Description

Mahon is the historic capital of Menorca. Touring this island, visitors will find Mosques from the Middle Ages, castle ruins, modern aqua parks, sea food restaurants and a veritable treasure trove of ancient burial sites. Visitors will find many ancient buildings of historic importance, the oldest being the Arch de San Roque. This was a part of a defencive wall encircling the entire city. Menorca lived under British domination for about 200 years; hence you will find English architecture and elegant characteristics from that bygone age. Visitors to this island will be delighted with the ancient sites and monuments that are found everywhere. Watch towers, Bronze Age Tombs and cave paintings are all to be found in abundance here. Menorca is popular with sports lovers, families and children, and couples can have a leisure holiday in an authentic Spanish atmosphere.

Shopping

The bustling streets of Mahon have a wealth of shops, designer outlets, local markets, historic buildings, relaxing cafes and a casino. Visitors will find a number of restaurants and shops that are built into caves around the harbour. The local market is the place to pick up leather goods, clothes, fresh vegetables and fruits.

Restaurants

Restaurants in Menorca offer tapas, Spanish cuisine, Mediterranean cuisine, Catalan cuisine and many other international cuisines. Menorca is ideal for fresh sea food. Amongst the recommended restaurants in Menorca are La Minerva and Restaurant Andeira.

Night Life

The nightlife in this island is centred around restaurants, bars and hotels. There are traditional Spanish fiestas, clubs, and excellent tapas and live music bars.

Activities

Tourists enjoy lots of sport and leisure activities on Menorca, including tennis, horse riding, bowling, golf, go-karting, scuba diving, boat riding and other watersports activities.

Communications

The international access code for Spain is +34. The outgoing code is 00 followed by the relevant country code (e.g. 0044 for the United Kingdom). City/area codes are in use, e.g. (0)93 for Barcelona and (0)91 for Madrid. Pay phones are either blue or green and accept either coins or phone cards, which are sold at post offices, tobacco shops and newsagents. Three mobile phone operators provide thorough GSM 900/1800 coverage throughout the country and the Balearic and Canary Islands. Email and Internet access is available at Internet cafes in most towns and resorts.

Contacts

Spanish Tourist Office, Madrid: +34 91 366 5477 or www.spain.info
Spanish Embassy, Washington, United States: +1 202 452 0100.
Spanish Embassy, London, United Kingdom: +44 (0)20 7589 8989.
Spanish Embassy, Ottawa, Canada: +1 613 747 2252.
Spanish Embassy, Canberra, Australia: +61 (0)2 6273 3555.
Spanish Embassy, Pretoria, South Africa: +27 (0)12 460 0123.
Spanish Embassy, Dublin, Ireland: +353 (0)1 283 9900.
Spanish Consulate, Wellington, New Zealand: +64 (0)4 913 1167.
United States Embassy, Madrid: +34 91 587 2240.
British Embassy, Madrid: +34 91 700 8200.
Canadian Embassy, Madrid: +34 91 423 3250.
Australian Embassy, Madrid: +34 91 353 6600.
South African Embassy, Madrid: +34 91 436 3780.
Irish Embassy, Madrid: +34 91 436 4093.
New Zealand Embassy, Madrid: +34 915 230 226.
Emergencies: 112/061

Currency

EUR

Attractions

This island has a variety of beaches and resorts. Tourists interested in watersports activities and wind surfing may visit Fornells, which is also an attractive village for fishing. Son Bou boasts the one of the largest sandy beaches on this island. Binebeca and Binisafua are also ppopular holiday resorts in Menorca. Menorcan gin is produced in the Xoriguer Gin Distillery, Mahon. This is done using an age-old process, and visitors can visit and watch.

Language

Spanish

Language Description

Spanish is the official language, but English is widely understood in areas frequented by tourists. Catalan, Galician and Basque are spoken in the relevant areas.

Tipping

Hotel and restaurant bills usually include service charges, but additional tips are welcomed for services rendered. In established restaurants tips of about 10% are expected. Drivers of metered taxis expect small tips and it is customary to tip usually 5%-10% for most services, including guides.