO

EATING AND DRINKING

CAFÉS AND CAFÉ-BARS

RESTAURANTS

BARS AND NIGHTLIFE

SHOPPING

DIRECTORY

Port de Maó

Golden Farm

La Mola

BOAT TRIPS FROM MAÓ – AND THE ISLANDS OF PORT DE MAÓ

BOAT TRIPS ALONG THE PORT DE MAÓ

WATER TAXIS TO LA MOLA

Es Castell

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ES CASTELL

ACCOMMODATION

Fort Sant Felip

Cala Sant Esteve

Fort Marlborough

Southeast Menorca

Sant Lluís

CLUBBING AT THE CLIFF-FACE: THE COVA D’EN XOROI

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: SANT LLUÍS

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

Cala d’Alcalfar

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: CALA D’ALCALFAR

ACCOMMODATION

The northeast coast

A DAY’S HIKE: ES GRAU TO SA TORRETA

THE HIKE

Es Grau

Parc Natural S’Albufera des Grau

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ES GRAU

EATING AND DRINKING

Cap de Favàritx

INDECISION OFF THE CAPE: FAVÀRITX AND ADMIRAL BYNG

Fornells

Torre de Fornells

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: FORNELLS

ACTIVITIES

ACCOMMODATION

EATING AND DRINKING

Cap de Cavalleria peninsula

Port de Sanitja

Cap de Cavalleria