Santa Eulària des Riu

The third port city of Ibiza is the capital of the southeastern part of the island. It is on the same latitude as San Antonio to the west. Most of the fertile plains, such as the Morna Valley, Atzaró, Arabí and Fruitera, are in the municipality. Only in the south, towards Ibiza Town, does it get a bit hilly. With almost 38,000 inhabitants (1. Jan. 2019), Santa Eulalia is the most populous municipality after Ibiza Town.

The “City on the River” lived off agriculture for a long time. The Riu de Santa Eulària, which rises high in the north near San Miguel, was long considered the only river in the Balearic Islands. Today it is mostly dry, a sign of the island’s acute lack of water. The many watermills on the plain in front of the village, where the Moors worked hard to farm, still bear witness to the former splendor. Behind the newer road bridge that leads to the village, there is still the old stone bridge, which according to legend was built by the devil in one night in the Middle Ages. A clever little mayor made a pact with the devil and promised him the first soul to cross the bridge. When the prince of hell wanted to collect his wages after the deed was done, the mayor chased a dog across the bridge. Santa Eulalia had its bridge, the devil had to be content with the dog. A beautiful promenade leads from the bridge to the mouth of the river in the sea, where ducks also waddle around.

The cityscape is characterized by the magnificent fortified church from the 16th century, which is enthroned on top of the Puig de Missa. Of all the churches in Ibiza, it looks the most like a fortress. The baroque high altar and the images of saints in the side chapels come from Segovia. The covered courtyard from the 17th century is particularly beautiful. Next to the church is a small museum housing paintings by the Catalan impressionist Laureà Barrau, who lived here in the 1950s. A few steps further down is the Can Ros Ethnological Museum. Here you will find everything that the people of Ibiza needed to live for centuries: wine and oil presses, agricultural implements, kitchen utensils, pieces of furniture, everyday and festive clothing, weapons and much more.

The town spread out between the sea and the Puig d’en Missa. North of the main street Calle de San Jaime is the Plaza España with the mayor’s office and to the right the so-called “Fressgasse”, where one restaurant is lined up next to the other. On the south side, the Ramblas, also known as Paseo de s’Alamera, stretch down to the sea. The wide sandy beach with a beautiful promenade occupies almost the entire bay. At the right end, behind the estuary, rises the holiday urbanization La Siesta on a hill, on the left side the promenade ends at the marina.

Santa Eulalia has also built many hotels and large blocks of flats directly on the sea. But here, in contrast to San Antonio, the somewhat quieter family tourism prevails. Night owls will find live music entertainment in the marina pubs.

Hotels in and around Santa Eulalia

Cala Llonga

South of Santa Eulalia, the small Cala Llonga cuts far inland between Punta Roja and Cap des Llibrell, as its name suggests (Cala Llonga = long bay). The short but wide sandy beach is fully occupied by the guests of the hotels that are built into the cliffs all around. Water sports, restaurants, pubs, mini discos – Cala Llonga is a place for young vacationers who want to be animated.

Es Canar

One of the first holiday urbanizations on the island settled on the relatively small Playa des Canar with a wide sandy beach. In the meantime, Es Canar has become one of the largest tourist centers in Ibiza. Many hotels, shops, bars and restaurants make their living here. The oldest and largest hippie market in Ibiza takes place every Wednesday in the Club Punta Arabí at the end of the street: a sea of ​​stalls that turn the search for souvenirs into a shopping frenzy. If you have patience and don’t let the dust and crowds scare you, you can even discover original handicrafts among the consumer offerings.

Cala Llenya / La Joya

The last of the six beaches best reached from San Carlos. A pretty sandy beach, shallow water ideal with young children. The guests of the surrounding holiday resorts liven up the two beach shacks. From here the east coast is almost seamlessly developed down to Santa Eulalia.

Es Figueral

A typical family beach with lots of sand and shallow water where a club hotel has settled. In midsummer, the wide beach is almost completely covered with bathing loungers. However, the few shops in the area do not give the feeling of a holiday urbanization.

