Tourism

MERCADAL

Tourism in Mercadal

The beauty of the North coast of the Mercadal municipality has fostered the development of various tourist centers where one can find beaches with incomparably clean water, with high-quality services for the visitor, and an extensive range of leisure activities. The Mahón-Fornells road is the main communication axis between the different tourist centers of the North coast. The quiet residential area of Son Parc, integrated into a pine forest area, is chosen as a summer destination by numerous golf enthusiasts. The beach, where young people practice sports such as surfing or volleyball, has fine sand dunes and a grove that offers the rest of its shade. The Arenal d'en Castell residential area also has a magnificent beach, which in recent years has been awarded the Blue Flag by the European Community for the cleanliness of its waters and the quality of its services. Very close by are Covas Novas and Na Macaret, which have a small pier with all the charm of fishing villages. More suitable for sports sailing is the port of Addaia, three and a half kilometers long, where there are two deserted islets: the Big Island and the Small Island. In the Roman period, this narrow bay was a very active commercial focus, as shown by numerous amphorae that have been extracted from ancient shipwrecks. On November 27, 1798, the landing of British troops in this bay began the third and shortest of the English dominations on the island, which would last until 1802. In the vicinity of the bay, we find two important traces of the English dominations of the 18th century: the d'en Bulles tower, built in the year 1799; and some old salt pans exploited by a Greek colony around 1750.