What you need to know about Menorca...

Situated to the north-east of Majorca, Menorca is the smallest of the Balearic islands (Ibiza and Formentera form an archipelago). It is also the most easterly part of Spain.

It covers an area of around 700 square kilometres. It is 50 kilometres long and 25 kilometres wide at its widest point. Its highest point is Mount El Toro (just 358 metres!).

Its two main towns are Mahon, the capital, in the south-east of the island, and Ciutadella, on the opposite side of the island to the west. The two towns are equivalent in population (30,000 each). The total population is around 80-90,000.

Castilian (Spanish) is spoken here, but the dominant language is Minorcan, a derivative of Catalan, itself a descendant of the Langue d’Oc.

The climate is, of course, Mediterranean!

Minorca has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site since 1993. Since 2011, it has also been the headquarters of all the Biosphere Reserves, involving some fifty countries.