Free Walking Tour Ibiza: Carthaginian Tombs to Dalt Vila

Your Ibiza Walking Tour: Five Stops from Vara de Rey to Ses Taules

1. 1

   Passeig de Vara de Rey

   

   Passeig de Vara de Rey is the promenade of Ibiza's lower town and one of its popular places to stroll: a public walkway with no ticket, no operator and no closing time. There is nothing to go into here, so you simply arrive and your tour has already begun.

   Use these first minutes to set up the morning. Take a look at the clock before you move on, because the inside visits ahead keep morning hours, and the earlier you reach the necropolis, the more relaxed the rest of the walk becomes.

   From here it is 520 m, about 7 minutes, to the Puig des Molins Necropolis, passing the Mercat Nou and the Mercat Vell along the way.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Passeig de Vara de Rey on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Puig des Molins Necropolis

   

   Puig des Molins takes you to the oldest chapter of the town you can actually walk into. Carthaginians settled Ibiza from 654 BC and called it Ybošim, the islands of the god Bes, a name that also covered Formentera and stuck to the town that is Ibiza today. For them the island was a naval base and a strategic stronghold, and they buried their dead in tombs cut directly into the rock.

   What archaeologists found in Ibiza's Carthaginian burial grounds tells you a lot about who these people were. The grave goods are plentiful but modest: terracotta figures, necklaces of glass, bone and ivory beads, and only rarely a gold earring. Carthaginian burials in Cádiz are the opposite, rich in precious objects. The usual explanation is that those buried here were overseers and workers at the trading posts, while the big merchants were taken home to Carthage on the North African coast.

   Look out for images of gods and funerary portraits. They were placed in the tombs so that the spirit of the dead could enter them. A few tombs have survived untouched, but most were robbed long ago, sometimes leaving bones and objects scattered around, which has always made the archaeologists' work harder.

   This is the inside visit to prioritise if ancient history is your thing. It charges an entry fee, with reduced tickets available.

   Next comes a 700 m walk of about 10 minutes to the Museu d'Art Contemporani, passing Placa de la Vila. Keep the Carthaginians in mind: they turn up again inside the museum.

   Hours

   Tue–Thu 9:00–15:00, Fri 9:00–15:00 & 17:00–20:00, Sat 9:00–14:00, Sun 10:00–14:00, Mon closed

   Price

   3 EUR adults, 2 EUR reduced, free under 16

   Website

   maef.eu ↗

   Location

   Puig des Molins Necropolis on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Museu d'Art Contemporani

   

   The Museu d'Art Contemporani d'Eivissa, MACE for short, sits in a building from 1727 in the Dalt Vila area. It opened in 1964 and grew out of the Ibiza Biennial founded that same year. Its permanent collection gathers art made on the islands in the 1960s by artists who came from many different places, and from 1976 until 1979 Marie-Claire Uberquoi was its artistic director.

   From 2007 until 2012 the museum was closed for an expansion costing 4 million euros, more than half of it paid by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. During the works, the builders came across archaeological remains from the 7th century BC, the oldest found on Ibiza. Instead of covering them up, the museum gave them a space of their own. So shortly after the necropolis you meet the island's first settlers again, this time inside a contemporary art museum.

   Today the museum has three levels, a ground floor and two floors underground, plus a reading and documentation centre. It reopened on 27 April 2012 with an exhibition of Miquel Barceló and Barry Flanagan. Look for the posters from Carl van der Voort's former gallery, which he donated in 1997, and the prints from the Ibizagrafic competition, which explored traditional printmaking alongside new technology.

   Entry is free, so even twenty minutes here is worth it, and the ancient remains make it a good stop for history fans as much as for art lovers.

   From here it is 750 m, about 12 minutes, to Ibiza Cathedral.

   Local name

   Museu d'Art Contemporani d'Eivissa

   Hours

   Mon: Closed | Tue–Fri: 10:00–16:30 | Sat–Sun: 10:00–14:00

   Price

   Free

   Website

   eivissa.es ↗

   Location

   Museu d'Art Contemporani on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Ibiza Cathedral

   

   Ibiza Cathedral, the Catedral d'Eivissa, is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows, Santa María de las Nieves. Together with the fortifications and the old town of Dalt Vila, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.

