Dalt Vila, Ibiza Town

Behind the port, Ibiza's old town climbs inside a ring of angled sixteenth century bastions built by Italian engineers, the earth-filled kind designed to absorb cannon fire rather than tower over it. You enter up a stone ramp through the Portal de ses Taules, past Roman statues set into the gateway, and from there the lanes narrow and steepen between whitewashed houses to the cathedral and castle terrace at the top. The views take in the harbour, the salt flats and Formentera on the horizon. The same UNESCO listing covers the Phoenician cemetery at Puig des Molins below and the seagrass meadows offshore, which is an unusual pairing of town and marine nature.

What to look for

• The bastioned walls - angled Renaissance ramparts you can walk along in stretches.
• Portal de ses Taules - the ramped main gate with Roman statues set into it.
• The cathedral terrace - the top of the climb, looking over the harbour to Formentera.
• Puig des Molins - the Phoenician cemetery hillside and its museum below the walls.

When to go

Late spring and early autumn: the climb is punishing in July and August and there is almost no shade on the ramparts. Early morning or the hour before sunset gives the best light and the fewest people. Museums keep short and seasonal hours, and several close on Mondays and through winter.

Good to know

It is a steep climb on polished cobbles that get slippery, and there is no easy way to avoid the gradient. In season the lanes fill with cruise passengers by day and the port below is loud until dawn. Parking near the gates is effectively impossible from June to September, and prices in the upper town are set for visitors.

Nearby

Ses Salines salt flats and beaches, the Formentera ferry and the north of the island.