Menorca, 'smaller island', is one of the Balearic Islands belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca, ‘larger island. Its capital is Mahón (Mao) situated on the island's eastern end. Ciutadella and Mahón are the main ports and largest towns with Mahón being the second biggest natural port in the world.
Menorca had a population of 99,005 as of January 2023. The island is known for its collection of megalithic stone monuments which indicate very early prehistoric human activity. Some of the earliest culture on Menorca was influenced by other Mediterranean cultures, including the Greek Minoans of ancient Crete. For example, the use of inverted plastered timber columns at Knossos is thought to have influenced early peoples of Menorca in imitating this practice.
The Roman occupation of Hispania had meant a growth of maritime trade between the Iberian and Italian peninsulas. Pirates took advantage of the strategic location of the Balearic Islands to raid Roman commerce, using both Menorca and Mallorca as bases. In reaction to this, the Romans invaded Menorca. By 123 BC, both islands were fully under Roman control.
The Vandals easily conquered the island in the fifth century but the Byzantine Empire recovered it in 534. Following the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Menorca was annexed to the Caliphate of Córdoba in 903, with many Muslims emigrating to the island. In 1231, after Christian forces took Mallorca, Menorca chose to become an independent Islamic state, albeit one tributary to King James I of Aragon.
A Catalan-Aragonese invasion, led by Alfonso III came on 17 January 1287; its anniversary is now celebrated as Menorca's national day. Once the island was captured, most of its Muslim inhabitants were sold in the slave markets of Eivissa, Valencia and Barcelona, while others became Christians. After the Christian conquest of 1287, the island was part of the Crown of Aragon. Eventually Aragon merged with Castile, and so Menorca became part of Spain.
Captured by Britain's Royal Navy in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession, Minorca became a British possession. During the Spanish Civil War, Menorca stayed loyal to the Republican Spanish Government, while the rest of the Balearic Islands supported the Spanish Nationalists.
In October 1993, Menorca was designated by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.
Arrive on the sun-bleached shores of Menorca after a spell on Mallorca or Ibiza and you'll notice the drop in volume. Here it's more birdsong than bustle. The easternmost Balearic island moves to its own mellow beat. Its twinset of sea-splashed cities, eastern Anglo-Spanish Maó (Mahon) and western maze-like Ciutadella, are delightfully low-key and distinctive, and the white and golden sand bays that stud its 216km coastline are among the loveliest in the Mediterranean. Inland, the island remains distinctly rural, with an estimated 70,000km of dry-stone walls criss-crossing fields and rolling hills between whitewashed villages.
The Roman occupation of Hispania had meant a growth of maritime trade between the Iberian and Italian peninsulas. Pirates took advantage of the strategic location of the Balearic Islands to raid Roman commerce, using both Menorca and Mallorca as bases. In reaction to this, the Romans invaded Menorca. By 123 BC, both islands were fully under Roman control.
The Vandals easily conquered the island in the fifth century but the Byzantine Empire recovered it in 534. Following the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Menorca was annexed to the Caliphate of Córdoba in 903, with many Muslims emigrating to the island. In 1231, after Christian forces took Mallorca, Menorca chose to become an independent Islamic state, albeit one tributary to King James I of Aragon.
A Catalan-Aragonese invasion, led by Alfonso III came on 17 January 1287; its anniversary is now celebrated as Menorca's national day. Once the island was captured, most of its Muslim inhabitants were sold in the slave markets of Eivissa, Valencia and Barcelona, while others became Christians. After the Christian conquest of 1287, the island was part of the Crown of Aragon. Eventually Aragon merged with Castile, and so Menorca became part of Spain.
Captured by Britain's Royal Navy in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession, Minorca became a British possession. During the Spanish Civil War, Menorca stayed loyal to the Republican Spanish Government, while the rest of the Balearic Islands supported the Spanish Nationalists.
In October 1993, Menorca was designated by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve.
Arrive on the sun-bleached shores of Menorca after a spell on Mallorca or Ibiza and you'll notice the drop in volume. Here it's more birdsong than bustle. The easternmost Balearic island moves to its own mellow beat. Its twinset of sea-splashed cities, eastern Anglo-Spanish Maó (Mahon) and western maze-like Ciutadella, are delightfully low-key and distinctive, and the white and golden sand bays that stud its 216km coastline are among the loveliest in the Mediterranean. Inland, the island remains distinctly rural, with an estimated 70,000km of dry-stone walls criss-crossing fields and rolling hills between whitewashed villages.
