59 Best Sights in Ibiza and the Balearic Islands, Spain

The permanent collection includes many drawings and studies by Catalan artist, Joan Miró, who spent his last years on Mallorca, but it exhibits far fewer finished paintings and sculptures than the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona. While the exhibits are fairly limited, the setting and views of Palma are worth the detour.

Off the south coast of Mallorca, this verdant isle is one of the last unspoiled places in the Mediterranean—the largest of the 19 islands of Cabrera Archipelago. To protect its dramatic landscape, varied wildlife, and lush vegetation, it was declared a national park in 1991. Throughout its history, Cabrera has had its share of visitors, from the Romans to the Arabs. The only intact historical remains are those of a 14th-century castle overlooking the harbor. Tours are operated daily by the Marcabrera company. Boats depart from Colònia Sant Jordi port, 47 km (29 miles) southeast of Palma. Tours, with a stop to swim or snorkel in the mysterious Cueva Azul (Blue Cave) start from €51; two-and-a-half-hour excursions by speedboat, leaving three times a day, between 1 and 5, are €60.

Here's a sound you don't often hear in the interior of Mallorca: the rush of falling water. The irrigation system in these gardens nourishes around 40 varieties of trees, climbers, and flowering shrubs. A 17th-century manor house, furnished with antiques and painted panels, has a collection of original documents that chronicles the history of the estate.

This church has a fine painted and gilded altarpiece. Adjoining the church are the cloisters, now a market, with stalls selling fresh produce and a variety of local cheeses and sausages. The central courtyard is a venue for cultural events throughout the year.

From a passage on the left side of Ciutadella's columned and crenellated ajuntament (town hall) on the west side of the Plaça des Born, steps lead up to this observation deck. From here you can survey the harbor.

On the road south from Deià to Valldemossa, this monastery was founded in 1276 by Ramón Llull, who established a school of Asian languages here. It was bought in 1872 by the archduke Luis Salvador and restored as a mirador. Explore the garden and the tiny cloister, then walk through the olive groves to a spectacular lookout. Opening hours can be unpredictable. 

Just inside the old city portal arch, this museum houses a collection of paintings, sculpture, and photography from 1959 to the present. The scope of the collection is international, but the emphasis is on artists who were born or lived in Ibiza during their careers. There isn't much explanatory material in English, however. There is also an underground archaeological site in the basement, some of which dates back as far as the 6th century BC.

A few steps from the north archway of the Plaça Major is the Museu Fundación Juan March. This fine little museum was established to display what had been a private collection of modern Spanish art. The building itself was a sumptuous private home built in the 18th century. The second and third floors were redesigned to accommodate a series of small galleries, with one or two works at most—by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Juan Gris, Salvador Dalí, Antoni Tàpies, and Miquel Barceló, among others—on each wall.

Reopened in 2022, this city museum recounts Ciutadella's past via artifacts from prehistoric, Roman and medieval times, including records of land grants made by Alfons III to the local nobility after defeating the Moors. Formerly located in an ancient defense tower, Bastió de Sa Font (Bastion of the Fountain), it now occupies roomier surroundings in the noble house of Can Saura. 

Opposite Palma's cathedral, this palace was originally an Arab citadel, then became the residence of the ruling house during the Middle Ages. It's now a military headquarters and the king's official residence when he's in Mallorca. Audio guides cost €4.

Try to catch the changing of the Honor Guard ceremony, which takes place in front of the palace at noon on the last Saturday of the month (7.30 pm in July and August).

This is the only noble house in Ciutadella that's open to the public, albeit at limited times, and you can view five rooms of the palace and the interior garden. The coats of arms on the ceiling are those of the families Salort (sal and ort, a salt pit and a garden) and Martorell (a marten). Opening hours are irregular so best to check in advance. 

The block-long 19th-century Palau Torresaura was built by the Baron of Torresaura, one of the noble families from Aragón and Catalonia that moved to Menorca after it was captured from the Moors in the 13th century. The interesting facade faces the plaza, though the entrance is on the side street. It is not open to the public.

Behind the church of Santa María, this plaza has a statue of Alfonso III of Aragón, who wrested the island from the Moors in 1287.

A crafts market fills this elegant neoclassical space from 10–2 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings during most of the year (usually April-Dec). Until 1838, this was the local headquarters of the Inquisition. A flight of steps on the east side of the Plaça Major leads down to La Rambla, a pleasant promenade lined with flower stalls.

Ciutadella's port is accessible from steps that lead down from Carrer de Sant Sebastià. The waterfront here is lined with seafood restaurants, some of which burrow into caverns far under Plaça des Born.

