Page 517 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

THE BALEARIC ISLANDS  515

red-tiled domes. The Baroque
interior, with its barrel-vaulted
ceiling and frescoed walls, has
been restored to its former
glory. Works of art by Erwin
Bechtold, Barry Flanagan and
other artists connected with
Ibiza are on display in the
Museu d’Art Contemporani,
just inside the Portal de ses
Taules. Crowning the whole
Dalt Vila is the cathedral, a
13th-century Catalan Gothic
building with 18th-century
additions. The cathedral’s
Museu Diocesà houses assorted
works of art. A backstreet in the Sa Penya district of Ibiza town
Under the Carthaginians,
the soil of Ibiza was considered of a Franciscan monastery, it has 450 m (1,480 ft) – the area’s
holy. The citizens of Carthage a 16th-century altarpiece by inacces sibility has kept it
deemed it an honour to be Rodrigo de Osona the Younger. unspoiled. There are few special
buried in the Necrópolis Púnica sights here, apart from the land-
del Puig des Molins. Part of it E Museu d’Art Contemporani scape: pine-clad hills shelter ing
can be visited by the public. Ronda Narcís Puget s/n. Tel 971 30 27 fertile valleys whose rich red
The crossroads village of 23. Open Tue–Sun. Closed Mon & soil is planted with olive,
Jesús, 3 km (2 miles) north, is public hols. & 7 almond and fig trees, and the
worth a visit for its 16th-century T Necrópolis Púnica del occasional vineyard. Tourist
church. Originally built as part Puig des Molins enclaves are scarce, except for
Via Romana 31. Tel 971 30 17 71. a handful of small resorts, such
Open Tue–Sun. Closed Mon & public as Port de Sant Miquel, Portinatx
hols. ∑ maef.es and Sant Vicenç. Inland, villages
like Sant Joan and Santa Agnès
offer an insight into Ibiza’s
4 Els Amunts quiet, rural past.
The architectural high points
Baleares. @ Sant Miquel. n Els
Amunts Interpretation Centre, of northern Ibiza are several
Carretera Sant Llorenç s/n, Sant Joan beautiful white churches, like
de Labritja, 971 32 51 41. the one in Sant Miquel, which,
on Thursdays in summer, is host
Els Amunts is the local name for to a display of Ibizan folk dancing.
the uplands of northern Ibiza, Outside Sant Llorenç is the tran-
which stretch from Sant Antoni quil, fortified hamlet of Balàfia,
on the west coast to Sant Vicenç with flat-roofed houses, tiny
in the northeast. Though hardly white washed alleys, and a watch-
A view across the port towards Ibiza’s a mountain range – Es Fornás is tower that was used as a fortress
upper town the high est point, at a mere during raids by the Turks.
Ibiza’s Hottest Spots
Ibiza’s reputation for extraordinary summer
nightlife is largely justified. The main action takes
place in the Calle de la Virgen in the old harbour
district, with its bars, fashion boutiques and
restaurants; and the mega-discos out of town –
Privilege, Pachá, Amnesia, Es Paradis and, perhaps
the wildest of them all, Space. Some of them
close as late as 7am. (Most clubs close during
winter.) Ibiza has long been a magnet for the
rich and famous. Celebrities seem to be more
elusive of late, but well-known faces can still
be glimpsed dining in Heart Ibiza, being seen
at Ocean Beach Club day or night, or soaking
up the rays on the beach at Ses Salines. Nightclubbers enjoying a bubble bath at Amnesia

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