Menorca, Spain. Menorca - attractions. Holidays in Spain

Rest in Spain is a long-developed tourist destination. European service, high standards of customer service , a lot of historical and natural attractions, charming color attract many tourists to this country. But there is a place in Spain, which is still not known by many Russian tourists. It's called the island of Menorca. Administratively, he belongs to the Balearic archipelago. Probably, you have already visited the incendiary Ibiza, where fun reigns every night? Or in Mallorca, where the rest is very diverse - from the noisy Magaluf to the quiet Santa Ponsa. But Menorca, despite the proximity to these islands, managed to still retain its uniqueness. About her beaches, hotels and the most striking sights, we will tell in this article.

Location and geography

Menorca (Spain) is the second largest island in the archipelago. The name she received from her neighbor Majorca (Minorca, Menorca means "lesser"). But still it is definitely more than Ibiza and quite a tiny Formentera. The island is shaped like a boomerang, thrown on the turquoise smooth surface of the Mediterranean Sea. In the archipelago it is the most northeasterly. The area of the island is 694 square kilometers, and on this relatively small piece of land there are so many interesting sights that you can tell about them for hours. But the mountains in Menorca (unlike Mallorca with its Tramontanoi ridge) do not. The highest point - the hill with the ambitious name Monte Toro - has only 357 meters in height. In the north the coast of the island is steep, there are a lot of pebbly and sandy beaches. In the southern part of the sea fall "seasonal" (filled during the rainy season) rivers. In their dry deltas, there are interesting beaches with a unique microclimate. The northern and southern parts differ from each other and the plant world.

Climate

The island is in the zone of the Mediterranean climate. It's a hot summer. The air temperature usually ranges between +27 - +29 degrees. Winter is snowless. The temperature of the thermometer rarely drops below the mark at +15. The beach season starts in April. You can swim comfortably until the end of October. But in August the weather in Menorca can become cloudy, with strong, but short-term showers. But in the winter the island is going through a "dead season". Despite the comfortable (in comparison with the rattling Russian frosts) temperature, the strong and gusty winds of Mestral and Tramuntana blow here, and the storm rages on the sea.

How to get there?

From Russia to the island do not fly regular flights. All the year round only Aeroflot planes operate on the Moscow-Barcelona route. From the capital of Catalonia to Menorca can be reached by air (local airlines) or by sea. Comfortable ferries depart also from Valencia. But in the tourist season the chances of reaching Menorca are significantly increased. On a fantastic island, charter flights depart. Tours to Menorca are very popular. After all, the cost of the tour includes direct air travel, transfer to a place of rest, hotel accommodation, food and insurance (visa is paid separately). Independent tourists - and most of them - get to the island via Palma de Mallorca or Ibiza. This method is unsafe, because connecting flights sometimes involve unforeseen problems. How to make the island of Menorca more accessible for recreation? Tours from St. Petersburg will help you with this. From the second half of June, every week (on Sundays) from the city on the Neva, charter flights leave for the miracle island in the Balearic archipelago. This tour lasts 15 days, and tourists are accommodated in hotels from two to four stars.

"Low-growth" hotels

Unlike Mallorca and even more so from Ibiza, where in the season the apple has nowhere to fall, you will not find noisy crowds in the resorts of the island of Menorca. Hotels here are small - no more than three floors. This is a strict requirement of local legislation prohibiting the construction of high-rise buildings in order not to violate the landscape identity of Menorca. By the same rules it is not allowed to cover the roof with any non-aesthetic slate or metal plastic, but only with tiles. The walls of the houses are often painted white. Thus, the resorts of Menorca do not have huge skyscrapers. But this does not mean that there are no exclusive hotels there. More than half of the Menorca hotel fund are apartments. And among the hotels 3-4-star predominate. For discerning customers, we can recommend Insotel Punta Prima Resort in Punta Prima, Sol Gavilanes Hotel in Cala Galdana and Morvedra Nou Hotel in Ciudadela. And the Alcaufar Vell in St. Louis is located in a 14th century manor house.

History of the island

Everyone has a megalithic Stonehenge complex in England. Do you know that in Menorca there are more than 1,500 such monuments of the ancient forgotten civilization? Scientists believe that the island was inhabited by unknown tribes before the second millennium BC. Megalithic civilization was connected by cultural ties with the Phoenicians, the Nuragians from the island of Sardinia and the Minoans from Crete. Throughout Menorca "strange" mounds, towers and structures of stone blocks are scattered, the origin and destination of which is still a mystery to scientists. Ancient Rome included the island in the province of its empire. Since that time cobbled roads have been preserved here. During the times of the Reconquista, Menorca remained for a long time the last outpost of the Arab conquest. She was captured by the King of Aragon in the 13th century. In the new history of Menorca (Spain) for a long time was in the possession of the British Crown. This explains the presence in the present capital of the island of Maone, a large number of typically English houses of dark brick.

