TRADE and conflict shaped the Balearics. From the 8th century BC, a succession of superpowers, from the Phoenecians and the Carthaginians to the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba, brought to the islands their skills, tools and crops. All this built over the relics of a sophisticated prehistoric culture, the Talaiotic people, who raised countless monuments that can still be found throughout Mallorca and Menorca.
Today, visitors can walk through these layers of history and see everything from Coptic monuments to Phoenician settlements and Moorish bathhouses. This outstanding preservation of both the landscape and built heritage has not gone unnoticed: all four islands boast UNESCO World Heritage listings and, this year, Ibiza is celebrating 25 years as a World Heritage Site.
The Balearics are also blessed with exceptional natural beauty: Mallorca’s UNESCO-listed
