Here we have put some information about the beautiful island of Menorca that we are lucky enough to call our second home.

Menorca is the first part of Spain to see the sun rise in the morning and is a small island yet has more beaches than Mallorca and Ibiza put together. Mahon or Mao is the capital and a 10-15 minute drive from the villa, it has a large port with many beautiful boats and is the second biggest natural port in the world. Mayonnaise is thought to have originated in Mahon. It is also home to the Xoriguer gin factory where you can have a toor and a tipple! At the other end of the island is Ciutadella which is also a large town with a big port and beautiful architecture.

The Cami de Cavalls circumnavigates the island and is popular with hikers, a 185km track you can dip in and out of. Tennis and padel are popular sports as are many watersports available all over and of course cycling.

In 1993 Menorca was declared aUnesco Biosphere Reserve due to the diversity of flora, fauna and landscape, S’Albufera es Grau national park is the best place to see this. Es Grau itself is a lovely town with curved beach which is shallow for miles and just perfect to take children. Last time we visited the boys found a tortoise having a waddle along the sand and they love catching fish there.

Menorca has a wealth of archaeological remains boasting 1500 megalithic sites! The history on the island is fascinating. Monte Torro in the middle of the island, the tallest hill and highest point, gives breathtaking views on a clear day and is considered the spiritual centre of the island having being built by the Augustin monks in the 17th century.

The climate on the island is typically Mediterranean but with a breeze (the Tramontana). Off season the weather can be mixed and there are no guarantees to sunshine but we tend to visit every easter and October and rarely have bad weather, Easter perhaps being more subject to rainfall.