Mahón (Maó in Catalan), with about 31,000 inhabitants, is the capital of Menorca, on the island's east coast. The town stands on a cliff above its famous natural harbour, about five kilometres long, one of the largest and safest in the Mediterranean, coveted by every naval power in history.
History
The name may come from Mago, the Carthaginian general and brother of Hannibal. In the eighteenth century the British moved the island's capital from Ciutadella to Mahón for the sake of the harbour: their mark shows in houses with sash windows (boinders), Georgian doors and a taste for gin. Tradition has it that mayonnaise was born here in 1756, during the French occupation, as salsa mahonesa.
What to see
- Santa Maria church, with its great organ built in 1810 by Swiss and German makers, one of Europe's most important, with summer concerts.
- The Claustre del Carme, a former Carmelite convent turned market, with the Hernández Sanz Museum and terraces over the harbour.
- Plaça de s'Esplanada, the town hall with its British-donated clock, the Sant Roc gate and the pedestrian streets of the centre.
- The Museum of Menorca, in the former Franciscan convent, with finds from prehistory to the present.
- The Xoriguer distillery on the harbour, where Menorca gin is made (see gin).
- The stairways from the centre down to the harbour, with its waterfront of restaurants.
The harbour
A boat trip around the harbour, on glass-bottomed boats, takes in Isla del Rey, with the old British naval hospital now home to an art foundation and an international gallery, Quarantine Island, the Lazaretto and the great Isabel II fortress at La Mola on the far shore, open to visitors. At the harbour mouth is Es Castell, the village built by the British as Georgetown, with its parade ground and the little harbour of Cales Fonts.
Nearby
Near Mahón are the fishing village of Es Grau, S'Albufera des Grau natural park (see nature), south-east beaches such as Binibeca Vell, the white village built in Mediterranean style in the 1970s, and the Talayotic sites of Talatí de Dalt and Trepucó (see places to visit). The airport is 5 km away.