At the end of Carrer Rector Mort, this massive gate is the only surviving portion of the 14th-century city walls. They were rebuilt in 1587 to protect the city from the pirate Barbarossa (Redbeard).

On the seafront west of the Plaça de la Reina, the 15th-century Llotja connects via an interior courtyard to the Consolat de Mar (Maritime Consulate). With its decorative turrets, pointed battlements, fluted pillars, and Gothic stained-glass windows—part fortress, part church—it attests to the wealth Mallorca achieved in its heyday as a Mediterranean trading power. The interior (the Merchants' Chamber) often hosts free art exhibitions.

The roof of this 17th-century church is an irregular arrangement of tile domes. It is worth visiting for the fresco paintings on the main nave, created by the Mallorcan painter Matas in 1884, and for the chapels. The nearby ajuntament (town hall) is housed in the former monastery of the church.

Carrer de la Cadena leads to this imposing Gothic church, where, in 1435, 200 Jews were forced to convert to Christianity after their rabbis were threatened with being burned at the stake.

This 13th-century gothic church was rebuilt in the 18th century, during the British occupation, and restored again after being sacked during the Spanish Civil War. The church's pride is its 3,006-pipe baroque organ, imported from Austria in 1810. Organ concerts are given Monday to Saturday at 11 am, from May to October. The altar, and the half-domed chapels on either side, have exceptional frescoes.

La Moreneta, also known as La Virgen Negra de Lluc (the Black Virgin of Lluc), is a votary statue of the Virgin Mary that's held in a 17th-century church, the center of this sanctuary complex (where you can even stay overnight). The museum has an eclectic collection of prehistoric and Roman artifacts, ceramics, paintings, textiles, folk costumes, votive offerings, Nativity scenes, and work by local artists. Between September and June, a children's choir sings psalms in the chapel daily at 1:15 pm, Monday–Saturday, and at 11 am for Sunday Mass. The Christmas Eve performance of the "Cant de la Sibila" ("Song of the Sybil"), based on a medieval prophecy of the end of the world, is an annual choral highlight. 

Very much a place to see and be seen, the beach at Ses Salines is a mile-long narrow crescent of golden sand about 10 minutes' drive from Eivissa, in a wildlife conservation area. Trendy restaurants and bars, like the Jockey Club and Malibu, bring drinks to you on the sand and have DJs for the season, keeping the beat in the air all day long. The beach has different areas: glitterati in one zone, naturists in another, gay couples in another. There are no nearby shops, but the commercial vacuum is filled by vendors of bags, sunglasses, fruit drinks, and so on, who can be irritating. The sea is shallow, with a gradual drop-off, but on a windy day breakers are good enough to surf. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: nudists; partiers; swimming; windsurfing.

This stunning estate belonged to Austrian archduke Luis Salvador, who arrived here as a young man and fell in love with the place. He acquired huge tracts of land along the northwestern coast, building miradores (lookouts) at the most spectacular points but otherwise leaving the pristine beauty intact. Below the mirador, you can see Sa Foradada, a rock peninsula pierced by a huge archway, where the archduke moored his yacht. Now a museum, the estate house contains the archduke's collections of Mediterranean pottery and ceramics, Mallorcan furniture, and paintings. The garden is especially fine. From May through September, the Deià International Festival holds classical concerts here (see  www.dimf.com for the schedule). 

Maintained by the Fundació Tren de l'Art, these galleries have two small but remarkable collections—one of engravings by Miró, whose grandfather was born in Sóller, the other of ceramics by Picasso.

Take time to appreciate the neoclassical symmetry of this theater, Palma's chief venue for classical music. The opera season here usually runs through June.

Opera companies from Italy en route to Spain made the Teatre Principal in Mahón their first port of call; if the maonesos gave a production a poor reception, it was cut from the repertoire. Built in 1829, which makes it Spain's oldest opera house, it has five tiers of boxes, plush red seats, and gilded woodwork: La Scala in miniature. Lovingly restored, it hosts regular concerts, as well as international opera weeks that usually fall in December and May or June.

Puzzle over Menorca's prehistoric past at this megalithic site with a number of stone constructions, including a massive taula. Behind it, from the top of a stone wall, you can see the monolith Fus de Sa Geganta (the Giantess's Spindle) in a nearby field.

This Talaiotic site between Alaior and Son Bou comprises a complex set of stone constructions—fortifications, monuments, deep pits of ruined dwellings, huge vertical slabs, and taulas.