Things To Do in Es Castell

The local daily catch lands on the menu of harbourside restaurants around Cales Fonts and Cala Corb. Typical options on the menú del día include grilled dorado or sea bass, followed by a traditional Menorcan ice-cream, made with gin. The shady outdoor seating offers views across the bay all the way to the town of Sima on the other side, and at Cales Fonts, the interiors of some of the places are carved out of the rock.

The bars and cafés of Es Castell are more likely to buzz with conversation than thump with techno music. Laidback bars line Cales Fonts harbour – dinky ones built into the rock are a real treat. Mind your head under the low vaulted ceilings and maybe try a pomada, a fruity drink made with the local gin. Jump in a 15-minute taxi to Mahon’s waterfront for serious all-night clubbing.

The tree-lined main street's shops cover everything from fashion and jewellery to locally made arts and crafts. Twice-weekly travelling markets around the main square are good for glazed ceramics and olive wood jewellery, but they close for the siesta between 2pm and 5pm. There’s also a night market held at Cales Fonts harbour – the most popular stall here is the one selling local Xoriguer gin.

Vell Parrander is right on the harbour, where the fishing boats haul in their daily catch, so the fish here is fresher-than-fresh. And it’s simply prepared, so the flavour speaks for itself. The grilled sole, hake and bass regularly earn praise, but the mussels, lobster and fish stew are equally good. The restaurant is very popular, so it might be wise to book.

This family-run bar has been making friends with locals and visitors alike for six decades – they’ve even had Sir Richard Branson as a customer. It’s around the corner from the town’s main square, so it’s a great place to stop for a glass of local Parellada wine while you’re having an evening stroll. They do great food here, too – though you can’t reserve ahead so you’ll need to arrive early.

It’s a 15-minute walk from the town centre to Cala Padera. It’s a deep inlet that you reach by a set of rock stairs – at the bottom, this scalloped cove has natural shade from the fig trees that grow near the water’s edge. It’s rocky here, so you can sunbathe on the wooden platform instead – there are ladders into the water but no sunbeds, which means you'll need to bring a towel.

Fort Marlborough is about five minutes’ drive away at Cala Sant Esteve. It took nearly 20 years for British forces to build it, but when they’d finished the job in 1710 they had a lock-tight underground military complex. Today, you can tour the defensive walls of the seven-sided building, then go down into the tunnels to see what life was like for the troops that manned it.