8th May 2026
Spend an idyllic 24 hours in Ciutadella, Menorca. Start with a morning dip, enjoy a traditional Menorcan breakfast, then explore the cathedral, palaces, medieval lanes and market stalls before shopping for handmade avarques. As evening falls, sip a pomada by the harbour, dine at Smoix, and end with a relaxed walk through Ciutadella’s glowing old town and waterfront.
Menorca has never been especially interested in urgency. In this particular corner of the island, days begin in swims, stretch into late breakfasts and harbour lunches, and end in long dinners followed by the tonic of a late-night walk around the port. Fishing boats bob beneath the harbour walls while locals sit out, glass of vermouth in hand, as the heat fades and the harbour fills again.
A perfect 24 hours in Ciutadella is less about seeing everything than giving in to the town’s genius for stretching a day out of shape. There will be an early swim in crystalline water, strong coffee and sobrassada on toasted bread, market stalls piled with local produce, artisan avarques in old shopfronts, and the sort of dinner that makes checking the time feel almost vulgar.
So, with very little urgency and plenty of room for detours, here’s how to spend 24 hours in Ciutadella.
Start where all good Menorcan days should start: in the water. If you’re staying in the centre of Ciutadella, Platja Gran, also known as Cala des Degollador, is the city’s easiest morning swim spot, only around a 10-minute walk from the old town. Tucked just beyond the port, it’s a small sandy cove, wider than it is long, where calm, shallow water runs out towards the sea. Come early, before the heat builds and the day properly gets going, for a quick swim before wandering back towards the centre for coffee.
By 10am, Ciutadella has begun to stir. For a traditional Menorcan breakfast, settle into somewhere unfussy like La Reina, or Tot Bo for pastries and baked goods. Order properly: toasted bread rubbed with tomato and olive oil, slices of rich sobrassada, nutty Mahón cheese, fresh orange juice and strong coffee. No breakfast in Menorca is complete without an ensaïmada, best picked up warm from a traditional bakery like Forn Curniola.
Late morning is best spent in the old heart of Ciutadella, where the city’s aristocratic past still beats in the stone. Begin at the Cathedral of Santa Maria, its Gothic interior rising from the site of a former mosque, before wandering past the neighbouring Episcopal Palace and into Plaça des Born, the grand square that anchors the city.
From Plaça des Born, wander into the lanes around it, where Ciutadella quickly becomes quieter and more enclosed. Casa Olivar offers a glimpse into old Menorcan nobility, with elegant interiors, faded grandeur and just enough drama to make you briefly consider a life with ancestral portraits. Afterwards, follow the streets around Carrer Ses Voltes and Carrer Major des Born, passing under arches and past pale stone houses, with the odd courtyard or shaded doorway opening up as you go.
By early afternoon, the town gathers at the market. Inside Mercat Municipal and the neighbouring Mercat des Peix, fish counters appear between bakery stalls and piles of seasonal produce line the narrow aisles. Discover Menorca through nutty local cheeses, still-warm pastries, seafood brought in that morning, jars of olives and preserved vegetables. Rather than stopping for a heavy lunch, graze at whatever takes your fancy.
After the market, follow the slope of the old town down towards the harbour. Find a table in the sun or a patch of shade along the waterfront, order something cold and let the afternoon loosen around you, the sun warm on your face. Fishing boats rock below the old walls, the water flashes between the buildings, and for a while there is nothing much to do except sit still, watch the port move, and feel very pleased you are in Menorca.
Drift back into the old town for a look around its independent shops and artisan boutiques. This is the best time to look for avarques – Menorca’s traditional handcrafted leather sandals – originally designed for farmers and still made on the island today. Around Carrer Ses Voltes and Carrer Major des Born, they hang in old shopfronts beneath the city’s honeyed facades, alongside ceramics, woven baskets and small pieces worth leaving room for in your suitcase.
As the harbour begins to fill for the evening, settle in for aperitivo at Ulisses Menorca or Mon Restaurant & Hotel, where the pre-dinner hour is treated with proper respect. Try a crisp Menorcan white from island producers such as Binifadet, Binitord or Torralbenc, or to order a pomada instead – Menorca’s signature mix of Xoriguer gin and lemonade. Sharp, citrusy and dangerously refreshing.
Set within an 18th-century aristocratic estate, Smoix feels less like a restaurant and more like a long dinner party hidden in the Menorcan countryside. Beneath vaulted ceilings and thick sandstone walls, chef Miquel Sánchez has created a dining room that feels deeply rooted in the island without ever leaning on rustic theatre.
The menu is deliberately short, shaped by the seasons, local fishermen and whatever the island happens to be doing best that week. Expect silky croquettes with impossibly crisp shells, beluga lentils lifted with citrus and herbs, just-caught fish moments from the grill, grilled confit goat that falls apart at the touch of a fork and sharp pickled fillets that cut cleanly through the evening heat. It is elegant cooking with its sleeves rolled up: precise, generous and full of salt, smoke, sun and wild herbs carried in from the coast.
After dinner, take the long way back through the old town, where the buildings glow beneath the streetlights and the narrow lanes remain quietly alive. From there, drift down towards the harbour, where people gather along the waterfront steps with late drinks in hand and fishing boats rock against the port walls. By night, Ciutadella feels wonderfully unhurried, as if the whole city has collectively agreed that tomorrow can wait.
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