Planning a Trip

Getting There

From the airport , you must take a taxi into Mahón, as there is no bus link. The approximate cost is 37€ ($48).

Mahón is the bus transport depot for the island, with departures from Calle José Anselmo Clave in the heart of town. The most popular run -- seven buses per day in summer, four buses per day in winter -- is to Ciudadela, but there are connections to other parts of the island. The tourist office distributes a list of schedules, and the list is published in the local newspaper, Menorca Diario Insular. Tickets cost 4€ ($5.20) and are purchased once you're aboard. Make sure you carry some change.

Visitor Information

The tourist office, Carrer Sa Rovellada de Dalt 24 (tel. 97-136-37-90; www.e-menorca.org), is open Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm and 5 to 7pm, and Saturday 9am to 1pm.

City Layout

The heart of Mahón is the Plaça de la Constitució, with its Town Hall from the 18th century, constructed in an English Palladian style.

Plaça s'Esplanada, seat of the tourist office, is actually the main square. On Sunday locals gather here to enjoy ice cream, the best in the Balearics. In summer, a market is held on Tuesday and Saturday from 9am to 2pm. Artisans from all over the island sell their wares there. The northern boundary of the city is formed by Puerto de Mahón, which has many restaurants and shops along Muelle Comercial.

Mahón is not a beach town, but it has some accommodations and is the center of the best shopping and nightclubs. The closest beaches for swimming are those at Es Grau and Cala Mesquida.

Villacarlos stretches east along the port, a virtual extension of the capital, and it doesn't have beaches either. Several good restaurants line the harbor leading toward Villacarlos. When the British founded this village, now a southeast suburb of Mahón, they called it Georgetown.