Menorca

Menorca is the northernmost of the Balearic Islands and the second largest, lying between Mallorca and the open sea. It is a land of gentle relief, dry-stone walls and country lanes, with two cities that share the weight of the island: Maó, the capital, at the end of a very long, sheltered natural harbour, and Ciutadella, at the opposite end, with its old town and a port wedged into a cove. Between the two, the main road threads together the interior and the villages of Alaior, Es Mercadal, Ferreries, Es Migjorn Gran, Sant Lluís and Es Castell, the island's eight municipalities.

The coast changes completely from one shore to the other: in the north, the Tramuntana, of dark rock, jagged and exposed to the wind; in the south, the Migjorn, of pale sands and coves at the end of ravines. A historic perimeter path, the Camí de Cavalls, runs along the whole shoreline and can be walked in sections. Menorca has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1993, and its set of prehistoric monuments —navetas, talayots and taulas— has been on the World Heritage list since 2023 as Talayotic Menorca.

For anyone looking for a home, this is an island with an unhurried pace, far less building pressure than its neighbours, a quiet winter and a small supply of housing concentrated at the two ends and in the coastal settlements. The airport is next to Maó, and the ports of Maó and Ciutadella connect with the mainland and with Mallorca.