Menorca:
Menorca smaller sister island in the Balearics has a different flavour. Largely untouched by a big influx of tourism, although there are a few clustered resorts on the island but these are pretty much family friendly self-contained resorts, Menorca is a rural joy with some of the best beaches in the Med. It's less an island of mixes than Majorca. Menorca is an island rich in history, with a large number of prehistoric monuments and sites to visit. It's an island of idyllic beaches, particularly along it's south west coast. Expect clear waters and beautiful white sands here, with less of the crowds. Peace and quiet is on the menu, and the self-contained low key resorts have proved to be a key attraction to families.
Menorca Ecotourism:
Menorca is a tiny island in comparison to Majorca. It's only 702 km square and has 216 km of coast, but oh what a coastline. Really the island has two different characters within. The north is wild, with a rugged coastline and with beaches of reddish sand. The whole effect is spectacular and offers some of the best walking country in the Med. In the south it's much less mountainous, with a covering of pine covered cliffs, beaches of golden sand and shallower crystal clear waters.
Menorca, thank heavens, is protected and the whole island was designated a Biosphere Reserve back in 1993. UNESCO defines a Biosphere Reserve as 'a place of important natural and cultural heritage where economic development is compatible with nature conservation'. Menorca is 1 of 411 places in 96 countries that has been designated a Biosphere Reserve.
Why is Menorca so important? Well, it's importance is connected to it's landscape. This little island is hot to a diverse range of Mediterranean landscapes
Menorca Food & Drink:
Influences on Minorca food are wide and varied, and pull considerably from tradition recipes and roots which stretch back to medieval times, and with a touch of Catalan and Arabic influence. Cakes and pastries are particular specialties on Menorca, influenced by Muslim, Catalan and British settlement over the centuries.
Key dishes include lobster stew, baked cuttlefish, squid stuffed with sweet potato or Minorcan oven-baked fish. Minorca's sea food is renowned. Try the popular boiled snails with aromatic herbs, asparagus bread - delicious, and Oliaigua with tomatoes, stuffed courgettes or red peppers. Baked lamb is also rather popular, as is Minorcan island soup.
Handmade Cheese from Mao is renowned in Europe so take the opportunity to try it. Check out the thousand leaf cake 'pasta de fulls', meringues, almond tarts, desserts made from coconut, egg yolk, chocolate and cream - superb congrets and palos. Beautiful cakes are made for Menorca's annual festival such as 'greixeres'.
