Ibiza Hippy Market at Es Canar

Ibiza has a cultural split personality that makes the island strangely compelling. On the one hand, it has the vivacious party scene for which it's best known; on the other hand, it has the laid-back hippy culture that dates back to the 60s when American families sent their adolescent children overseas, to escape being enlisted into the Vietnam War.

Many of these US "refugees" became hippies and ended up on Ibiza, which at the time was markedly different from today's more civilised island. It had no running water or electricity, so life was tough in the hippy communes; but nothing which a little free love and deep-fried banana peels couldn't help with, man.

The Hippy Market at Es Cana, on the NE coast of Ibiza, was established much later. It's now a "must-visit" attraction for tourists, with fleets of coaches arriving throughout the day. In fact the Hippy Market may have become a victim of its own success, with aisles between stalls so packed with visitors that it's difficult to move. The items on sale range from the pick of China's manufactured trinkets and Metallica T-shirts, to some genuine goods crafted on-site by real hippies.

Tour operators offer pricey excursions to the market, though in reality it's just as easy (and cheaper) to travel there and back by bus or taxi.