You can tour all of Formentera in a day by scooter, but it deserves more time to explore its villages and remote corners calmly.
The villages
- Sant Francesc Xavier, the capital: the fortified church of 1726, built as a refuge from pirates, with thick, windowless walls, the small 14th-century chapel of Sa Tanca Vella, the ethnological museum, the market and the cafés on the square.
- La Savina, the port, with its marina and views over the lagoons.
- Es Pujols, the resort centre, with a seafront promenade, bars and an evening market.
- Sant Ferran de ses Roques, with its church and the Fonda Pepe, a historic hippie haunt in the 1960s.
- El Pilar de la Mola, on the eastern plateau, with its church and craft market, held on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons in summer.
The lighthouses
- La Mola lighthouse, from 1861, on the edge of a cliff over a hundred metres high, said to have inspired Jules Verne. Next to it is a monument to the writer.
- Cap de Barbaria lighthouse, at the southern tip, in an arid, lunar landscape, reached on foot or by bike from the last car park. Nearby is the Cova Foradada, a cave opening onto a sheer drop to the sea.
History
- The Ca na Costa megalithic tomb, near Es Pujols, a circle of large stones about 4,000 years old, the island's oldest monument.
- The Roman castellum of Can Blai, the remains of a 4th-century fort.
- The 18th-century defence towers, such as Torre des Garroveret at Cap de Barbaria, Torre de sa Gavina and Torre des Pi des Català, built against pirate raids.
- Windmills, such as the Molí Vell de la Mola, a reminder of traditional farming.
Other curiosities
- The Cova d'en Xeroni, a cave with stalactites discovered by chance while digging a well.
- The salt pans of Ses Salines, worked until 1984.
- The Pou des Verro and the old escars, the fishermen's boat ramps.
See also nature and hiking and traditions and crafts.