Top Things To Do in Menorca

By Ellen (Updated Sep 23)

⏱ 4 min

The Spanish Balearic Islands are a popular holiday destination and for good reason. Beautiful beaches, inviting clear blue waters, Spanish culture, and more! Menorca is more laid-back and smaller than Mallorca and Ibiza, so that means it receives fewer tourists but it doesn’t lack in beauty or things to do!

This post outlines some of the best things to do in Menorca, and if you haven’t been to the island before you may want to check out our other post for tips on things like when to visit, logistics (like renting a car, boat, etc):

Things to know before visiting Menorca

Table of Contents

Visit the beaches and coves

One of the main reasons people go to the Balearic islands is for the sun and the beaches. Menorca has more than 100 coves – or we call them “calas” in Spanish – to explore with incredibly clear, blue waters. Some of the calas are rocky and some are sandy. If you want details on the best calas and beaches, and how to reach them, read our post.

The very best calas of Menorca!

Snorkel or scuba dive and explore underwater

If you love to swim and explore underwater, plan on snorkeling or scuba diving. Most of the calas are suitable for snorkeling with plenty of Mediterranean Posidonia (seagrass) and a variety of fish. Posidonia is known as the “lungs of the Mediterranean” because it is one of the most important sources of oxygen provided to the coastal waters. 1 square metre Posidonia produces as much oxygen as 1 hectare of the Amazon rainforest!

If you’re an experienced scuba diver, you can also find various dive centres around the island. If you haven’t dove before, but want to and are staying on the island longer, you may be able to take a course at one of the dive centres. I’m a certified PADI Advanced Open Water diver and did a nice shore dive with Cala Blanca Dive Centre. We saw plenty of fish, sea stars, impressive underwater rock wall formations, tons of Posidonia of course, and THREE octopuses ? at the end of the dive!

Snorkel in Menorca — _{Snorkel among the Posidonia}

Cool off with ice cream

You can find top artisan ice cream throughout the Balearic Islands. We found an amazing shop in Fornells, that does more than just ice cream: Ricardo Riera

They use local and fresh produce to create some incredible flavors of ice cream. It’s the perfect way to cool off after a hot beach day in the summer, or whenever you want a sweet treat. I drool when I look back at the photos and reminisce about eating it. We will definitely go back the next time we visit Menorca.

Try the traditional ensaimada

Ensaimadas are a traditional pastry of the Balearic Islands and are one of the most consumed sweet treats in Menorca. You can also see many visitors in the airport leaving Menorca, carrying boxes of ensaimadas to take home to friends and family.

The ensaimada originated in Mallorca, but Menorca carries the tradition as well. The traditional ensaimada is made from water, pork lard, sugar, strong flour, and sourdough flour. After mixing the ingredients and letting it rest for hours, the ensaimadas are baked. These days you can find other variations, like ensaimadas filled with chocolate.

Visit the fish market for tapas in Mahon

Mahon, the island’s capital, is on the east side of the island and is home to the largest natural harbor in the Mediterranean. The fish market of Mahon was established in 1927, and it’s more a gastronomic experience rather than just a traditional fish market. In addition to selling fresh catch, they have an array of stands to purchase tapas which you can eat there. There are many tables and places to sit, so browse the array of tapas, grab a drink, and enjoy!

Go Wine Tasting

Menorca Winery — _{Bodegas Binifadet on Menorca}

There are a few wineries on the island. We visited and recommend Bodegas Binifadet, who produces the most wine on the island. They offer a 60-minute tour for 12 euros per person in Spanish and English. The tour includes a stroll through the vineyards with thorough explanations about the vineyard and the wines they produce, a tour indoors to show the wine-making process, a visit to the cellar, and a wine tasting at the end. We enjoyed our experience, and loved every wine we tried! They also have a restaurant in a beautiful setting. Next time, we definitely want to try the food.

Try the Menorca Pomada

What is a Pomada? Simply put, it’s a cocktail of gin, lemonade, and ice. Gin in Menorca has a history dating back to when the British first came to occupy the island. Even after the British left, the Menorcans continued producing their own gin, distinctly different from the British.

The preferred way to drink Gin in Menorca, is as a Pomada. I enjoyed mine with blended ice, so it was like a Gin and lemonade slushie. DELICIOUS and so refreshing in the summer.

Wander through Ciutadella Old Town

Ciutadella's Cathedral in Menorca — _{Cathedral Basilica of Ciutadella}

Mahon may be the capital of Menorca now, but it wasn’t always. Ciutadella on the west coast was once the capital, and you should definitely spend some time there. It is only 45 minutes by car, from the airport and we actually preferred staying in Ciutadella. Visit the idyllic harbor, explore the old town, and wander through the medieval streets.

A point of interest is the Cathedral Basilica of Ciutadella. It combines both Gothic and Neoclassical architecture.

Taste the distinctive Mahon Cheese

There are tons of places that sell artisan Mahon cheese on the island. Mahon cheese is a soft white caw cheese that has a fruity and intense taste. It reminds us to cheddar cheese and it perfectly matches wines, toasts, or salads. Some curious information is that Mahon cheese tends to be salty due to the high salt concentration grass that the cows eat in Menorca. :O

Stroll through Binibeca

So some people think that Binibeca Vell is an old fishing village. Well, it was actually designed as a Menorca-style fishing village in 1972 to be a tourist attraction. There’s a small area that is closed off to cars, where you can take a short stroll through cobblestone streets that go between these white buildings. It looks quite charming in photos, but there really isn’t anything else to do there except grab a bite to eat. I put it on the list because it appears in a lot of searches for Menorca recommendations, and I wanted to help set expectations if you go there. It is lovely, and something different to do on the island for an hour or so. We had lunch and then walked around for no more than 30 minutes.