Siesta

Small suburb, in the immediate vicinity of Sta. Eulalia with hotels and resorts. It is situated on a mountain slope. Many people who have settled permanently in Ibiza live in the settlement, so-called residents.

Santa Gertrudis de Fruitera

The village of Santa Gertrudis is pretty much in the middle of the island and has become the focal point in recent decades. The 30 years ago still small tranquil place with the typical cloverleaf old fortified church (this is from the year 1796), pub, grocery store, school and a few more houses has grown according to the rush; luckily he was spared high-rise buildings. Around the church there are a number of bars and restaurants, where not a single chair is left empty in midsummer. In between, small original shops like Casi Todo, where everything from antiques to junk is auctioned; Origins with clothing, jewelery and decorative items from Asia, Claire’s, where the goods come from Morocco and many more. The international flair, to which the German bookstore Libro Azul also contributes, is one of the most popular characteristics of the place.

The many artists who have settled in the area also find their echo in the village. Three galleries have settled here: the German Doris Hardt runs Can Daifa in a beautiful old farmhouse on the church square, the Swiss Edi Andrist has opened Local 4 in Sa Nova Gertrudis and Es is located just outside on the country road to Ibiza Town Molí, whose owners are from France.

The fact that Santa Gertrudis is surrounded by wide fertile plains can be seen on a trip off the main roads, for example on the Camí des Pla Roig in the direction of San Miguel, which leads past many beautiful old country estates.

Puig d’en Valls

Puig, as the place is called for short, is already considered a suburb of Ibiza Town, although it still belongs to the municipality of Santa Eulalia. The streetscape is dominated by large blocks of flats. The church is relatively new. The only thing worth mentioning is the old windmill on the hill, which is a listed building.

Roca Llisa

The tiny Cala d’Olivera lies behind the only golf club on the island and the noble villa complex Roca Llisa. Access is a bit difficult to find: drive past the golf club and turn left at the beginning of the villa complex until the road turns into a dirt track. This then leads down to the sea.

Jesus

In the southern tip of the municipality of Santa Eulalia, just 4 km from Ibiza town, lies Jesús, which is actually called Nuestra Señora de Jesús, meaning the Mother of God. The church in her honor was built at the beginning of the 15th century. In the 16th century, it was first used by Franciscan monks, then by Dominicans as a place of worship, until they built their own monastery in Ibiza’s upper town. The most important altarpiece of the Pitiuses is in the Church of Jesús: in 1498 the Valencian brothers Juan Rodrigo and Francisco de Osona depicted Saint Mary and the Apostles on seven panels in the late Gothic style.

Otherwise, Jesús doesn’t have much to offer; some bars and restaurants, some shops, many new blocks of flats. The proximity to the island’s capital has allowed the town to grow and also given it a lot of through traffic, which is what the terrace visitors of the long-established Bonlloch inn in particular have to contend with.

Sant Carles de Peralta

North of Santa Eulalia is the small town of San Carlos, the center of which is the pretty fortified church from the 16th century and the opposite Bar Anita. A new residential area has settled behind the church. For decades, Anita’s Bar has been the villagers’ meeting place, news exchange and post office. Hierbas, an Ibizan aniseed liqueur made with rosemary and thyme, tastes particularly good under the vine-covered canopy.

A community hall is attached to the church. An international piano competition has been held here since 1986, formerly annually, now every two years, in September, to which not only young pianists come from all over Europe, but also from Korea, China, Russia, Argentina etc. The Greek Princess Irene, sister of the Spanish Queen Sofía, has taken over the patronage.

About 1km from the village is Las Dalias, which started out as a wagon pub. Later, a basement restaurant and a small theater were added. Since Juanito took over the restaurant from his parents, a hippie market has been held every Saturday during the season in the beautiful large garden, which is considered the most beautiful on the island. On other days there are often live concerts.

Ca Na Negreta

Small place that is strongly influenced by the main road between Ibiza and Sta. Eulalia at km 1.5.