Things to Do in the Balearic Islands, Spain: City Guides

The Balearic Islands are a Mediterranean archipelago made up chiefly of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, together with many smaller islets. Their appeal lies in the combination of island landscapes, historic towns, distinctive wildlife and a cuisine shaped by Catalan, Spanish and Mediterranean traditions. Neywo has free audio guides for four cities in the Balearic Islands, covering 147 narrated places in total across 11 walking tours.

What to see and do in the Balearic Islands

A good Balearic Islands travel guide has to look beyond beaches. The archipelago has a long and sometimes turbulent history, a coastline of more than 1,400 kilometres and four principal islands with very different identities.

Explore Mallorca and Palma de Mallorca

Mallorca is the largest of the main islands and has played a central role in the history of the archipelago. King James the First of Aragon captured Palma after a three-month siege, and the island later formed part of the Kingdom of Majorca before becoming part of Spain.

Today, Palma de Mallorca is the best place to encounter that history in one city. Neywo covers 91 narrated places there, including Palma Cathedral, Bellver Castle, the Royal Palace of La Almudaina and the Gran Hotel. The city also provides a starting point for understanding Mallorca’s distinctive identity within the islands.

Mallorca’s interior and mountains add another side to the island. The Majorcan midwife toad still lives in the mountains, while the offshore islets are home to Lilford’s wall lizard. These species are reminders that the Balearic landscape is not only coastal: its wildlife has evolved across mountains, islands and small pieces of land separated from the main shores.

Discover Menorca’s historic towns and food

Menorca belongs to the eastern Gymnesian group together with Mallorca. It also has a particularly strong connection with Britain, having spent a long period as a British dependency. The island’s history and food are both concentrated in its towns.

In Mahón, Neywo narrates 25 places, including the Mola Fortress, the Església i convent de la Concepció and sites associated with Pilar Alonso. Mahón is also known for its cheese, and the city is linked to the story of mayonnaise’s origin.

Ciutadella de Menorca offers another way into Menorca’s past. Its 14 narrated places include the Cathedral of Minorca, Galería de Arte Pedrín, the grave of Son Olivaret and the Museu Municipal. The city is a useful stop for seeing how Menorca’s local history is expressed through religious buildings, museums and individual landmarks.

Menorcan cuisine deserves attention as well. Caldereta, a lobster stew, is one of the island’s celebrated dishes. Across the Balearics, local specialities also include sobrassada, a pork sausage, along with ensaïmada, flaó and coca pastries.

Walk through Ibiza’s historic centre

Ibiza is part of the western Pityuses, the island group that also includes Formentera. Its history reaches back well before its modern reputation: Phoenician, Roman and later Mediterranean influences all form part of the wider story of the islands.

In Ibiza, Neywo covers 17 narrated places. The route includes Puig des Molins, Dalt Vila, Ibiza Cathedral and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Ibiza. Together, these places show several layers of the city, from its ancient past and fortified historic quarter to its religious and artistic heritage.

The Pityusic islands also have their own wildlife. The Ibiza wall lizard is native to Ibiza and Formentera, a species found nowhere else in the same way. Around the islands, the boundary between land and sea remains central to the natural environment.

Look beyond the four main islands

The Balearic Islands are more than Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Nearby islets include Cabrera, Dragonera and S’Espalmador, each contributing to the archipelago’s fragmented geography. The islands sit on the raised undersea platform known as the Balearic Promontory and were formed by uplift.

That geography helps explain the variety of conditions across the region. The climate is largely Mediterranean, with hot summers. Ibiza and Formentera, as well as southern Mallorca, also have semi-arid conditions. Seabirds such as the Balearic shearwater and Audouin’s gull nest on the islands, while the Majorcan midwife toad survives in Mallorca’s mountains.

Human history has also been shaped by the sea. People were living in the islands by the third millennium BC, and the archipelago later became known for its slingers in the ancient world. Control changed repeatedly: the Vandals conquered the islands during their war with the Roman Empire, and Balearic sailors and pirates later dominated parts of the western Mediterranean for centuries.

Taste the local cuisine

Food is one of the easiest ways to see the relationship between the islands and the wider Mediterranean. Sobrassada is found throughout the archipelago, while cheese, wine, pork and seafood all have an important place in local cooking.

Menorca is especially associated with Mahón cheese and caldereta. Pastries add another shared thread, with ensaïmada, flaó and coca among the specialities found across the islands. Together, these foods combine regional traditions with the individual character of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.

Explore the Balearic Islands with Neywo

Neywo offers free audio guides for four cities in the Balearic Islands: Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Mahón and Ciutadella de Menorca. There are 11 walking tours in total, with 147 narrated places across the region. Narration is available in 11 languages.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Download Neywo and explore the Balearic Islands while the city’s history, architecture and culture unfold around you.