Some people think that summer in Menorca ends with August. We believe that this is precisely when one of the best times of the year begins.
September arrives almost without a sound. The days are still long, the sea retains the warmth accumulated throughout the summer and the beaches continue to invite you in for a swim. But something has changed.
There are fewer cars. Less rushing. Fewer people.
Little by little, Menorca begins to recover its own rhythm.
And perhaps it is precisely in September that it becomes easier to understand why so many people who came here as visitors ended up wanting a home on the island.
The Mediterranean without the August rush
Menorca lives intensely during July and August. These are the busiest months, the terraces are full, there is more traffic on the roads and some of the best-known coves welcome thousands of visitors.
September is different.
Summer continues, but the pressure eases.
It becomes possible to be spontaneous again. To leave home in the morning, check the wind and only then decide where to swim. To find a small cove with very few people. To linger over lunch by the sea. To walk at sunset without any particular plan.
This slower pace also makes it possible to enjoy Menorca’s landscape in a different way. Declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, its paths, coves and natural spaces can be explored far more peacefully.
These are small luxuries that have little to do with money and everything to do with time.
The sea is probably at its very best
Those of us who live in Menorca know that September is still a profoundly Mediterranean month.
After months of summer sunshine, the sea remains at an especially pleasant temperature. Swimming, sailing, snorkelling or simply floating for a while are still part of everyday life.
The light changes too.
The sun begins to sit slightly lower on the horizon and softer tones emerge, transforming the Menorcan landscape. The whitewashed walls, dry-stone walls, fields and blue of the sea take on a different intensity.
For those who enjoy photography, painting or simply observing, September has a beauty that is difficult to explain.
Homes are experienced differently too
In our work, we visit homes throughout the year and we know that a property changes enormously depending on when it is lived in.
In August, a house by the sea can seem, above all, like a fantastic holiday home.
In September, it begins to reveal something more interesting: what it would be like to live there.
Having breakfast on the terrace when the heat is no longer so intense. Working for a few hours with the windows open. Walking to the sea before starting the day. Reading beneath a porch in the afternoon. Inviting friends to dinner outside without the intense heat of a few weeks earlier.
This is when a house stops being simply a beautiful property and begins to become a way of life.
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Another Menorca begins to emerge
As September progresses, the island also regains a certain intimacy.
The towns slowly return to their usual rhythm. Mahón and Ciutadella can be explored in a different way. It is once again tempting to sit unhurriedly on a restaurant terrace, dine outdoors or simply enjoy a glass of wine in one of the small squares and streets of their historic centres, now far more peaceful.
The evenings are still pleasant, but tables are no longer so fiercely sought after and everything seems to happen at a different pace.
The country lanes recover their calm, and driving through the island’s interior once again becomes one of those small pleasures that those of us who live here know well.
Simple things return too: recognising familiar faces, stopping for a chat, shopping without rushing or having a coffee by the harbour while watching the day begin.
Menorca returns to a human scale.
September may be the best month to look for a home in Menorca
Buying a home on an island is a very different decision from choosing a holiday destination.
One wonderful week in August can make anyone fall in love with Menorca.
But if someone is seriously considering buying a home here, our advice is simple: visit outside the high season as well.
And September is an excellent time to do so.
Visit the areas you like when they are quieter. Drive along their roads. Go into the towns. Visit the supermarket. Have a coffee in the morning. Swim at the end of the afternoon. Watch how the light changes around a house.
Because a home should not be chosen solely for its floor area, its views or the size of its plot.
You also have to imagine the life that will unfold in and around it.
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The privilege of staying
Perhaps one of the most special moments for those of us who live in Menorca is watching August come to an end.
The airport remains busy for a few days. The boats depart. The beaches slowly empty.
And we stay.
The warm sea remains.
The terraces remain.
The paths remain.
We still have the first rains, the scent of the earth and an island that is beginning to breathe again.
September is not the end of summer in Menorca.
For many of us, it is simply the beginning of another Menorca.
And perhaps one of its finest.
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