LA MARINA IBIZA

Though this is really a part of old Eivissa and therefore just an extension of Sa Penya , there is a world of difference between the rundown streets and houses of Penya and the upmarket boutiques of fashionable La Marina. The difference, of course, is money that of the entrepreneurs who have renovated the area and opened the shops, the cafes and the terrace bars, and that of the visitors who throng the narrow streets But great though La Marina is for shopping it is probably the best place on the island for just about everything it is even better for people watching. It seems that for many visitors to La Marina it is better to be seen than to see: the exotic eye-catching outfits of the shoppers or strollers offer free entertainment to anyone with the price of a coffee and an hour to spare.

La Marina is very compact from the seafront cafes to the walls of Dalt Vila or the market square is less than 200m so all of it can be examined in detail in a couple of hours, but if you are really pressed for time head for the four short, parallel streets of Rimbau, Bisbe Torres, Azaria and Arubal to find the best the area has to offer.

NEWTOWN

Close to La Marina is the newest part of Eivissa. Head for the Paseo Vara de Rey in the centre of which stands the monument to one of Ibiza's most famous sons. Here, too, are the Tourist Information Office and, opposite, Eivissa's best bookshop, which also sells foreign language newspapers. The wide, elegant Paseo is well named, the Ibizencos, particularly the young, coming here for the evening's paseo.