Cities on the island of Menorca (Spain)

The map shows us that in this area of the Balearic archipelago there are only two more or less large cities. This is Mahon and Ciudadela. The second city, towering on an inaccessible beach in the north-west, has long been the capital of the island. But in the 18th century, when Menorca was captured by the British, it lost its paramount importance. The conquerors were attracted by the very convenient natural bay of Mahon, which stretches for five kilometers. They moved the capital to this city. Mahon can not boast of ancient buildings. In 1535, the pirates of the Turkish Barbarossa destroyed the city to its foundations. In the old capital of Ciudadela, time seemed to be frozen. The ancient churches adjoin the palaces in the Venetian style. The former greatness of the city resembles a bishop's residence. The center of the island with the highest point of Monte Toro is a fun mix of Scotland's landscapes with its green meadows and stony desert.

Menorca: nature attractions

In 1993, UNESCO declared the island a natural and cultural reserve. Now about half of its territory is a protected, protected zone. The government is keen to see that Menorca does not lose its identity. For example, the island has long been called the "Land of Stone Hedges." And these landscapes, created from peasants excavated during plowing boulders, still adorn the landscape. Tourists here are quite small - in fact the hotel base of the island is small (only 40 thousand seats). Truly your vacation here can be called elitist. The charming scenery of Menorca is a joint fruit of the influence of the Mediterranean breathing heat and the cool Atlantic. Not far from Cala en Porte is a complex of unique natural caves open to visitors. And among other things, many tens of kilometers of pebbly and sandy beaches make this island irresistible.

Heaven for lovers of antiquity

But the main wealth of the island of Menorca is the sights that people left behind who inhabited its territory in prehistoric times. Megalithic monuments are literally scattered around the island. They can be divided into several types. "Talayo" or "talayot" - a mound of stones, like barrows, and round towers. There are also "slander", called so because of the fact that they resemble a boat, turned upside down. Scientists believe that they served as tombs to the inhabitants of the Bronze Age. And finally the Taule are mysterious towers, built, as you know, without cement, but only by tight fitting of huge T-shaped blocks. Until the end of the appointment of these buildings has not been studied. It is believed that the Taula served as a place of sacrifice, some menorque dolmens. The largest cluster of monuments of megalithic culture is concentrated in the town of Torre den Galmes and in Talati de Dalt, which is 4 kilometers from Mahon. Archaeologists have discovered here a large settlement of taliots, which existed from 5000 to 1400 BC.

Monuments of Menorca from the times of antiquity and the Middle Ages

The Age of Ancient Rome left on the island of Menorca (Spain) a monumental road leading to the plateau of Santa Agueda, where now the castle of the same name and the chapel of St. Agatha. From this height (more than 200 meters above sea level) the view of the traveler opens amazing views. Memoirs of late antiquity were preserved in Fornas de Torello and San Bow. These are churches of the 5th century, decorated with beautiful Roman mosaics. In the old capital of Ciudadela, the Church of Iglesia-Catedral de Menorca, built in the style of Catalan Gothic, deserves attention. In Mahon, you can visit the Baroque church and the monastery of St. Francis. We also recommend visiting the fair in the village of Alayor - here they make the best cheeses on the island. If possible, it is necessary to "conquer the top" Monte Toro, crowned by the Augustinian monastery of the XVII century.

Beaches

The best places for swimming are located in the deltas of dried up rivers. They are called "kaya" here. The most popular beaches of Menorca are Kaya Galdana and Kaya Anna. They are a gently sloping sandy beach, built up by small hotels. Lovers of seclusion will be attracted by secluded bays on the northern tip of the island. True, you can get there only by boat or go down from the high shore, showing the skill of mountain chamois. South Menorca, where in the vicinity of the resort of San Bow stretched for three kilometers of sand dunes, nudists have chosen. And on the whole there are more than one hundred and twenty beaches on the island - this is more than in the combined Majorca and Ibiza.

When to come there and what to bring from Menorca?

As we have already mentioned, the winter with cold squall winds and constant storms on the island is a dead season. Therefore, in summer local residents try to walk for the whole year. The island of Menorca (Spain) is given under the auspices of John the Baptist. And Festa de San Joan, celebrated at the end of June, is the most important holiday. On this day on the streets of cities appear dressed in black and white riders on ribbons decorated with ribbons. Riders demonstrate their skills, and the audience drinks the local brand Ginebra and a cocktail Lipstick (gin and lemonade). At the end of August, the island marks Ecuin-Fiesta (feast of horses). Experienced riders in national clothes arrange a real performance - a chaleo. In memory of the rest, apart from the usual souvenirs, it is necessary to purchase avarkes. These are traditional sandals made of fine suede. Their style was known even in the times of Ancient Rome. In other regions of Spain, these shoes are called menorquinas - sandals have become a real business card of the island.