Nestling on the low hills overlooking the north shore of Mahon harbour, the smart and exclusive development of Cala Llonga is home to some of the largest and most prestigious real estate in Menorca.

The few visitors that have discovered Cala Llonga will undoubtedly arrive on the island at the nearby International Aeropuerto de Menorca, and from there it's only a short 10km journey into the town.

For those visitors who chose to collect a pre-booked hire car from one of the numerous agencies that operate from the airport facility, we have put together the basic route for this journey, complete with links to maps where appropriate, and this is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

As you drive towards Cala Llonga, your first impressions of the City of Mahon will be of its busy, narrow and often crowded streets, although in all fairness around 30,000 of the island's resident population of 94,000, do live here before taking into account the large number of visitors.

Once you have arrived at your chosen accommodation, you will quickly discover that Cala Llonga does not have its own beach, although for most visitors here this isn’t really a problem as a day on the beach wouldn’t really hold much appeal.

However, for those who do wish to escape to the coast for the day, the small sandy beach at nearby Es Grau, some 10km to the north Cala Llonga, does offer a fair variety of water sports facilities and equipment for hire, including sun lounges and parasols.

Nearby Mahon only became the capital of Menorca relatively recently, when in 1721, despite protests from both the local inhabitants and the Bishop of Ciutadella who refused to relocate his palace, the British moved it from Ciutadella as part of the Treaty of Utrecht.

The reasoning behind this deeply unpopular decision was entirely strategic. At almost 5km long, 1km wide and 15 - 30m deep, the harbour at Mahon is the second deepest natural harbour in the world, and this made it the perfect home to the British Mediterranean fleet.

One of the best ways to tour the old town is undoubtedly on foot, here you will find narrow pedestrianised streets to explore, with pleasant shady squares and numerous pavement cafes and bars for refreshment. As you wander around, there are many historical buildings to discover, the oldest of these being the Arch de San Roque, which unfortunately is now the only remains of the wall that once encircled the city.

A short distance from the Arch de San Roque is the Town Hall, which is a typically Menorcan building that was originally built in 1631 and subsequently restored towards the end of the 18th Century. Even today, the building still features the original clock given to the city by Richard Kane, who was the English Governor of Menorca at the time, and inside there is a portrait gallery which features paintings of many famous Menorcan's throughout history.

Certainly well worth a mention here is the Church of Santa Maria, which is one of Mahon’s finest attractions. Originally constructed in 1287, and rebuilt between 1748 and 1772, the magnificent Esglesia de Santa Maria la Major contains a spectacular organ which features four keyboards and over 3,000 pipes.

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This website was launched on 1 May 2002

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