Did you know? · Ibiza
Ibiza fun facts
Things you might not know about Ibiza. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated October 2026
A World Heritage island
UNESCO inscribed “Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture” on 4 December 1999 (turismo.eivissa.es): a mixed natural and cultural site of 9,020 hectares, mostly sea, with Dalt Vila, Sa Caleta, Puig des Molins and the Posidonia meadows (whc.unesco.org).
A Renaissance fortress
The walls were built between 1554 and 1585 by the Italian engineers Giovanni Battista Calvi and Jacobo Paleazzo Fratin, and UNESCO notes their influence on the fortified towns of the Spanish New World (whc.unesco.org). The fortress has seven bastions and a perimeter of 1,800 metres (turismo.eivissa.es).
The first town, and its cemetery
Sa Caleta preserves the first Phoenician settlement on the island, from the eighth century BC; at the start of the sixth century BC its people moved to the hill of Dalt Vila. Their necropolis at Puig des Molins has more than 5,000 graves (whc.unesco.org).
A 382-metre islet
Es Vedrà rises 382 metres from the sea, in the Govern de les Illes Balears’ words; it has been a nature reserve since 2002, and landing is not allowed without authorisation (caib.es).
A market from 1872, a museum from 1969
The Mercat Vell was built in 1872 in the form of a Greek temple, and MACE, opened in 1969, is one of the oldest museums of contemporary art in Spain (turismo.eivissa.es).
Questions and answers
When did Ibiza become a World Heritage Site?
On 4 December 1999 (UNESCO; Ajuntament d’Eivissa).
How high is Es Vedrà?
382 metres, in the Govern de les Illes Balears’ words.