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SPAIN | Ibiza, Spain Travel Guide
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Ibiza Town
Ibiza Town (Eivissa)
It is hard to leave Ibiza Town, the Balearic Islands’ most free-spirited, fun-loving destination. D’Alt Vila, the inspiring medieval neighborhood of Ibiza Town, rides high up a promontory overlooking the bay. Cobble streets are steep and worn smooth through the ages; views over the bay are stunning from any one of the numerous perches looking out over the battlement walls. Entrance from the newer, lower part of town around the port is via the Portal Nou or through the Portal de Tablas, a far steeper ascent but well worth it to pass through its ancient draw bridge. The latter portal leads into the central Plaza de Vila adjoining the Catedral de las Nieves. Also within the walls of the medieval neighborhood is the Archaeological Museum of Ibiza, with a collection of the island’s relics dating to the Phoenician times. Museum of Contemporary Art showcases local island artists from the 1960s to the present.
Down around the water, Sa Penya is the action district of Ibiza Town, lined with shops, stands, restaurants and plenty more to do nestling right up to the base of D’Alt Vila. The Paseo Vara de Rey is the central grooving grounds of Sa Penya. Around it, the streets of Calle de La Virgén and Calle de Pou are known for their lively exuberance as the sun sets. Sa Penya ends at the waters of the bay, where a pedestrian promenade is a good place for gawking at the houses so often captured in Ibiza Town postcards.
Ibiza’s Hippy Markets
The hippies that started filtering into Ibiza in the 1960s to live around its undeveloped beaches haven’t all been displaced on the island (their presence is somewhat outmoded by the upscale partiers and DJs who now own Ibiza’s reputation). From May-Oct., Es Caná, near the resort of Santa Eulalia is the site of one of the island’s two hippy markets. Compared to Spain’s more traditional markets, these are something out of a Tom Wolfe novel: incense fills the air, drums are pounded on, and baby barefoot hippies run around while their parents sell some pretty cool wares. Stuff you’ll see is blown glass, handmade clothing, jewelry and leather goods. A smaller market is held in Las Dalias near San Carlos every Saturday. Let’s not talk about the stuff you’ll smell.
San Antonio’s Sunset Bars
Maybe you’ve heard or had one of the Chillout CDs that come out of Ibiza. Along the promenade of San Antonio’s Bay of Calo des Moro, the Café del Mar and, more recently, the Café Savannah and Coastline Café, have been the inspiration for the growing popularity of ambient house music. Since the 1980s, tourists and locals have been piling in to these cafés just before sunset to watch the colors splay out over the bay while DJs spin soothing melodies, rhythmic house compilations. CDs of this stuff were long circulated in the turntable crowds, but recently they’ve materialized on music store shelves throughout Europe and the US. You can buy the music at these cafés (where a vodka limón is always a good drink to try), or once back in the streets of Barcelona and Madrid pick up a burned copy from the street vendors for €2.
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