Top Sightseeing in the Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands’ best views split into two categories: sheer vertical drops and flat turquoise shallows. Knowing which island does which saves you chasing the wrong one.
Cap de Formentor (Mallorca)
The Mirador d’es Colomer viewpoint looks down 300-meter cliffs to the jagged sea stack of El Colomer below. Private vehicles are restricted on the final approach road from 15 May to 18 October, 10:00 to 22:00, so check the official TIB timetable and plan on the shuttle bus, Line 334, from Port de Pollença during that window, or take a guided Formentor day trip that handles the transfer for you.
Es Vedrà from Cala d’Hort (Ibiza)
The uninhabited limestone island rises 400 meters straight out of the sea, and the clifftop at Cala d’Hort is where crowds gather every evening to watch the sun drop behind it.
La Seu Cathedral from Parc de la Mar (Palma, Mallorca)
The Gothic cathedral’s golden sandstone facade reflects in the saltwater lake below, a different angle on the same building most visitors only see from the plaza in front of it. Inside, the cathedral holds one of the largest Gothic rose windows in the world at 12 meters across, along with a modern wrought-iron canopy over the altar designed by Antoni Gaudí, a striking contrast against the 44-meter Gothic nave. Skip-the-line tickets cover the cathedral and its diocesan museum together.
Ses Illetes sandbar (Formentera)
A narrow white sand spit with turquoise water lapping both sides at once, reachable only by the 30-minute ferry from Ibiza to La Savina, then a short bike or bus ride.
Naveta d’Es Tudons (Menorca)
A dry-stone megalithic funerary monument standing alone in Menorca’s rural landscape, part of the Talaiotic Menorca sites inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage in 2023.
Verdict: if cliffside drama is what you’re after, Cap de Formentor and Es Vedrà both deliver it, but they sit on different islands, so pick one for this trip rather than trying to fit both around a ferry crossing.
Sunset viewpoints in particular fill up fast in high season. Arrive at Cala d’Hort at least an hour before sunset if you want a clear line of sight to Es Vedrà, since the clifftop spots closest to the water are the first to go on any clear summer evening.
Book timed-entry tickets for La Seu Cathedral ahead of your visit in peak summer months; it draws long walk-up queues by mid-morning, and a pre-booked slot skips that entirely.
Time your Cap de Formentor visit around the shuttle bus schedule if you’re there between May and October, not around your own itinerary. The restriction runs from 10:00 to 22:00 daily across that whole window, so a spontaneous evening drive to the lighthouse won’t work. For the walkable version of this list, see the walking tours guide .