Ibiza Town (Eivissa)

Ibiza Town — Eivissa in Catalan — is the island’s capital and the place where its history is stacked most densely. Above the harbour sits Dalt Vila, the walled upper town; below it lie the shopping streets, the fishing port and the Sa Penya quarter. It is the one place on Ibiza where a single walk takes you from a Renaissance bastion to a marina.

History

The town is the direct successor of Ebusus, the settlement the Phoenicians founded on this hill in antiquity. Its inhabitants were buried at Puig des Molins, the necropolis just outside the walls, which stayed in use into Roman times. The walls you see today are Renaissance work: heavy bastions built to protect the harbour, and among the best-preserved coastal fortifications in the Mediterranean. In 1999 UNESCO inscribed Dalt Vila, Puig des Molins, the Phoenician settlement at Sa Caleta and the posidonia meadows offshore together on the World Heritage List, as “Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture”.

What to do here

• Enter Dalt Vila through the Portal de ses Taules and climb to the cathedral at the top — the square there looks out over the whole harbour.
• Walk the ring of bastions along the wall; it is the most complete circuit of a fortification you can do in the Balearics.
• Visit the Puig des Molins necropolis, where the dead of Phoenician Ebusus were buried — the most underrated site on the island.
• Wander Sa Penya and La Marina below, the old fishing and port quarters with their narrow lanes.
• Look at the harbour’s split personality: fishing boats along one quay, yachts along the other.
• Do the climb late in the afternoon rather than at midday — it is steep and there is very little shade.

Facts

• Dalt Vila is one of the four components of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture”, inscribed in 1999.
• The town’s ancient name was Ebusus, and it was settled by the Phoenicians.
• Puig des Molins was that city’s burial ground and remained in use into Roman times.
• The Renaissance walls are among the best-preserved coastal fortifications in the Mediterranean.

Good for

Anyone who wants history, eating out and a night out in the same walkable place.