   After the Kingdom of Aragon under James I took the island back from the Moors in 1235, a bishop's church was to be built, as agreed in advance. At first the builders may have kept using the mosque that stood at the highest point of the town; the real work probably started later in the 13th century, and the church was only finished in the 14th. Oddly, no bishop was appointed. For centuries the parish belonged to the Archdiocese of Tarragona, and Ibiza only became a diocese of its own on 30 April 1782, under Pope Pius VI.

   The church has a single nave and mixes styles: a late Romanesque bell tower, a Gothic body and Baroque features. Take a good look at the bell tower. It is trapezoid in plan, stands unusually on the south side of the apse and was probably also used as a watchtower. Inside, the vaulted nave and its side chapels were heavily remodelled in the 18th century, including the chapel of St Cyriacus, which tradition says was completed shortly after the reconquest.

   Entering the church is free. The sacristy museum, the Diocesan Museum, charges a small fee; add it if you find it open and want more than the church itself.

   The last stretch is 600 m, about 9 minutes, to the Portal de ses Taules, through Dalt Vila, along the City Walls of Eivissa and past the Archaeological Museum of Ibiza and Formentera.

   Local name

   Catedral d'Eivissa

   Hours

   Diocesan Museum (sacristy museum): Tue–Sat 10:00–14:00

   Price

   Free (Church), 3 EUR for Museum of Sacristy

   Website

   obispadodeibiza.es ↗

   Location

   Ibiza Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Portal de ses Taules

   

   The Portal de ses Taules is the main entrance to the walled old town, set between the bastions of Sant Joan and Santa Llúcia. It was built between 1584 and 1585, when King Philip II had the town walled, partly to protect the island from pirate attacks.

   Look up at the plaque above the gate: it proclaimed Philip II's claim to rule over the Balearic Islands. On either side stand two statues. These are replicas; the Roman marble originals are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Ibiza.

   The approach you use today dates from 1888, when the moat in front of the gate was given a drawbridge with wooden planks and a paved ramp. The gate is a protected monument, free and open at all hours, so you can come back for a second look in the evening.

   This is where the tour ends, with Dalt Vila behind you. If you want to return to Passeig de Vara de Rey, the GPS navigation takes you there.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Portal de ses Taules on Google Maps ↗

Shorter Ways to Walk Ibiza Town

Not every day suits the full route. These three versions keep the walk logical and tell you what each one costs.

Dalt Vila only

Stops: 3, 4, 5

For anyone short on time who wants the walled old town. From the Museu d'Art Contemporani to Ibiza Cathedral and on to the Portal de ses Taules is 21 minutes of walking. The museum and the church are free; only the sacristy museum charges entry.

Lower town and the Carthaginians

Stops: 1, 2

For ancient history fans with a free hour in the morning. Passeig de Vara de Rey to the Puig des Molins Necropolis is a 7 minute walk, and the necropolis is the only ticket you need.

The whole route without paid entries

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

For a tight budget: walk all 39 minutes, see the necropolis from outside, go into the free art museum and the cathedral church, and skip the sacristy museum. Nothing on this version costs a cent.

How Long Does This Ibiza Walk Take?

Pure walking time is 39 minutes over 2.6 km. Add the visits worth making, about an hour at the necropolis, 45 minutes in the art museum, half an hour for the cathedral and its sacristy museum and a few minutes at each end, and you are at roughly three hours.

A morning runs like this: arrive at Passeig de Vara de Rey at 9:30 and leave at 9:40, reach the necropolis at 9:47 and stay until 10:45, arrive at the museum at 10:55 and leave at 11:40, reach the cathedral at 11:52, set off again at 12:25 and stand at the Portal de ses Taules at 12:34.

The Dalt Vila version takes a little under two hours with its visits, the lower town version about an hour and a quarter, and the version without paid entries about two hours.

Before You Set Off in Ibiza

• Start and finish: The recommended start is Passeig de Vara de Rey, and the walk ends at the Portal de ses Taules. You can join at any stop. If you want to return to the start afterwards, the GPS navigation in your browser leads you back.
• Best day and time: Start in the morning, when the necropolis, the art museum and the cathedral's sacristy museum are open. They do not all open every day of the week, so pick a day when all three are open.
• Costs: Passeig de Vara de Rey, the Portal de ses Taules, the Museu d'Art Contemporani and the cathedral church are free. Puig des Molins Necropolis and the cathedral's sacristy museum charge entry, with reduced tickets at the necropolis.

Common Questions About Walking Ibiza Town