Líthica — Pedreres de s'Hostal skip-the-line — Menorca's hidden marès-sandstone quarries near Ciutadella, where two centuries of stone-cutting left vast canyons now planted as botanical gardens, a medieval-style orchard and a maze you walk down into. Open-date ticket: visit any day during opening hours.
See ticket optionsFull access to the quarries, gardens, orchard and labyrinth
€24
Reduced-rate entry for visitors aged 65 and over
€19
“We nearly skipped this for a beach and I'm so glad we didn't. You climb down into these huge stone canyons and suddenly it's cool and green and almost silent. The maze had our kids laughing and the orchard smelled incredible. An hour and a half went by without us noticing.”
“The contrast between the old hand-cut quarry, all soft curves, and the machine-cut one with its sheer straight walls is fascinating. It feels like nowhere else on Menorca. Go in the morning before the light gets harsh and the walls glow.”
“A genuinely contemplative place rather than a tick-box sight. We sat in the rock-cut amphitheatre for ages just listening to how sound carries. Bring a hat and water — the quarry floor catches the sun — and wear proper shoes for the steps.”
5-minute audio guide
Hand-written, narrated by a heritage host, sent to every customer the day before their visit. Five minutes that turns a hole in the ground into a story — the stone that built an island, the quarrymen who carved downwards, and the artists who turned an abandoned pit into a secret garden.
Included free with every ticket. No app, no download — plays in any browser.
For more than two centuries, blocks of marès — the soft golden sandstone that builds almost every wall, church and farmhouse on Menorca — were cut out of the ground here at Pedreres de s'Hostal, just outside Ciutadella. The quarrymen worked downwards rather than up, slicing the stone away block by block until they had carved vast open-air chambers and canyons into the earth: a kind of architecture in reverse. Two distinct quarries sit side by side. The older one was cut entirely by hand, leaving soft, organic, irregular walls; the newer one was worked by machine, leaving sheer straight cliffs that rise like the sides of a roofless cathedral.
When quarrying stopped, the site was destined to become a landfill. In 1994 a group led by the sculptor and landscape artist Laetitia Sauleau began rescuing it instead, and in 1997 it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural — a protected Spanish cultural-heritage site. Volunteers and the Fundació Lithica that grew out of the project slowly turned the abandoned pits into something extraordinary: the old hand-cut quarry has been planted as a series of green rooms — botanical gardens, a medieval-style orchard, and labyrinths of stone and hedge that you walk down into rather than across.
The result is one of Menorca's quietest and strangest places. You descend from the bright Mediterranean light into cool stone canyons, follow paths between citrus trees and aromatic herbs growing where stone was once hauled out, lose yourself briefly in the maze, and sit in an amphitheatre carved straight from the rock, prized in summer for its acoustics. It is not a beach, a fortress or a museum — it is a contemplative landscape, best given a slow hour and a half to two hours rather than a quick photo stop. The ticket is open-dated: choose your day, arrive during opening hours, and walk straight in.
Líthica Tickets acts as a facilitator to help international visitors purchase skip-the-line tickets for Pedreres de s'Hostal, the quarry gardens near Ciutadella run by the Fundació Lithica. We do not resell tickets — we provide a personalised booking and English-language support service, and our concierge service fee is included in the displayed price. For those who prefer to purchase directly, tickets are sold on the foundation's own ticketing site.
Plan your visit
When to see the marès quarry gardens at their best — season by season, the daily rhythm of heat and light, and the January closure to plan around.
Every realistic route to the quarry gardens — the short drive from Ciutadella, a taxi, cycling out, and reaching it from Mahón.
The two quarries, the botanical gardens, the medieval-style orchard, the stone labyrinth and the rock-cut amphitheatre — what to look for and in what order.
Skip-the-line entry to Pedreres de s'Hostal — the hand-cut and machine-cut marès quarries and their canyons, the botanical gardens, the medieval-style orchard, the stone labyrinth and the rock-cut amphitheatre. The ticket is open-dated, so you choose your own day.
