18 Best Sights in Menorca, Ibiza and the Balearic Islands

A 15-minute boat ride from Mahón harbor is the tiny islet of Illa del Rei, once home to a naval hospital, which is now home to the first Spanish outpost of internationally lauded art gallery Hauser & Wirth. Exhibits come and go with the seasons, but the entire setting is hypnotic: the sensitive restoration of the outbuildings scooped a social responsibility award; the apothecary gardens are perfumed and purple-hued; while the siesta-relaxed outdoor terrace of Cantina restaurant wiggles in seats wherever gaps between tree trunks allow. A sculpture trail reveals big-hitters by Joan Miró, as well as one of Louise Bourgeois's famous spiders, while the naval museum offers fascinating historical context. Sustainability-focused craft workshops (for example, repurposing discarded fishnets into tapestries) and a kitsch-free gift shop complete an offering that will delight anyone seeking creative stimulation or disconnection.   

A small horseshoe curve of fine white sand, framed by almost vertical pine-covered cliffs, is where Menorca's only ever-flowing river, the Algendar, reaches the sea through a long limestone gorge. The surrounding area is under environmental protection—the handful of resort hotels and chalets above the beach (usually booked solid June–September by package-tour operators) were grandfathered in. Cala Galdana is family-friendly in the extreme, with calm, shallow waters, and a nearby water park–playground for the kids. A favorite with Menorcans and visitors alike, it gets really crowded in high season, but a 20-minute walk through the pine forest leads to the otherwise inaccessible little coves of Macarella and Macarelleta, remote beaches popular with naturists and boating parties. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking.

This street is lined with many Georgian homes. To get here, walk up Carrer d'Alfons III and turn right at the ajuntament.

Carrer Major leads to this Gothic edifice, which has some beautifully carved choir stalls. The side chapel has round Moorish arches, remnants of the mosque that once stood on this site; the bell tower is a converted minaret.

Carrer del Seminari is lined on the west side with some of the city's most impressive historic buildings. Among them is the 17th-century convent of Sant Agustí, which regularly hosts Ciutadella's summer classical music festival (contact  [email protected] for details) in its lovely cloister, and the Diocesan Museum collection of paintings, archaeological finds, and liturgical objects. The room housing the historical library and archives is especially impressive.

This massive cave is the most spectacular on Menorca, with eerie rock formations rising up to a 77-foot-high ceiling. When planning your visit, bear in mind that it's a 30-minute walk each way from the nearest parking place.

This church has a fine painted and gilded altarpiece. Adjoining the church are the cloisters, now a market, with stalls selling fresh produce and a variety of local cheeses and sausages. The central courtyard is a venue for cultural events throughout the year.

From a passage on the left side of Ciutadella's columned and crenellated ajuntament (town hall) on the west side of the Plaça des Born, steps lead up to this observation deck. From here you can survey the harbor.

Reopened in 2022, this city museum recounts Ciutadella's past via artifacts from prehistoric, Roman and medieval times, including records of land grants made by Alfons III to the local nobility after defeating the Moors. Formerly located in an ancient defense tower, Bastió de Sa Font (Bastion of the Fountain), it now occupies roomier surroundings in the noble house of Can Saura. 

This is the only noble house in Ciutadella that's open to the public, albeit at limited times, and you can view five rooms of the palace and the interior garden. The coats of arms on the ceiling are those of the families Salort (sal and ort, a salt pit and a garden) and Martorell (a marten). Opening hours are irregular so best to check in advance. 

The block-long 19th-century Palau Torresaura was built by the Baron of Torresaura, one of the noble families from Aragón and Catalonia that moved to Menorca after it was captured from the Moors in the 13th century. The interesting facade faces the plaza, though the entrance is on the side street. It is not open to the public.

Behind the church of Santa María, this plaza has a statue of Alfonso III of Aragón, who wrested the island from the Moors in 1287.

Ciutadella's port is accessible from steps that lead down from Carrer de Sant Sebastià. The waterfront here is lined with seafood restaurants, some of which burrow into caverns far under Plaça des Born.

At the end of Carrer Rector Mort, this massive gate is the only surviving portion of the 14th-century city walls. They were rebuilt in 1587 to protect the city from the pirate Barbarossa (Redbeard).

This 13th-century gothic church was rebuilt in the 18th century, during the British occupation, and restored again after being sacked during the Spanish Civil War. The church's pride is its 3,006-pipe baroque organ, imported from Austria in 1810. Organ concerts are given Monday to Saturday at 11 am, from May to October. The altar, and the half-domed chapels on either side, have exceptional frescoes.

Opera companies from Italy en route to Spain made the Teatre Principal in Mahón their first port of call; if the maonesos gave a production a poor reception, it was cut from the repertoire. Built in 1829, which makes it Spain's oldest opera house, it has five tiers of boxes, plush red seats, and gilded woodwork: La Scala in miniature. Lovingly restored, it hosts regular concerts, as well as international opera weeks that usually fall in December and May or June.

Puzzle over Menorca's prehistoric past at this megalithic site with a number of stone constructions, including a massive taula. Behind it, from the top of a stone wall, you can see the monolith Fus de Sa Geganta (the Giantess's Spindle) in a nearby field.

This Talaiotic site between Alaior and Son Bou comprises a complex set of stone constructions—fortifications, monuments, deep pits of ruined dwellings, huge vertical slabs, and taulas.