Torre de Binixiquet

A stone tower standing over farmland is the reason to come. Torre de Binixiquet belongs to a building type that marks the Menorcan countryside: a farmhouse given a defensive tower, where a family could shut itself in when corsairs came ashore. Maó itself was sacked from the sea in the sixteenth century, and towers like this one were the countryside's answer to that threat.

The history is written in the fabric. Thick masonry and height did the work that walls and garrisons did in the port, and the building is now protected as a listed heritage property.

• There are no toilets and no drinking water close by: bring what you need.
• The nearest mapped car parks are about 2 km away in a straight line, so plan for a walk from the car.
• The closest bus stop, Binixíquer, sits about 830 m away in a straight line.
• Open farmland on Menorca gives little shade in summer. Carry water and a hat.

Torre de Binixiquet stands in the countryside of Maó municipality. The nearest bus stop, Binixíquer, is about 830 m away in a straight line; a second stop, Son Vitamina, is about 1.9 km off.

By car, the closest mapped car parks sit about 2 km away in a straight line: two free lots with an asphalt surface. Distances on the ground run longer than a straight line, so allow extra time for the walk.

Best: early morning or late afternoon, when low sun rakes across the stonework and the heat is off the fields.

Avoid: midday in July and August.

Open farmland in a Menorcan summer holds little shade, and there are no toilets or drinking water nearby.