Fornells

Fornells is everybody's idea of a Mediterranean fishing village white painted houses around a harbor bobbing with boats, restaurants on the waterfront along a palm lined promenade. Nowadays, of course, tourism is more important than fishing, but there is still a fishing industry here and the fish in the restaurants is genuinely local and fresh. Fornells is known above all for its spiny lobsters, the essential ingredient in a caldereta de langosta - King Juan Carlos of Spain sails over regularly from Mallorca just to eat lobster at Fornells.

The village is built on the west side of the Bay of Fornells, close to the open sea. The natural harbour is 5km in length, similar to that at Mao. The commander of the first British invasion force to Menorca wrote to his superiors that Mao and Fornells were the two best ports in the Mediterranean.

Founded to defend the north coast against pirate ships, Fornells grew in importance in the 17th century with the building of Castell Sant Antoni, modelled on Fort Sant Felip I The castle ruins stand beside the sea, facing a small island crowned by a watchtower. A path from here leads to the cape, where there is a lighthouse, a small rock shrine and another watchtower, Torre de Fornells, opened as a museum. You can climb to the top of the tower to experience what would once have been the view of approaching invaders But most visitors don't go to Fornells for history. They go to soak up its simple beauty, to walk beside the quay then choose a harbor side restaurant to enjoy the freshest fish possible