Ses Figueretes, the quiet beach end of Ibiza Town

The beach and the Passeig de ses Pitiüses

The water stays shallow across the whole crescent. Behind the sand, the Passeig de ses Pitiüses runs the length of the bay, low white balustrades along the sea edge and 1960s and 1970s hotel blocks behind the palms. The walled hilltop of Dalt Vila rises to your left as you face the water, and Formentera sits low on the horizon.

Beach and promenade are both free, with no limits on access. In season the beach has a lifeguard, showers, accessible ramps and concessions renting sunbeds and parasols.

Walk the full promenade at dusk, when the artisan stalls come out. At the north end, a small unserviced bay is quieter, and there is no lifeguard on it.

Punic tombs on Puig des Molins

The hill above the beach is dry terraced red earth planted with olives and prickly pear, pocked with the square stone-cut shafts of hypogeum tombs, and two restored whitewashed stone windmill towers stand on the ridge. This is the largest and best-preserved Phoenician-Punic necropolis in the western Mediterranean, more than 3,000 tombs on the slope.

Museu Monogràfic i Necròpolis des Puig des Molins, signed MAEF, holds the site and the finds. The low modern museum block at the entrance has glass cases of Punic terracotta Tanit busts. It is a UNESCO archaeological site, entry is currently free, and it opens mornings only, with the exception of Friday evenings.

Two minutes' walk away, Sa Capelleta is free and almost nobody finds it. The entrance is set into a garage-like shopfront on a residential street. Inside, metal walkways hang over a single excavated plot showing six stacked levels of use across Punic, Roman and Islamic Ibiza. You walk above a Punic shrine, Roman grave cuts and a narrow Islamic street with doorways, wells and a reconstructed house.

The walk out to Es Soto

Turn left off the Figueretes promenade and the building stops. Es Soto is the only stretch of Ibiza Town's coast never built on, kept empty for centuries by the military, pine and scrub falling to low rock shelves and clear water. The honey-coloured Renaissance bastion walls stand above it, and Formentera sits on the horizon to the south.

The path climbs to the Dalt Vila ramparts and the Es Soto Fosc tunnel in 15 minutes. Access is free and unrestricted, the ground is rough in places, and there are no facilities. Carry water and wear something with a sole.

Boats from the Figueretas pier

A short concrete jetty runs straight off the sand at the pier end of the promenade, with a small blue-and-white ticket kiosk beside it. Aquabus loads a squat yellow-and-blue catamaran there, running the beach-hopper along to Platja d'en Bossa and the hour-long crossing to Formentera.

Tickets are €€ per head, bought at the kiosk or online, and boats fill fast on peak mornings. The service is seasonal and thins right down from October.

Breakfast and all-day tables on the promenade

The Bread Club has a glass counter of artisan pastries and cakes under bare bulbs on a tiled floor, with a few pavement tables a step from the promenade palms. It bakes properly, squeezes fresh juices, and keeps going through lunch and dinner. Seating is limited and you order at the counter. Prices are €. Start the day here, before the beach fills.

Cremat Beach Ibiza opens at 09:30 and runs to late. The dining room is pastel pink and blush with dried pampas inside, and it gives onto a promenade terrace of rattan chairs and pale linen under hanging greenery, the sea directly across the paving. The kitchen does brunch, tapas and cocktails at €€. For a seafront table it is the best value on this promenade. Book ahead for the front terrace rows.

At the Molins end, Superbuono is a pared-back corner bar with pale wood, potted herbs and a small raised terrace, bowls and juices on light stone tables. The plates run vegetarian and vegan alongside tuna, cod and chicken, so a mixed table is easy here. It costs €€ and shuts from November to March.

Dinner on the seafront and a block inland

Restaurante Soleado has been Aline and Philippe's Provençal-leaning kitchen on the seafront for more than 20 years, and locals name it first. White tablecloths and cane-backed chairs sit among planted borders on the renovated promenade, lamplight against the dark bay. Dinner is €€€. The terrace is compact, so reserve.

Blavós Ibiza is the blue-and-white terrace on the ground floor of the Hotel Vibra Marítimo, long rows of tables under cream parasols with the bay and Dalt Vila framed straight ahead. The cooking is Mediterranean and the ice creams and sorbets are made in house. It seats tables of 25 and does set menus for parties, companies and celebrations, and the service holds up when the terrace is full. Expect €€.

Fusion Ibiza doubles as a gallery, with carved Balinese buddhas, statues, paintings and lamps for sale among the tables and a terrace spilling onto the promenade under the palms. The menu crosses Thai, French, Argentine and Mediterranean dishes, and there is a happy-hour cocktail list. The kitchen will do a paella for a table. Service gets frantic at peak hours, so allow time for a meal at €€.

Retró Gusto is the one to walk inland for, a block back from the beach, a tiny room with vividly coloured walls, mismatched vintage chairs, shelves of bric-a-brac and chalkboard specials. The cooking is homemade Italian at prices the seafront does not offer, and it rates above almost everything on the promenade. A party of more than six is a squeeze in the room. Book, and budget €€.

Sunset on the sand at Es Xiringuito

Es Xiringuito Ibiza is a low timber-and-cane shack on the sand at the pier end, with a driftwood bar, rattan stools and string lights over a decked terrace facing open sea toward Formentera. Burgers, tacos and long cocktails come across the bar at €€, and the door is relaxed. DJ sets start nightly at 19:00 in season. It is the best seat on this beach for the sunset without beach-club money.

Where to stay in Figueretes

MiM Ibiza (Meliá Collection) is in a restored 1930s building on a quiet street a few minutes behind the sand, a white Art Deco façade with curved balconies, a large rectangular pool ringed by loungers and olive trees, and a rooftop terrace bar over the bay. There is a spa and two bars. It was Hotel Es Vivé before the rebrand. It is adults only, with no under-18s, runs seasonally from May to October, and costs €€€.

Hotel Figueretes opened in 1958 and sits directly on the promenade, a modest two-storey block with white walls and blue trim, sea-view balconies over the palms and a ground-floor café facing the sand. Rooms are plain, 74 of them in singles and doubles, with a 24-hour reception. It is pitched at couples, costs €€, and stays open outside the summer season, when most of Figueretes shuts.

Closures and bookings

Do the hill in the morning, and not on a Monday or a public holiday, when the necropolis is closed. Reserve at Soleado and Retró Gusto, and check the Aquabus kiosk board the day before you want a boat.

See the Ibiza guide and the Ibiza hotel search.