I’m sitting outside Bar Imperi, the hazy morning still stretching itself awake. Coffee is a given, followed by the ubiquitous el Menorquín – a small bread roll lined with paprika-rich sobrasada (cured sausage) and salty Mahón cheese. It’s a good start.
Around me, the square moves gently. There’s a boy dragging a toy car over the paving stones outside a honey-coloured church. A group of older men are arguing about something that doesn’t sound especially important. People tilt their faces towards the sun. Welcome to Menorca, the Balearic island that doesn’t try to impress, but can’t help leaving an impression.
Mahón, the capital, carries that same composure. It’s a working town with a long memory, wrapped around one of the largest natural harbours in the world. The streets climb and fall, Georgian windows catching light, paintwork faded in a way that feels intentional. There’s a formality to Mahon, a sense of order. You notice it in the neatness of the facades, the clipped conversations, the rhythm of daily life.
Across the island, Ciutadella offers a different mood. Softer, more romantic, and undeniably more attractive, its narrow lanes fold into one another until the view reveals a painterly harbour inlet. Houses and bars lean in, their reflections trembling on the surface. Boats shift lazily against their ropes.
Menorca is opening its season with an emphasis on art, and it makes sense. Creativity here isn’t forced; it’s woven into the fabric of the island. Small artisan workshops sit alongside converted boat sheds where independent artists work with doors open to the sea air. Then there are the galleries and art hubs that hold their own on a global scale and speak to the island’s quiet sophistication.
Nothing embodies that better than Illa del Rei, the small island set within Mahón’s harbour. Once a military hospital, now home to the exquisite Hauser & Wirth centre, it’s a place of sweet contemplation, where manicured gardens and arresting art feel like the perfect pairing. Outside, a chic cafe, Cantina, serves food under an open sky with the kind of ease that takes years to achieve.
“We’ve tried to create a little modest paradise here,” says its convivial director Gonzalo Ibanez. Standing in the late afternoon light with a glass of something local, it’s hard to disagree.
The island’s designation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is not just a label, it’s something you see everywhere – in the unbroken dry stone walls, the protected wetlands, the sense that development here has been held back just enough.
Over a hundred beaches and coves are scattered along the coastline – some wide and open, others tucked away and reached only by footpaths that wind down pine-clad rocks. At Cala Turqueta, the sea feels like liquid treasure – clear, bright, almost unreal in its colour.
Further down the south coast, Cova d’en Xoroi clings to the cliffs like a fabulous limpet. A bar carved into the rock shouldn’t really work, but it does. Sit here with a drink and watch people try to decide whether they’re interested in the view or in being seen looking at it.
Back inland, the island’s Agroturismo hotels tell another story. At Llucasaldent Gran, the land stretches wide – vines and olive trees set among low stone walls, and dry grass inhabited by wild tortoises. The place has the requisite infinity pools and whitewashed glamour you would expect, but it’s the evening dinner service which draws people from across the island.
Chef Paco González is young, but the food here isn’t trying to prove anything. Lamb cannelloni tastes like it’s been given time, and incredible Syrah-soaked veal arrives with ‘poor man’s potatoes’, which land somewhere closer to the opposite.
By contrast, Mahón has accumulated a clutch of notably fine boutique hotels: Can Alberti 1740, Hevresac, Ses Bruixes – and Cristine Bedfor, which deserves special mention. Chintzy in the best sense of the word, this remarkable little hideaway is all patterned fabrics, soft light, and a verdant garden that invites you to linger longer than intended. This is one of the smartest hotels in the Balearics without question, and a place of quiet retreat.
Menorca is open for business – smart, discreet, and refreshingly low-key. Forget its boisterous neighbours, this Balearic sibling has a mindset all of its own.
Need to know: Menorca
Getting there: Direct flights to Mahón Airport operate year-round, with Jet2, easyJet, British Airways, Ryanair, and TUI. Departure points include London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Belfast.
Getting around: Menorca has an excellent public bus network (operated by TMSA and Bus Illa). During the summer, ‘Bus Platges’ lines are added to serve major beaches. Or rent a car from the airport and drive: it only takes about an hour to travel from one side of the island to the other (from Mahón in the east to Ciutadella in the west).
Best time to go: In the shoulder months of May, June, and September, you’ll enjoy warm, Mediterranean sunshine, fully open resorts and significantly smaller crowds compared to the peak summer rush.
Where to eat: Try Restaurant Cafè Balear on the old harbour in Ciutadella for classic seafood and Caldereta de Langosta (lobster stew). In Mahon, check out Restaurant Sa Punta Menorca in gorgeous Cales Fonts in Es Castell which has a spectacular rooftop terrace.
Where to stay: Enjoy an authentic rural finca such as Vestige Son Vell, on an agricultural farm near Ciutadella, or the chic and exclusive Boutique Hotel Ses Bruixes in central Mahón, with a stunning inner courtyard restaurant.
Further information: Paul Tierney was a guest of the Spanish Tourist Office and Menorca Tourism.
