Photos of Things to See in Ibiza, Spain

Partial morning moon above the wall at the Castle of Ibiza.

If you’ve ever heard of Ibiza, Spain, mentioned in a casual conversation, the references most likely centered around this Balearic Isle’s reputation as party central for the uber rich and thin. I suppose youth plays a factor as well, but you might be amazed at how many clubbers are over 30. When we set out to find things to see in Ibiza, Spain, partying wasn’t even on our menu of must-do activities. Heck, we can’t stay up that late.

Ibiza’s sister island, Formentera (horizon upper right), is 35 minutes away via the fast ferry.

Our cruise ship dropped us off in town at the harbor where the fast ferry zips partygoers over to Ibiza’s sister island, Formentera, in about 35 minutes. I’m not sure why anybody would feel the need to escape Ibiza to party on another island, but I guess there is a good reason for it. Formentera is much smaller and is known for its gorgeous beaches. I suppose if you’ve already seen all of the things to see in Ibiza, you might opt for more adventure away from the hustle and bustle of prying eyes known as your friends and family.

Between the two historic towers in Ibiza is a residential building with a nightclub on the first floor.

There are many nightclubs in Ibiza that stay open until the wee hours of the morning, like 5 AM. It’s expensive to attend some of the parties held at these clubs; for example, you’re looking at 20 to 50 euros just to get in the door and 20 euros a cocktail. We missed the party F**K Me I’m Rich but that sounded like a rip-roaring time. Our guide told us there is a nightclub in this white residential building pictured above, flanked by the two centuries-old towers, and the residents can’t sleep at night because of the noise, but it’s the price they pay to live at this location.

View of the port’s harbor and Ibiza Town from a tapas restaurant up the hill, Restaurante Plaza del Sol.

Restaurants dot the cobbled street leading down the hill into Ibiza Town. We stopped to nibble on tapas and sip a refreshing watermelon cocktail with our tour group. Our guide said we were free to buy more tapas, so Adam and I selected a number of plates. The next time we looked up, our guide and group had left. We had so much food in front of us that we couldn’t finish it all. The tapas plates were much more generous portions than we get in Sacramento.

There was only one thing to do. Have another cocktail and then realize we were out of time and needed to dash down the hill lest we missed the bus back to the ship.

Succulents displayed on stone window ledge near Ibiza Castle

Along the way, we stopped to shoot photos of interesting elements. We stopped to look in the glass doors of a church and I spotted a sign in Spanish. The sign read something like: la puerta es siempre cerrado. I was so pleased with myself that I could figure it out. My Spanish lessons had paid off. I knew it said the door should always stay closed. So I stopped yanking on it.

The castle of Ibiza, known as Eivissa, sits above Ibiza Town.

Many of the photographs I shot of things to see in Ibiza were taken during our walk down the hill from the Ibiza Castle, a Unesco World Site, which you can see in the background. This fortress is comprised of several buildings, a military building, and a governor’s house. The views from the top are tremendous. Fortunately, we did not have to walk up the hill, only down.

We spotted a home for sale but there were no flyers, and no price posted. Just a telephone number. I was tempted to call it but then realized I had no cell coverage. The village on the hill is in Ibiza Old Town, called Dalt Vila. It features cobbled streets with all the homes tucked away behind large stone walls with tall doors.

I couldn’t help myself when we got back to the ship, and I looked up homes in Dalt Vila, Ibiza. My favorite is a 10,000 square foot palace with 7 bedrooms for 9.500.000 euros. You can take the Sacramento Realtor out of Sacramento and give her things to see in Ibiza, but you can’t take the real estate away.

Elizabeth Weintraub and Adam Weintraub castle a shadow on pocketed pavement in Ibiza.

The sun cast long showers as we walked downhill, along the winding calles. When I noticed our shadow, I pulled Adam next to me and shot this photograph. We don’t look nearly so fat as we do pictured as conjoined twins. I was gonna use the term siamese twins but I googled it and yup, it’s offensive.