The
bars on the harbour front in Maó are good late night
entertainment during the summer season.
Cuitadella also has a line of bars and a club in the harbour,
they are popular at weekends.
These are really most suitable for the visitor
who enjoys an outdoor, active kind of holiday because Minorca
has most to offer. The kind of thing you'll find below will
allow you to get to know the special character of Minorca
as you enjoy yourself. You'll find Minorca is an island full
of surprises and with a strong identity, not just a recently
invented tourist destination stuck on a beach next to the
motorway.
Windsurf
Naturally, my first recommendation is that
you learn windsurfing and sailing in Fornells. One of the
best spots in the Med, but we'll not go into all that again,
eh?
Diving
There are any number of coves for diving
in Minorca, all with crystal clear water and many with exciting
and beautiful sea beds, wrecks and caves. To learn, or to
dive with experts on Minorca, try "Ulmo scubadiving",
in Addaia. I always send my clients there. They're very professional,
very nice people and give you plenty of personal attention.
I prefer this school to other larger and less personal ones.
Walking and Trekking
The Albufera de Es Grau. The Natural Park
stretches to Favaritx where you can enjoy the view from that
vantage point, the best on the East Coast. You get a good
view of the North Coast from the top Of Monte Toro and, nearer
the sea, from Arenal d'en Castell, close to Fornells, just
to the East of Son Saura.
Unspoilt beaches, both on the North and South
coasts are ideal destinations or lunch stops. In the North:
Cavalleria, Binimel·la, Pregonda and Cala Pilar. In
the South, Binigaus, Escorxada, Trebaluger, Mitjana y Macarella.
If I had to choose, it would be Cala Pilar in the North and
Macarella in the South.
Cultural
Don't miss any of the prehistoric sites of
talaiots, taules and navetas. They're all worth a visit, and
all characteristic of Minorca. My favourites are: Torre d'en
Gaumés, which has everything, taula, talaiot, naveta
dwelling, pillared hall, water collection system, underground
burial chamber.
The village of Son Catlar, although I'm a
little uneasy about the current "reconstruction".
Sa Torreta de Tramontana, Cova dels Coloms and the Caves at
Cala Morell.
Cultural excursions
I like to combine visits to archaeological
sites with my walks and I've done the following many times
with mu friends and clients: Cova dels Coloms- Sant Agustí
Vell- Torrent de Binigaus- Platja de Binigaus. Taula den Salord-
Torre d'en Gaumés- Paleo-christian church at Son Bou-
Beach at Son Bou. Son Catlar- Son Saura del Sur beach.
Concerts
In July and August there are Baroque and Renaissance
Music Concerts in the church at Fornells.
Fiestas
The most famous in Minorca are the Ciutadella
fiestas of Sant Joan, 23rd and 24th of June. The horses bred
in Minorca are the stars of the fiestas and the whole town
erupts into a frenzy of colour and movement. If I had to explain
this fiesta in detail, with its ceremonies and their meanings,
I'd need a whole new Website.
So for the moment you'll have to make do with
my recommendation and brief description. Sufficient to say
that the rituals and ceremonies are enacted in the ancient
streets of Ciutadella in the most striking and exciting manner.
It is well worth witnessing these fiestas, if you can squeeze
yourself into town, as, year after year, more people come
to participate.
The role played by the local horses and horsemen
is one of the unique elements of Minorca. The locally bred
horses are made to dance to the airs of Minorcan "jota"
tunes, the most famous being the "Sant Joan" jota.
This takes place in the town square and the whole populace
competes to dance under the very hooves of the prancing horses.
I can promise you, there is nothing like the
Fiestas de Sant Joan. The atmosphere is extraordinary. Of
course, all the villages on Minorca enjoy similar fiestas
of the dancing horses, and each one enjoys its fiestas in
its own special way. At Es Castell (27th July) they are purists,
at Mercadal (third Sunday of July) and Alaior (11th-12th of
Augist) the spectacle is of a more noble nature with trials
of skill organised for the riders (in addition to the dancing).
The Fornells fiestas are held on the last
Sunday in July and are very special as they take place at
the water's edge. They are by no means marine fiestas but,
after the heat and excitement of the horsemanship and dancing,
a goodly proportion of the revellers end up in the harbour
to cool off, especially the younger ones.
Don't miss
The old quarter of Ciutadella. The old Arab
Mediterranean citadel walled in by the harbour defences and
winding, narrow streets of stone between noble palaces. The
beautiful ancient harbour with good bars and restaurants.
Things to eat
Of course, try the lobster in Fornells. As often as you can
(afford) until you find the place you like best. Lobster at
Fornells is the height of the cuisine on Minorca. You'll find
excellent Minorcan cookery at Es Molí des Racó,
in Mercadal, an unpretentious restaurant, but excellent.
Very good food is to be had at Ca Na Aguedet,
also in Mercadal, with its own Minorcan wine or in S'Engolidor,
in Es Migjorn Gran. In Mercadal, Las Vegas is a bar-restaurant
with a good range of tapas and good food. Still in Mercadal,
Olga, a charming restaurant which serves food in the terrace
and garden of an old village house.Olga has a select menu
of original dishes, well cooked. This is perhaps the best
of all.
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