Ciutadella

Where Mao is bureaucratic, Ciutadella is artistic; where Mao has power, Ciutadella has style. The nobility and the church stayed behind when the capital was moved to Mao with the result that Ciutadella remains a pure Catalan city, undiluted by British or French architecture or the ideas that colonial rulers brought in their wake.

There were Carthaginian and Roman settlements here, and the Arabs made it their capital, but Ciutadella, Menorca's second town, reached its zenith in the 17th century when the island's richest families settled here. Wander the maze of narrow streets fanning out from the cathedral, their Gothic palaces each marked by a coat of arms carved above the door; sit beneath the palm trees in the Placa des Born at dusk; join the citizens of Ciutadella for their annual festival, when richly caparisoned horses prance through the streets.

Castell Sant Nicolau Ciutadella

This 17th century octagonal defense tower, with drawbridge, moat and turrets, stands alone on a limestone platform halfway around the Passeig Maritim. Nowadays it is used as an exhibition centre, with displays on environmental themes and occasional art exhibitions. The real reason for coming here, though, is to watch the sun set over the sea and see the mountains of Mallorca appear, silhouetted against a pink sky. It is beautiful and romantic, but you won't be alone.

Ciutadella Cathedral

Ciutadella has been Menorca's religious capital since Arab times; when Alfonso III conquered the island in 1287, one of his first acts was to have the main mosque reconsecrated as a church. The Catalan Gothic structure took shape over the next 75 years, though part of the old mosque still remains in the ramp of the north tower, reminiscent of an Islamic minaret the church finally gained its cathedral status in 1795, when a bishopric was restored to Ciutadella after an absence of 1,300 years.

Outside, a stark, windowless wall probably added after the Turkish raid on Ciutadella in 1558 leads to thick square buttresses. Inside, an aisleless nave leads to a pentagonal apse and a dozen side chapels. Most of the interior fittings were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and what you see is heavily restored a plaque in the floor pays tribute to Bishop Pascual Marroig, who restored the cathedral between 1939 and 1967.

The Municipal Museum Ciutadella

The Bastio de Sa Font was built as a fortress in the late 17th century; it was subsequently used as a grain store, a gas factory and a water tank before being fully renovated and opened as the city's museum in 1995. The displays, neatly laid out in a long, bright, vaulted gallery, are carefully captioned and there are leaflets available in English to help you to find your way around.

The museum tells the history of Menorca from pre-Talaiotic to Muslim times through a collection of fascinating exhibits gathered from archaeological excavations around the island bone knives which go back 3,000 years, ancient spears and slingshots, Roman Coins, Jeweler, oil lamps and dice. The most gruesome display case contains a collection of Iron Age skulls, which show that the Talaiotic culture had developed advanced techniques in cranial pathology. As well as head wounds caused by blows from weapons, there are fractures which are the result of surgery.  Signs of scarring show that the patient survived the operation and made a full recovery.

Moli des Comte

 First built in 1778 for the Count of Torre Saura, this windmill fell into disrepair until it was restored in the 1960s by the present Count; it was opened to the public in 1994. You can climb the steps for a close-up look at the machinery and a view of the city's rooftops through the sails. Beneath the windmill, the old granary has recently been converted into a smart shopping arcade, Centre d' Artesania, with shops selling local crafts, clothes and sandals, as well as Menorcan sausages, wine and cheese.

Museum of the Diocese of Menorca

This museum is housed in a former Augustine monastery close to the cathedral. Peaceful baroque cloisters lead on to a series of rooms containing ecclesiastical treasures including vestments, chalices and reliquaries. There is also a room devoted to prehistoric finds and a collection of paintings by the Catalan artist Pere Daura, born in Ciutadella in 1896.

Behind the museum, in Placa de la Libertat, is the city's lively food market, with stalls selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and fish.

The Torrent Painters Museum

Jose Torrent, a native of Ciutadella who was born in 1904, is widely considered one of the two greatest Menorcan painters of the 20th century -  the other is Joan Vives Liull, from Mao. After his death in 1990 a number of Torrent's works were gathered together in an old town house close to the Placa des Born. You can follow his development from youthful Impressionism to the Expressionism of his final years, and see for yourself why he is known as 'the Van Gogh of Menorca'

The Salord Palace Ciutadella

 The streets of the old city are filled with 17th century palaces, built by Menorca's aristocratic families when they moved to Ciutadella from their country estates. Most are still owned by the original families, in some cases the descendants of those who were rewarded in 1287 when Alfonso 'the Liberal' divided up his new conquest among his followers and friends.

Peep into any of these palaces when the doors are open and you see fine courtyards with stone stairways, ltalianate loggias and galleried arcades. Most, including the Torre Saura palace on Placa des Born and the Martorell palace on Carrer de Santissim, are closed to the public; for a glimpse of aristocratic living you have to visit the Palau Salord on the Placa des Born. Among the riches on display are antique furniture, tapestries and oil paintings, gilded mirrors and a frescoed ballroom.

The promenade Ciutadella

This wide promenade, completed in 1997, follows the seafront around the peninsula from the small beach at Cala des Degollador to the marina. This is the place to come at dusk to watch the sun set over the sea and join the locals on their evening walk. Mothers and grandmothers, teenagers holding hands the whole population of Ciutadella seems to be there. As the promenade approaches the city centre, a flight of steps leads down to the port where you can walk around the harbour and look up above the old city walls to the Placa des Born.

Santa Clara

Founded by Alfonso III immediately after the Reconquest in 1287, this convent was destroyed during the Turkish attack on Ciutadella in 1558 and rebuilt 56 years later. It was destroyed again during the Spanish Civil War and the building you see today dates from 1945 It is still a working convent and only the church is open to visitors; it is plainly decorated with white stone arches and the kaleidoscopic altarpiece, with its dazzling rainbows and purple skies, comes as quite a shock.

Ses Voltes Ciutadella

This pedestrian alley at the heart of the old city, also named after the local historian - Jose Maria Quadrado, is the focal point of Ciutadella's social life. This is where cafe life reigns, as people spend their siesta sitting on canvas chairs in the shade of Moorish-style arches, then return during the evening walk for a drink outside one of the bars on Placa Nova before checking out the row of billboards to see what is on at the cinema.