Ibiza town (Eivissa), with about 55,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the island of Ibiza and its main port. Founded by the Phoenicians in 654 BC as Ibosim, it was later Carthaginian, Roman, Moorish and Catalan, and each era left its mark (see the history of Ibiza).
Dalt Vila
Dalt Vila, the "upper town", is the walled historic centre, a UNESCO site. Its Renaissance walls, among the best preserved in the Mediterranean, were built in the sixteenth century under Charles V and Philip II by Italian engineers Giovanni Battista Calvi and Jacopo Paleazzo Fratín, to defend the town from pirates and Turks. You enter through the Portal de ses Taules, with its Roman statues, and climb cobbled lanes between white houses to the cathedral of Santa Maria de les Neus, Gothic with a Baroque interior, and the castle. Along the way are the Museum of Contemporary Art, in former barracks, the Archaeological Museum, bastions with views of the port and Formentera, and squares full of restaurants, such as Plaça de Vila.
The Phoenician necropolis
At the foot of Dalt Vila, Puig des Molins is one of the largest Phoenician-Punic necropolises in the Mediterranean, with thousands of rock-cut tombs and a museum displaying figurines of the goddess Tanit and grave goods.
The Marina and Sa Penya
Below the walls lies La Marina, the old quarter of fishermen and traders, now full of shops selling adlib, the white Ibizan fashion born in the 1970s, boutiques, bars and restaurants. The Sa Penya quarter, with colourful houses on the rocks, was the fishermen's refuge. Yachts and ferries dock in the port, and in the evening the streets fill with people and club promotion parades.
Beaches and nearby
The nearest beaches are Talamanca, within walking distance, and Figueretes; just south is Platja d'en Bossa, the long beach of the big clubs and beach clubs (see beaches and nightlife). Marina Botafoch and Ibiza Nueva harbour host luxury yachts (see glamour).
Practical information
The airport is 7 km away, linked by bus and taxi. Ferries leave the port for Formentera, the mainland and Palma. Wear comfortable shoes for Dalt Vila: the climbs are steep.