Whilst Ibiza Town (Eivissa in Catalan) is one of the main party towns on the beautiful island of Ibiza, if you visit early in the day then it will be quiet as all the partygoers will be asleep and the bars and clubs closed. This gives you time to explore all the town has to offer in terms of its UNESCO heritage history and shopping and stop for lunch before anyone else wakes up.
Start with breakfast on Vara de Rey
Park up in one of the public car parks in Ibiza Town and head straight to the beautiful tree-lined avenue of Vara de Rey to seek out breakfast. We grabbed healthy options from Passion Café and sat on the outdoor tables watching the world go by whilst we planned our route around town.
There are plenty of higher end shops along both sides of this sleepy avenue filled with gorgeous pink and white blossom, and ornate buildings with brightly coloured walls and wrought iron balconies. In the middle of the avenue stands a statue of an Ibizan general called Joaquin de Rey, the Avenue’s namesake.
Along the side streets of Vara de Rey are a labyrinth of streets filled with boutique shops selling fans, woven shopping baskets, leather goods, crystals and souvenirs. The streets closest to the city walls offer views up to Dalt Vila (‘Upper Town’).
Explore the UNESCO Site Dalt Vila
This is probably a good point to temporarily leave the shopping behind and head up to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dalt Vila.
The main entrance is the Portal de Ses Taules which occupies the main drawbridge – it has two Roman statues, one on either side, and a shield carved over the top of the arch. Other entrances include Portal Nou, Portella de Sella and the Es Soto Fosc tunnel.
Dalt Vila was a 16th century fortified hilltop town and one of the oldest cities in Europe. It is surrounded by Renaissance walls and ramparts built to protect the Old Town against the Turkish navy and North African raiders back in the day. The heptagonal fortifications are impressive and took 40 years to construct. If you have tried to find Atlantis, as described in my blog In search of Hippy Ibiza on a holiday with teenagers, then you will have seen the spot where the stone for the walls was excavated.
The walls of Dalt Vila offer sweeping views over modern Ibiza Town, its port, the salt flats, and airport. Look out for the cute windmill on the inland hill opposite the fortifications.
Within the city walls are small, cobblestoned roads and passageways offering welcome shade from the hot sun. As you wander through the streets, notice the lovely door knockers on some of the doors, many of them shaped like hands. On Calle de la Conquista there’s an old hotel with rows of tiles outside presenting handprints from celebrities who have stayed at the hotel. Sadly, I only recognised Penelope Cruz, but she is a good celebrity none-the-less!
Coffee stop – schedule a refreshment stop at the S’Escalinata Café which has bean bags laid out on the old city steps. It was a cool place to hang out for a bit, although once you sit down you can’t stand up!
Explore the Old Town of Eivissa
Once you’ve finished exploring Dalt Vila, exit the gates to exploring the cafes, galleries and boutiques of Eivissa Old Town. Head towards the Far d’Eivissa (lighthouse), weaving your way through narrow, cobbled streets. Make sure to find Carrer de la Mare de Deu, a pretty street in the ‘rainbow’ area of town. On the way you’ll no doubt spot classic scenes of clothes drying on balconies, beautiful wooden doorways and painted buildings -lovely!
When you’re ready for lunch then check out the restaurants along strip opposite Port d’Eivissa, admiring any super yachts which might be moored in the marina. Note – we expected to find lots of fresh fish in the restaurants but for some reason didn’t find what we were looking for, so no recommendations for lunch. I think we were looking in the wrong area perhaps?
Hippie heritage statue – look out for the bronze statue by Catalan artist Cio Abeli (2016) of a Hippy and daughter walking on a world map. This statue aims to mark the hippie heritage of Ibiza.
Pacha – pop into the Pacha shop selling merchandise for this iconic super club established in 1973.
Ferries to Formentera – if you want to visit the small neighbouring island of Formentera, then they run regularly from the Port d’Eivissa in Ibiza Town and the journey only takes 30 minutes. Whilst you can easily visit for the day, once you get to Formentera, it is so beautiful that you will wish you had arranged to stay over and explore for longer.
Beyond Ibiza Town (Eivissa)
Platja de Sea Salines (Salt Flats)
Just 11km from Eivissa are the amazing salt flats, Platja de Sea Salines, which are a protected national park and home to many bird species including flamingos.
Salt has been made in Ibiza since around 800 BC although production has ebbed and flowed over the years. Today, salt is still harvested here but not in such great quantities as in the past.
As well as the salt flats, there are a couple of fantastic beaches here, including Las Salinas Beach – a narrow strip of sand 1.5km long and backed by sand dunes. The beach has a couple of beachfront restaurants, including Sa Trinxa which are a pull for beach and party lovers in the summer and can be quite noisy, but fun.
Final thoughts…
We very much enjoyed our visit to Ibiza Town and exploring both Dalt Vila and the colourful streets in the modern part of town near the port and headland. The teenagers were delighted to find a Zara and Carhartt when shopping but also enjoyed looking for local items in the craft shops. Ibiza Town was not particularly big and so we were able to cover good ground in one day and then relax with drinks and food before heading back to the villa.
Our only Ibiza holiday regret was not having booked two weeks with our teenagers, rather than one. It went by all too quickly! Check out my blog How to plan a week in Ibiza with teenagers to see what else we got up to…
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