Dalt Vila Ibiza

The walls of Dalt Vila (which simply means high town! are one of Europe's finest examples of medieval military architecture, so good that they have been declared a Spanish National Monument. Within them, and in the narrow streets of the town below, you will experience a sense of the history of Ibiza.

The walls date from the 16th century, when Carlos (Charles! V decided to reinforce the island's defences against Turkish pirates and the threat they represented of a new Saracen invasion. Charles called in Juan Calvi, the Italian military engineer who had already completed new defences at Mallorca and Barcelona. But though Calvi was responsible for the original design, legend has it that his local foreman, a man known only as EI Fratin, changed the plan frequently, expanding the defences and creating most of what we see today. Around the walls there are seven baluartes (bastions! on which artillery was mounted.

Within the walls are some of Ibiza's most interesting sites and some of its most entertaining streets: any walk is worthwhile, and in almost every square sometimes, it seems, on every corner there is an atmospheric bar or cafe. Here, too, are the best of Ibiza's museums, exploring the history of the island. The Museum of Contemporary Art houses the best of present-day work, but there are several commercial galleries, each of which could be showing the work of tomorrow's masters.