The best walks and hikes around Es Castell

This square has up to three names: Plaça Menorca, de Joan Ferrer i Franch or del Mirador. The town takes its name from the castle of Sant Felip, near which the primitive nucleus was located. The fortress was ordered to be built in response to the Turkish danger, after Khair ed-Din Barbarossa attacked Maó in 1535, in retaliation for the conquest of Tunis (the corsair's lair) by Emperor Charles V a few months earlier. In 1558, the castle's fortifications were already artillery and it was possible to repel an Ottoman attack. This encouraged many Maó residents to seek refuge near the castle walls and end up forming a permanent inhabited nucleus that grew over the years and was known as s'Arraval de sant Felip. It should be remembered that s Castell, as also happens with Sant Climent and Sant Lluís, has a fully planned urban origin, based on a military engineering concept. From the second half of the 20th century onwards, urban development has not taken place like in the rest of the island's towns, in a radial manner around the original nucleus, but rather by forming amoeboid satellite areas. At any point in the large square we can use texts by Àngel Ruiz i Pablo, by Josep Pin i Soler that describe a town quite different from the one we have today, and two fragments of Manuel Cuyàs's memoirs that reflect the environment he lived in while doing his military service there.

The fish market of Mahón (Mercat de Peix or Sa Peixateria) has not only the richest range of fresh fish and seafood in Menorca. In the market there are also numerous stalls to enjoy tapas and pinchos (small treats) and wine or to buy the products of the island, like the excellent cheese or beer made in Menorca. The history of this emblematic fish market begins between 1926 and 1927, when the building was built by the local architect Francesc Femenies. It is rectangular, with arcades and inside a hexagonal building.In the past, the fish was sold in the port. In 1922 it was decided to concentrate the sale of meat and vegetables in the Carmen Monastery, and to the fish inside the patio. But the project failed, and so it was decided to build a separate building for the sale of fish. Since that time the place has been the most important selling point for fish in the city.

Carmelite cloister transformed into a multifunctional space that includes a market, restaurant, concert space and a music school. It is located in the heart of the capital, a few steps from the Mercado del Pescado. It is a convent with a long history of transformations. Born to house the Carmelite order, it was confiscated, desacralized and, depending on the period, transformed into a court, prison, school. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the ancient monastic cells on the ground floor began to accommodate various commercial proposals: shoe and clothing stores next to meat, fruit and vegetable shops, artisan products, local gastronomic specialties. And so it is until today. https://mercatdesclaustre.com But not only commerce. In fact, the courtyard, the central space framed by sandstone vaults, is home to cultural events and jazz, pop, folk, classical concerts. Nicknamed “Terraza“, in the summer it offers live music. https://esclaustre.com

The construction of the church began in 1719. The covering is Gothic in style with a cross vault and pointed arches. The single nave culminates in a rectangular chapel under a lower pointed arch that contains the altar. Particularly interesting are the neoclassical portals that connect to the sacristy. From 1736 the side chapels were opened between the buttresses with barrel vaults and arches with columns decorated with spirals and zigzags. The Capella de la Concepció deserves special mention. This octagonal chapel was built between 1745 and 1752. The floral decoration pervades the columns that separate the eight small chapels with superimposed galleries. The hemispherical dome contrasts, due to its simplicity, with the very rich decoration of the lower part. Although the author is unknown, the influence of the works of the masters of the Amorós family (the transept and the chapel of Gràcia, the chapel of the Ànimes of the Cathedral, Roser, el Socors, the Saura palace) seems evident. The façade and the bell tower were built in 1775. The portal with flared arches seems to be inspired by the Romanesque, but the door jamb is Renaissance. Other decorative motifs present in the temple date back to the beginning of the century, such as the murals (in grisaille) that adorn the presbytery and depict scenes from the life of Saint Francis.

The city gate Portal de Sant Roc (built around 1500) is the only remaining gate of the medieval city wall.

Definitely worth a visit!

Very beautiful old town with relatively many pedestrian zones

Definitely worth a visit!