Page 516 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

514  SP AIN ’ S ISLANDS

Ibiza

This small island, the nearest of the Balearics to the coast of
Spain, was unknown and untouched by tourism until the 1960s,
when it suddenly appeared in Europe’s holiday brochures
along with Benidorm and Torremolinos. There is still a curious,
indefinable magic about Ibiza town (Eivissa) and the island
has not lost its character. The countryside, particularly in the
north, is a rural patchwork of groves of almonds, olives and
figs, and wooded hills. Ibiza town, on the other hand, retains
the air of a 1950s Spanish provincial borough. At once package-
tour paradise, hippie hideout and glamour hot spot, this is
one of the Mediterranean’s mythical destinations.
An Ibizan shepherdess
acces sible view of this enormous
rock, take the coastal road to the
sandy cove of Cala d’Hort, where
there are a number of good
restaurants and a quiet beach.
Environs
Before tourism, salt was
Ibiza’s main industry, most of it
coming from the salt flats at Ses
Salines in the southeast corner
of the island. Mainland Spain is
the chief consumer of this salt,
but much goes to the Faroe
The bustling harbour of the resort of Sant Antoni Islands and Scandinavia for
salting fish. Ses Salines is also
1 Sant Antoni 2 Sant Josep an important refuge for birds,
including the flamingo. Es
Baleares. * 17,500. @ g Baleares. * 13,500. n Plaça Església
n Passeig de Ses Fonts, 971 34 s/n, 971 80 16 27. _ Sant Josep (19 Cavallet, 3 km (2 miles) east,
33 63. _ Sant Antoni (17 Jan), Sant Mar). ∑ ibiza.travel is an unspoiled stretch of soft,
Bartolomé (24 Aug). ∑ ibiza.travel white sand. The Phoenician
The village of Sant Josep, the village of Sa Caleta is a UNESCO
Ibiza’s second town, Sant Antoni administrative centre of south­ World Heritage Site.
was known by the Romans as west Ibiza, lies in the shadow
Portus Magnus because of its of Ibiza’s highest mountain.
large natural harbour. Formerly At 475 m (1,560 ft), Sa Talaiassa 3 Ibiza (Eivissa)
a tiny fish ing village, it has offers a panorama of all Ibiza, Baleares. * 35,000. k @ g
turned into a sprawling and including the islet of Es Vedrá, n Plaza de la Catedral, 971 39 92 32.
exuberant resort. Although it rising from the sea like a rough­ ( Mon–Sat. _ San Juan Bautista
was once notoriously over­ cut pyramid. For the most (24 Jun), Fiestas Patronales (1–8 Aug).
commercialized, the town ∑ eivissa.es
has undergone a dramatic
face­lift. Nevertheless, the The old quarter of Ibiza town,
14th­century parish church known as Eivissa in Catalan, is a
of Sant Antoni is practically miniature citadel guarding the
marooned in a sea of modern mouth of the almost circular
high­rise hotels. bay. The Portal de ses Taules,
To the north of Sant Antoni, a magnificent gateway in the
on the road to Cala Salada, is north wall of the 16th­century
the chapel of Santa Agnès, an fortifications, carries the finely
unusual early Christian tem ple carved coat of arms of the
(not to be confused with the kingdom of Aragón, to which
village of the same name). the Balearic Islands belonged
When this catacomb­like cha pel in the Middle Ages (see p231).
was discovered, in 1907, it Inside the walls is the 16th­
contained Moorish weapons The salt lakes of Ses Salines, a haven for century Església de Santo
and fragments of pottery. many bird species Domingo with its three
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp574–5 and pp602–4

514-515_EW_Spain.indd 514 10/11/2017 09:47
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.1)
Date 5th December 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm