Ibiza

We are sitting in Café Montesol on the lively Paseo Vara del Rey promenade in Ibiza Town. Pink Floyd and Grace Kelly used to come and go here. Back in the 1930s, the café was a popular meeting place for bohemians and locals alike. And it has remained so to this day.

See and be seen, is the motto of the café and Gran Hotel Montesol, which was redesigned four years ago by star designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán and is always busy. We sip our espresso and watch the people strolling past. Wait a minute, wasn't that Leonardo DiCaprio in a baseball cap and floral shorts? It used to be the hippies, then the legendary parties and the hip DJs that made Ibiza famous. All of this still exists, but the Spanish island has now also become a hotspot for international film stars, royals, top athletes and top entrepreneurs. Ibiza has firmly established itself in the Mediterranean jet-set trio alongside St. Tropez and Mykonos and boasts dream beaches that can compete with any beach in the Caribbean with their powdered sugar sand and turquoise, crystal-clear water.

In summer Naomi Campbell, Anne Hathaway and Orlando Bloom come to party. Others, like jewelry designer and jetsetter Jade Jagger, have stayed right there. In the VIP zones of elite beach clubs such as the Blue Marlin at Cala Jondal or the Nikki Beach Club, you can sip champagne on wide Bali beds and listen to the chilled beats that mix with the lapping of the waves. The long, fine sandy beach of Ses Salines in the south served as a catwalk for beach beauties back in the 70s. Today, Kate Moss & Co. swim here.

between hip and hippie
Maseratis stand next to rental cars in the parking lot. Yachts bob in the water. Beach boys, always in a good mood, serve drinks and seafood platters. One of them drives a small boat back and forth between the beach and the anchored megaships, bringing food ordered by phone on board - a luxury version of the pizza service. The rush of celebrities is so great that El País, Spain's biggest daily newspaper, asked itself "Can so much fame fit on a single island?" Ibiza attracts them all: the stars, the sun worshippers, the party animals and families with children. The atmosphere is somewhere between hip and hippie. Ibiza has become synonymous with freedom and diversity. Despite all the hustle and bustle, it has retained much of its originality and fascinates with contrasts such as sophisticated and rural, shrill and quiet. The creative spirit of this small Balearic island is constantly reinventing itself. The magical island is one of Europe's dream destinations and is barely two and a half hours away by plane. However, there are far fewer direct flights than to its big sister Mallorca. A problem that affects the rich and famous far less - they travel by private jet or yacht anyway. Ibiza, with its mild Mediterranean climate, appeals at any time of year. The low season is also attracting more and more visitors. In spring, a spectacular carpet of flowers covers the meadows inland. Surprisingly, the island is spared the crowds of tourists until the end of June. Then the short, intense high season begins. People party for all they're worth. In October, the hype is over and many hotels close.

With regard to luxurious lifestyle hotels, fortunately a lot has happened. Chic hotels such as 7Pines, Bless and Nobu Ibiza Bay have opened and enriched the high-end hotel scene. Particularly beautiful accommodation is often hidden away at the end of a gravel road inland, such as the luxury fincas: Cas Gasi, Can Lluc or Atzaró. In addition to every comfort, they offer a rural idyll and secluded corners where you can roll out your yoga mat. If you want to vacation like royalty, opt for your own villa. It doesn't have to be the Villa Sa Calma for 118,000 euros a week, where Harry and Meghan recently stayed.

Smoothies, yoga and detox instead of "sex, drugs and rock'n'roll"
Only the rental car is still cheap here. It used to be "sex, drugs and rock'n'roll", today it's smoothies, detox and yoga. The idyllically located Amante Beach Club starts the day with morning yoga sessions. Ibiza resonates with the zeitgeist. The rural spirit of the white island is also showing new dynamism. Organic wine is cultivated and organic olive oil is produced. Agroturismo boutique hotels are all the rage. Surrounded by orchards and terraced vegetable patches, the farm hotel La Granja, conceived by design hotel founder Claus Sendlinger with eleven rooms furnished in wabi-sabi style, has caused quite a stir. Nowadays, trendy restaurants can hardly do without their own organic garden or are at least supplied by a nearby organic farm. The reorientation is supported by the urban longing for country life - the counterpart to hectic party life. In the evening, people meet for a candlelit dinner at the perennial favorite La Paloma for tagliatelle with eggplants and home-grown herbs.

Hidden away in Ibiza's old town is the Taller de Tapas, where ex-Noma chef Boris Buono serves creative tapas with organic vegetables from his island farm. All this shows how a positive image change can work. The small Balearic island is much more than just a famous party destination. It also has a lot to offer away from the legendary beats of David Guetta. Some of the bays and sandy beaches, especially in the north, are still very unspoiled, hidden behind fragrant pine forests. Idyllic hiking and cycling trails lead through olive groves, past orchards and vineyards. Tranquilidad - peace and quiet - is also the order of the day in the Ses Salines National Park. A pink cloud of flamingos stands picturesquely and motionless in the salt water. You will find enchanting little places such as the charming Santa Gertrudis in the heart of the island, with classy boutiques, cool bars, restaurants and galleries. The marketplace for the latest gossip and a magnet for locals and tourists alike is the Bar Costa with the best bocadillos (roasted baguettes with ham, cheese and tomato) on the island and lots of art on the walls, as artists often paid their bills with paintings during the hippie era. There is even an original by Joan Miró hanging here. A popular classic for a sundowner is still the "Sunset Ashram" above the cult beach of Cala Conta in the west. If you can do without cocktails and beats, sit down on the sand of Cala d'Hort and watch as the mystical rock Es Vedra slowly shimmers golden and then burns up in the last sunlight of the day. At this moment, the legends surrounding Ibiza's landmark no longer seem so improbable. It is quite possible that the sirens once sang Odysseus out of his wits and navigation skills here, causing his ship to wreck on the rocks. And mustn't such a magically beautiful place logically have been part of a mystical empire like Atlantis? Nature, culture and a capital with cosmopolitan flair,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site - that's Ibiza too: strolling, looking and shopping is the order of the day in the picturesque old town of Dalt Vila, founded by the Carthaginians. The highlight - in the truest sense of the word - is the spectacular view of the harbor and the sea from the old fortress walls. With a bit of luck, you can even see as far as Formentera.

Numerous airlines offer non-stop flights to the Iberian island during the summer season. Ferries run regularly between Barcelona, Valencia, Denia and Palma de Mallorca to Ibiza. It is advisable to hire a car on the island.

Lage

Spanien

Fläche

571,6 km²

Bevölkerung

132.637

Sprache

Spanisch, Katalanisch

Größte Stadt

Ibiza Town

Hauptstadt

Ibiza Town

Religion

Over 90 % of the population is Roman Catholic.

Beste Reisezeit

Saison ist von April bis Oktober. Das sonnenverwöhnte Ibiza hat das ausgewogenste Klima der Balearen. Die Durchschnittstemperaturen liegen im Sommer um die 26 °C, im Winter erreichen sie sehr milde 12 °C. Schon im Mai scheint die Sonne bereits kräftig.

Klima

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max. Temperaturen	15	5	16	0	17	2	19	0	22	2	26	1
Min. Temperaturen	29	3	30	0	27	6	23	4	19	3	16	7
Sonnenstunden	8	1	8	4	9	3	10	9	14	2	17	8
Luftfeuchtigkeit	20	7	21	8	19	5	15	9	12	0	9	6
Regentage	5	2	6	0	6	7	8	1	8	9	9	9
Wassertemperatur	10	8	9	7	7	9	6	4	5	5	4	8