Maó (Mahón)

Maó (in Spanish, Mahón — and the origin of the word "mayonnaise," which was supposedly invented here for a French admiral in 1756) is Menorca's capital, a white-washed town sitting above one of the finest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. The harbour is over five kilometres long and almost completely enclosed — its depth and shelter made it strategically invaluable and brought the British, French, and Spanish into repeated conflict over the island.

The old town above the harbour has narrow streets, 18th-century Georgian-influenced architecture left from the British period, and the usual Menorcan mix of Baroque churches and small squares. The covered market, the Mercat des Claustre, operates in a former convent cloister and is good in the mornings. Down at the waterfront, the harbour promenade has bars and restaurants and regular boat tours of the harbour that pass the naval base and the old fortifications. The harbour views are particularly good at dusk.

things to do sight
A story
Maó harbour is one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean — deep enough for large warships, which is why the British fought so hard to hold the island. The Spanish, the French, and the British all controlled Menorca at different points in the 18th century, and the harbour is the reason every one of them wanted it. The gin distillery that operates in the old British naval facility is a direct legacy of the occupation: the British brought gin to Menorca, and the Menorcans never stopped making it.