Santa Gertrudis Church

The first thing you see is white. Lime-washed walls and a plain front give the eye almost nothing to catch on, and in strong sun the façade glows against the sky. Santa Gertrudis Church dates from the late 18th century and keeps the form of Ibiza's country churches: heavy walls, few windows, a single door in an unadorned face.

The building is the whole point. It anchors a village in the middle of the island, and everything in the centre arranges itself around it.

• There are no public toilets or drinking water at the church, and none nearby — sort both out before you come.
• The dirt lot right beside the church is private; the public car park is the one about 50 m away.
• It is a working parish church: during a service, visitors wait or sit quietly at the back.
• The entrance and the parking are both listed as wheelchair-accessible.

The church stands in the village centre, and the approach ends almost at its door. The bus stop named Santa Gertrudis is about 140 m away in a straight line.

Drivers have a public car park on a dirt surface about 50 m from the church, with wheelchair-accessible spaces listed. A second dirt lot sits closer still, at about 25 m, but it is private — leave it to its owners. Guideposts stand close to the church.

Best: morning or early evening, within the listed opening hours.

Avoid: the middle of a summer day, and Sunday morning.

A whitewashed front throws back hard glare under a high sun, and the softer light of morning and evening shows the walls better; on Sunday morning a parish church holds mass, and visitors are walking into a service.