Menorca in January
Menorca in January – An experience not to be missed!
Beat the post-Christmas, mid-winter blues by travelling to Menorca in January. Not only is one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations significantly milder than much of Europe and almost definitely the UK during this time of year, but January is a particularly lively month to visit the island as St Antony’s Day is held at this time each year.
This special day on Menorca’s busy religiously-motivated fiesta calendar commemorates the island’s liberation from the Moors.
Whilst the whole of Menorca celebrates this poignant date with a passion and fervour that only the Spanish can seem to achieve, it is the town of Cuitadella, the capital of the island, where the celebrations are particularly spectacular, flamboyant and not to be missed.
Asides a procession of gaudy and glitzy floats, costumes and music making its way through Cuitadella’s streets, pausing momentarily to enable the hordes of visitors to watch the colourful and well-rehearsed display whilst catching their breath, a lively market takes place in the town’s main square, aptly known as Placa San Antonio.
The market is an ideal place to experience truly traditional Spanish amusements. From spices to make authentic Spanish tapas being sold in abundance, to paella bubbling away in huge pots, la Placa San Antonio is an enchanting place to visit in January on the island of Menorca.
Asides witnessing this fascinating event, the town of Cuitadella boasts many impressive sites that warrants the capital to being a discerning history, culture and art enthusiast’s ‘must see’ locations.
The town hall is one such building, which, being the former palace of the Arab governor and later became the royal palace under the Aragonese, is simply stunning.
For any lover of Italian architecture, many of the religious and civil buildings in Cuitadella were built with an Italian style in the 17th century, and consequently give the island’s capital a unique architectural, artistic and historic identity.
Although it is on St Antony’s day when the town proudly displays its uniqueness and unrivalled identity, by putting on a not to be missed and not to be forgotten spectacle.