The municipality that holds Ibiza Town.

A municipality of its own

Ibiza Town is not only the capital. It is a municipality in its own right, one of five on the island, with a boundary that runs north-east along the coast and then inland over low hills and terraces. It is the smallest of the five and the most urban, yet most of its land is still countryside: umbrella pine, dry stone walls, smallholdings and fig trees, and a few quiet roads that lead nowhere in particular.

What separates Eivissa from the rest of the island is density and use. Sant Antoni has the sunset and the long bar strip, Sant Josep has the big western coves, Santa Eulària has the family resorts. This municipality has the port, the ferry traffic, the working year-round town and the offices, and it keeps a quieter coast once you are past Talamanca. It is also the easiest of the five in winter, when the town keeps working after the coast closes.

The town and its edges

The built-up area runs from the port along the waterfront and up the hill. Around it sit the newer neighbourhoods, the ferry terminal and the bus station that connect the whole island. Dalt Vila, the walled upper town, is covered on its own page: the 16th-century Renaissance walls, the cathedral at the top and the lanes between them. Talamanca, the long sandy bay east of the port, has one too, on the beach and the walk round to the marina.

There are no separate villages inside the boundary. The municipality is the town and its edges: the marina and Sa Penya around the port, the long seafront at Figueretes, the beach at Talamanca and the low ground between them. Away from the water the streets climb towards Dalt Vila and the modern town spreads inland, with the ring roads that carry traffic to the rest of the island. Everything here is close together, and the water is never far away.

Beaches and coves

Swimming inside the municipality is concentrated in two places. Figueretes has a town beach with a promenade behind it, easy to reach on foot from the centre and busy in the evening. Talamanca is the long bay to the east, shallow for a long way out, with the pine and the low hills behind it and the city skyline at one end. Both face the same water and share the same season.

Below Dalt Vila the rock drops straight into the water and there is no beach, only the walls and the boat traffic. For sand you go north to Talamanca or south along the Figueretes front; for the small coves and the clear water that people come to Ibiza for, you leave the municipality and drive. The nearest of those are a short run up the coast, and a car or a bus makes that easy.

• FigueretesTown beach with a promenade, walkable from the centre and busiest late in the day.
• TalamancaLong shallow bay east of the port, with pine behind and the town at one end.
• Below Dalt VilaRock and deep water, no beach; better for looking than for swimming.
• Further covesThe small north-east coves lie beyond the municipal boundary and need a car or bus.

Nature and protected land

The Posidonia oceanica meadows that fill the water between Ibiza and Formentera are the reason the sea here is that colour. They are a flowering seagrass, not seaweed, and they grow from the shallows to about 30-40 m. They are protected, anchoring over them is regulated by a Balearic decree, and summer moorings in some bays are on buoys rather than anchors. The same meadows are part of the UNESCO listing that covers the town.

On land the municipality is small and mostly built on or farmed, but protected land begins at its edges. Ses Salines Natural Park covers the south of Ibiza, the north of Formentera and the sea between them; salt is still harvested there. The birds that use the salt pans and the shallow water move along this coast, and the back of Talamanca is the closest place to see that meeting point of town and wetland.

Culture and history

Ibiza's UNESCO listing, granted in 1999, is unusual because it joins culture and nature in one site. It takes in the fortified upper town of Dalt Vila, the Phoenician settlement of Sa Caleta, the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Puig des Molins and the posidonia meadows and coastal ecosystems between Ibiza and Formentera. Two of those stand inside the town, and the third, the water, begins at the foot of the walls.

Culture here is not confined to monuments. Catalan and Spanish are both official, place names are signed in Catalan, and eivissenc is the local form of the language spoken on the island. The town has a population that stays through the year, so the calendar does not stop in November: the market, the library, the church year and the everyday business of a small city carry on while the beaches empty. Much of that life happens in the lanes below Dalt Vila.

The walls above the port and the meadows below it belong to a single listing.

Food and markets

The food of the town follows the water. Fish stew with potato and saffron, rice cooked in a wide pan, grilled fish, and the winter dishes of pork, cabbage and chickpeas that come from the interior. Almonds, olives, figs and the small dry-farmed grapes belong to the same landscape. Restaurants in the centre run from the everyday to the very expensive, and the difference is not always visible from the street.

Markets are where the municipality meets the rest of the island. The covered market in the town centre sells fish, meat, fruit and vegetables through the year, and the hippy markets that visitors ask about are further up the coast at Es Canar and Sant Carles, both in the neighbouring municipality. Both run in season only; check current days before going. In winter the town eats what the island grows and what the boats bring in, and the menus get shorter.

Getting there and around

Ibiza Airport sits about 7 km south-west of the town, in the municipality of Sant Josep, and the straight-line distance between the two is shown on this page. Buses run between the airport and Ibiza Town, Sant Antoni, Santa Eulària and the south beaches, with more lines in summer; the island bus operator publishes the current timetable. From the port, ferries leave for Formentera, Palma, Barcelona, Valencia and Dénia, and Sant Antoni has mainland routes in season.

Within the town, walking is the sensible way: the centre is compact, the streets around the port are narrow and parking is limited and regulated. Buses cover the beaches and the rest of the island from stops near the port and the ring road. For the coves and the interior a car or a scooter helps, but the vehicle rules and the parking restrictions change; check the Consell d'Eivissa before you hire.

Who should stay here

Eivissa suits travellers who want a town rather than a resort: a base with pavements, a year-round population, ferries within walking distance and buses to the rest of the island. It also suits anyone visiting out of season, when the town is the only part of Ibiza still fully awake. It suits less if the picture in your head is a cove with two houses and no road. For that, look at the west or the north coast.

Where you sleep changes the stay. The centre and the streets around the port put everything on foot, at the cost of noise at night. Figueretes is a step quieter and has the beach across the road. Talamanca is the calmest option and still close, with the water in front and the town behind. There are 117 stays listed on this site across these areas. Book early in July and August; in winter, check that the place you want is open at all.

• The centreEverything on foot, with the port, the buses and the market close by.
• FigueretesA quieter seafront with the beach across the road and the centre walkable.
• TalamancaThe calmest option, with the long bay in front and the town behind.
• Out of seasonThe part of Ibiza that stays awake from November to April.

When to go

Sea temperature runs from about 14-15 °C in February and March to about 25-26 °C in August, easing back to 23-25 °C in September. The comfortable swimming months are June to October. July and August are hot, crowded and expensive; June, September and early October give the same water with fewer people. May is warm on land and still cool in the water, and Easter is busy but unpredictable in the weather.

From roughly November to April much of the island's tourism business closes: many hotels, beach bars, boat trips, seasonal buses and many restaurants. The main towns stay open, and Eivissa is one of them, with the port, the market, the schools and the everyday life of a small city. Flights and ferries are fewer; check the operators for the winter timetable and never assume a seasonal place will be open at all.

• JuneWarm sea, long days and fewer people than in high summer.
• SeptemberWater still at its warmest and the season winding down.
• WinterQuiet, with lower rates in places, and much of the coast shut.
• EasterBusy, unpredictable weather, and the season starting up again.