No. Your ticket is open admission, valid during opening hours on the day you visit, with no fixed time slot. Note that from April to October the morning sessions (roughly 09:00 to 14:00) have limited capacity and are online-ticket only, which is exactly why booking ahead is worth it; afternoons are walk-up.
It is a set of former marès-sandstone quarries near Ciutadella that have been turned into gardens. You descend into deep stone canyons cut over two centuries — one quarry worked by hand with soft, organic walls, the other by machine with sheer vertical cliffs — now planted with a botanical garden, a medieval-style orchard and labyrinths, with an amphitheatre carved into the rock. It is a calm, contemplative landscape rather than a museum.
Allow about 1.5 to 2 hours to walk the quarries, gardens, orchard and labyrinth at a relaxed pace. It is a place that rewards lingering — sitting in the amphitheatre, wandering the maze — rather than rushing through.
Yes. Although you walk down into shaded canyons in places, much of the quarry floor and the gardens are open to the Mediterranean sun, which is strong from late spring through early autumn. Bring a hat, sunscreen and water, especially for a midday visit — there are only limited refreshments on site.
Wear comfortable, flat, closed shoes with grip. Paths run between levels on steps, ramps and uneven stone cut into the rock, which can be slippery; sandals and smooth-soled shoes are not ideal. Trainers or walking shoes are perfect.
It's great for children — descending into canyons and finding their way through the stone labyrinth feels like an adventure, and the orchard and gardens are full of things to discover. Children under 15 enter free at the gate, so there is no child ticket to buy; just tell us how many are coming so your headcount lines up and the family walks straight in together. Keep an eye on younger children near the quarry edges and steps.
Yes. Líthica is closed for the whole of January. It also runs reduced hours in February–March and November–December, and longer hours through the spring and summer. We confirm the current opening hours with your booking so you can plan your day.
The older quarry was cut entirely by hand, leaving soft, irregular, organic walls and chambers; this is the part that has been most extensively planted with gardens and the orchard. The newer quarry was worked by machine, leaving sheer, straight, towering vertical walls — the most dramatic, cathedral-like space on the site. Seeing both side by side is part of what makes the visit unique.
Early morning or late afternoon. The low sun rakes down the canyon walls and makes the golden marès stone glow, and the temperature is gentler than at midday. In high summer the morning sessions are also the calmest, as capacity is limited and booked online.
It is about a 10-minute drive (roughly 4 km) from Ciutadella along the Camí Vell, with parking at the entrance. A taxi from the town centre is quick and inexpensive, and some visitors cycle out from Ciutadella in good weather. There is no need for a full day — many people pair it with a morning or afternoon in Ciutadella itself.
Your ticket is open-dated, so for most visits you simply arrive on the day you choose during opening hours. If your plans change, reply to your confirmation email and our concierge team will help — particularly useful given the seasonal hours and the January closure.
Largely no. As a former quarry, the site is built around steps, ramps and uneven stone surfaces cut into the rock between different levels, so it is difficult for wheelchair users and anyone who cannot manage stairs. If mobility is a concern, contact us before booking and we will confirm which parts are currently reachable.
Yes. The rock-cut amphitheatre and the quarry's natural acoustics make Líthica a celebrated summer venue for music, dance and theatre. Event schedules vary by season and may affect access on certain dates — if you are visiting in summer, reply to your confirmation and we will flag anything on for your chosen day.
There is shade in the deeper canyons and among the trees of the orchard and gardens, and benches and the amphitheatre steps to sit on, but large stretches of the quarry floor are open to the sun. Plan a slower, shadier route in the heat of the day and carry water.
Yes — it is compact and you can take in the essence in about 90 minutes, so it fits easily around a half-day in Ciutadella. It is unlike anything else on Menorca: a man-made stone canyon turned into a garden, quiet and contemplative, and a complete change of pace from the island's beaches.
It pairs perfectly. Líthica is 10 minutes from Ciutadella's historic centre, so the natural plan is the quarries in the cooler morning and the old town — its cathedral, harbour and squares — for lunch and the afternoon, or the reverse. Together they make a relaxed, full day in the west of Menorca.