Dalt Vila

What makes it special

The walls you walk are Renaissance work, designed by the Italian engineer Giovanni Batista Calvi for the Spanish crown against constant raids by the Ottoman navy and its corsairs. They ring the whole Puig de Vila hill for 1,800 metres, broken by seven bastions. On the ramparts you can see the firing angles each bastion was planned to cover.

At the Portal de ses Taules, the main gate, two Roman statues stand either side of the arch. They are replicas, and the marble originals are kept in the archaeology museum. The inscription above names King Philip and says the walls were built for the good of the island.

Older stonework shows as you climb. The arch of sa Portella is the last gate left from the medieval wall. Higher up, stretches of the Muslim-era wall run almost to Sant Jordi, the bastion that meets the castle at the summit.

The cathedral stands on the site of the old mosque, built in Catalan Gothic, with a nave later redone in Baroque. Stand on the terrace in front of it to see the harbour, the marina and Formentera across the water.

Visiting

Steep cobbles begin right at the Portal de ses Taules, where you cross the old drawbridge and climb a ramp into the Rastrillo, the old parade square with round arches along one side. From there you follow the wall walk from bastion to bastion, with the town and the sea below.

Santa Llúcia bastion holds an 18th-century powder store. Further along, the bastions house a contemporary art museum in an old armoury and a small centre on how the walls were built.

After the cathedral, carry on along the upper walls, the quietest stretch of the circuit. If you lose your bearings in the lanes, go uphill for the cathedral or downhill for the port.

Tips

Wear shoes with grip, because the cobbles are worn smooth and sit on a slope. Carry water: there is little shade and there are few fountains on the way up. Go up before you are hungry, or allow extra time for lunch inside the walls.

In summer, start before 11:00 or after 17:30: at midday in July the cobbles hold the heat, and the light is better for photographs early and late. To walk it downhill instead, take a taxi or bus UE8 to the top and do the circuit in reverse.