San Felipe Castle, a must-see during your stay in Menorca

Mahon, August 20, 2025

San Felipe Castle, located at the mouth of Mahon’s harbor, hides a great underground treasure that is well worth discovering for residents and visitors.

This fortress was built on the southern shore of Mahon’s harbor in the mid-16th century, following the plans of the Italian engineer Juan Bautista Calvi. Its purpose was to counter the periodic attacks of the Turkish fleet in the Western Mediterranean, which attacked Menorca twice in just over twenty years.

The castle’s position facilitated Spanish communications with Italy during the 16th and 17th centuries, and later, during the British occupation of Menorca, it served as a naval arsenal to support Gibraltar, the other British colony in Spanish territory.

Since Menorca was never a colony, it was always considered a territory of the mother country.

Unfortunately, Charles III first, and Charles IV decades later, ordered the castle’s demolition, so that today only the outline of what it once was remains. What wasn’t destroyed, at least in part, are its underground galleries, restored thanks to the work of the Menorca Military Museum Consortium.

Some of these galleries can be visited with a guide, and it’s an experience that will surprise everyone with its uniqueness and beauty.

The Castle of San Felipe is a piece of Menorcan history worth discovering.

Information and reservations are available on the website consorciomilitarmenorca.com