Menorca has villages for every time of day: Binibeca Vell and Es Grau in the morning, Fornells at midday for lunch, Es Castell and Cales Fonts at sunset, and Ciutadella at any time. Inland, Es Mercadal, Ferreries and Alaior are the gateways to Monte Toro, the southern coves and the great Talayotic villages.
Binibeca Vell
A cluster of white houses in the style of a fishing village, designed in 1964 by the sea. It is a lived-in estate: visit between 10:00 and 22:00, quietly, and ideally before 11:00.
Binibèquer beach is five minutes’ walk away. More on Binibeca Vell.
Recommended itinerary
1 day
Nightlife and leisure
Menorca from afternoon to night
A day in the south-east: Binibeca, sunset at the Cova d’en Xoroi and the evening in Maó harbour.
Fornells
A fishing village in the north at the end of a large, calm bay, famous for lobster stew and for its late 18th-century British defence tower.
Free car park at the entrance. More on Fornells.
Es Castell and Cales Fonts
3 km from Maó, Es Castell keeps its parade ground and Georgian-style houses from the British period; in its little harbour, Cales Fonts, old fishermen’s caves are now restaurants by the water.
In summer, park at the top and walk down. More on Cales Fonts.
Es Grau
A small village of white houses and boats, with a beach of very calm water and restaurants with terraces over the water, at the entrance to s’Albufera des Grau Nature Park.
15 minutes from Maó, with bus L23 all year. More on Es Grau.
Ciutadella
The old capital: palaces, the cathedral, plaça des Born and the Ses Voltes arcades, and a harbour full of terraces, all walkable in under a kilometre.
We cover it in things to see in Ciutadella.
Es Mercadal, Ferreries and Alaior
Inland, Es Mercadal is 3 km from Monte Toro and 9 km from Fornells; Ferreries, 9 km from Cala Galdana and close to the Hort de Sant Patrici cheese dairy; and Alaior, 5 km from the Torre d’en Galmés village.
They make good bases if you have a car: less than 30 minutes from Maó and Ciutadella. In Es Mercadal, Es Molí d’es Racó serves Menorcan food all year.
Recommended itinerary
3 days
Charming places
Lighthouses and villages of Menorca
Three days, three coasts: Favàritx and Es Grau, Monte Toro and Cavalleria, Ciutadella and Punta Nati.
Take it organised
Itineraries with the order of each day, how to get there and where to eat, ready on your phone.
3 days
Charming places
Lighthouses and villages of Menorca
Three days, three coasts: Favàritx and Es Grau, Monte Toro and Cavalleria, Ciutadella and Punta Nati.
1 day
Nightlife and leisure
Menorca from afternoon to night
A day in the south-east: Binibeca, sunset at the Cova d’en Xoroi and the evening in Maó harbour.
