The peninsula of La Mola lies on the northern shore of the entrance of the harbour of Mahon, and covers an area of approximately 1Km2. It was during the 18th Century when the British first began the construction of a fort here, called the Fort of St. Anne or St. Anne's Fort, which was never completed as the decision was taken to concentrate on enlarging and modernising the existing castle of San Felipe which was situated on the southern side.

The Fortress of Isabel II was subsequently built by the Spanish between 1848 and 1875 to defend the island from the British fleet who were threatening to return to the island in order to use it as a base in their defensive operations against the French.

Guided tours of La Mola are offered daily. The tour starts with a short 15 minute audio-visual film about the history of the island and the role of the Fortress. For more information on opening times and admission prices, contact details are:
Fortress of Isabel II
La Mola
Mahon
Menorca
Telephone: +34 971 364 040
E-mail: info@fortalesalamola.com
Web site: www.fortalesalamola.com

The Military Museum at Cala Corrp Barracks, otherwise known as Menorca's Military Museum, was opened in 1981, which by co-incidence was also the the bi-centenary of the conquest of Menorca by Spanish troops.

The museum is spread over two floors of the old barracks. The first floor concentrates on the rich military history of the island from the colossal walls of Son Catlar to the fort of La Mola, including the various occupations of the island.

The entrance to the museum is on the first floor, and has eleven large rooms, the library, video room and the administrative offices. The ground floor has five further rooms with 16th-20th Century cannons, and another room housing the 15 inch Vickers guns, fire systems and other optical equipment for gun sighting. Contact details for further information are:
Menorca's Military Museum
Explanada, 19
Es Castell
07720
Menorca
Telephone: +34 971 362 100
E-mail: info@museomilitarmenorca.com
Web site: www.museomilitarmenorca.com

The ruins of Castle of San Felipe are situated on the southern side of the entrance of Mahon harbour. The original castle was built during the mid 18th Century in the shape of a four pointed star by the engineer Juan Baurista Calvi. When completed, the Castle of San Felipe boasted four bastions and four curtain walls, which were then surrounded by a dry moat excavated from the underlying rock. Guided tour around the site take a couple of hours, and whilst on the tour you'll learn about the history of the castle and given the opportunity to walk through a number of the original underground tunnels.

Named after Sir John Churchill, who was the Duke of Marlborough at the time, the Museo Fort Marlborough was built by the British during the early 18th Century. Situated on the southern side of the harbour, close to the village of Sant Esteve, this unique seven-sided building is built almost entirely below ground level. Guided tours last for approximately 1 hour and feature an introductory audio visual show which gives some good background information on the fort and its history, before visitors follow a marked path through the fort's gloomy, claustrophobic and hugely atmospheric rock-hewn tunnels. The tour includes a number of lifesize figures, and the sound and light effects make it all too easy to imagine just how scary it would have been inside the original fort.

The island of El Lazareto in Mahon harbour served as a place of quarantine for thousands of people, and was still used right up to the end of the 1st World War to prevent the spread of infectious diseases on Menorca. Today however, it is used as a centre for congresses or workshops and provides holiday accommodation for small groups of people.

The Xoriguer Gin Distillery and factory shop is situated by the harbour in Mahon. Visitors are welcome to walk in, and you are also allowed to taste a number of different regular and flavoured gins that they produce. Contact details are:
Destilleria Gin Xoriguer
Moll de Ponent, 91
07701
Mahon
Telephone: +34 971 362 197
E-mail: xoriguer@xoriguer.es
Web site: www.xoriguer.es

No part of this web site may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publishers. For further information please contact Islas Travel Guides. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of editorial content of this site, no responsibility can be taken for any errors and omissions that occur therein.

This website was launched on 1 May 2002

Copyright 2019 Islas Travel Guides