Parc Natural S’Albufera des Grau
This freshwater lagoon and its shores form the ‘nucleus zone’ of Menorca’s protected Unesco Biosphere Reserve. It's a haven for wetland birdlife (including coots and fish eagles) and species like Lilford's wall lizards and Hermann's tortoises. The park’s reception centre is 1km north of the Me5 (Maó–Es Grau) road, signposted 2.5km southwest of Es Grau. From here, follow two easy, signed trails of 800m (30 minutes) and 1.4km (45 minutes); a third 1.7km path begins in Es Grau.
This freshwater lagoon and its shores form the ‘nucleus zone’ of Menorca’s protected Unesco Biosphere Reserve. It's a haven for wetland birdlife (including coots and fish eagles) and species like Lilford's wall lizards and Hermann's tortoises. The park’s reception centre is 1km north of the Me5 (Maó–Es Grau) road, signposted 2.5km southwest of Es Grau. From here, follow two easy, signed trails of 800m (30 minutes) and 1.4km (45 minutes); a third 1.7km path begins in Es Grau.
Ca n'Oliver
Built in the early 1800s for the prominent bourgeois Oliver family (who lived here until 1920), this magnificent mansion has been exquisitely restored into an engaging multimedia museum. Its elegant interiors display Maó's Col·lecció Hernández Sanz–Hernández Mora, devoted to Menorcan themes, illustrated by artworks, maps and decorative items dating back to the 18th century. The mansion's distinctive painted-canvas ceilings and grand imperial staircase, with its wrought-iron banisters and mythological-inspired mural, are the work of two 19th-century Sicilian artists.
Videos and displays outline the history of Menorca and the Oliver and Hernández families, while, up the top, you can climb the tower for fantastic views across Maó.
Built in the early 1800s for the prominent bourgeois Oliver family (who lived here until 1920), this magnificent mansion has been exquisitely restored into an engaging multimedia museum. Its elegant interiors display Maó's Col·lecció Hernández Sanz–Hernández Mora, devoted to Menorcan themes, illustrated by artworks, maps and decorative items dating back to the 18th century. The mansion's distinctive painted-canvas ceilings and grand imperial staircase, with its wrought-iron banisters and mythological-inspired mural, are the work of two 19th-century Sicilian artists.
Videos and displays outline the history of Menorca and the Oliver and Hernández families, while, up the top, you can climb the tower for fantastic views across Maó.
Torre d’en Galmés
If you visit only one of Menorca's Talayotic sites, make it the Torre d’en Galmés, the largest and best-preserved. Stop by the small information centre for a 10-minute video presentation, then wander freely across the site, with its three hilltop talayots, rambling circular dwellings, deep underground storage chambers and sophisticated water-collection system. The settlement was inhabited from around 1000 BC to the 2nd century BC, though it remained occupied until 1287. It's signposted 4km south of Alaior.
If you visit only one of Menorca's Talayotic sites, make it the Torre d’en Galmés, the largest and best-preserved. Stop by the small information centre for a 10-minute video presentation, then wander freely across the site, with its three hilltop talayots, rambling circular dwellings, deep underground storage chambers and sophisticated water-collection system. The settlement was inhabited from around 1000 BC to the 2nd century BC, though it remained occupied until 1287. It's signposted 4km south of Alaior.
Església i Claustre del Socors
The baroque Església dels Socors, with its lovely tile-patterned floors, was built between 1616 and 1670, and contains striking works by Menorcan artist José R Torrent. Attached is the 18th-century Convent de Sant Agustí, home to a graceful whitewashed baroque cloister whose ceilings are carved with the emblems of major local families. Rooms branching off the cloister exhibit artwork and archaeological finds from across the island, while the convent's upper floors can be explored by guided tour only (€10, noon daily).
The baroque Església dels Socors, with its lovely tile-patterned floors, was built between 1616 and 1670, and contains striking works by Menorcan artist José R Torrent. Attached is the 18th-century Convent de Sant Agustí, home to a graceful whitewashed baroque cloister whose ceilings are carved with the emblems of major local families. Rooms branching off the cloister exhibit artwork and archaeological finds from across the island, while the convent's upper floors can be explored by guided tour only (€10, noon daily).
