Visiting Roman Ruins In Tarragona, Spain

Two days into our villa holiday in Catalonia, Spain with a group of friends, we decided it was time to have an explore. After a bit of discussion I voted for Tarragona, mainly because I got rather excited by the sound of the Roman amphitheatre there.

Around an hour from Barcelona, Tarragona is a port city which was once one of Catalonia’s former Roman capitals. It wasn’t until we arrived that we discovered it was a UNESCO world heritage site. We felt rather proud of ourselves for ditching the swimming pool for a bit of culture while our daughter, Mrs T, seemed excited to be going on an ‘adventure’.

The reason UNESCO has deemed it worthy is because of the Roman ruins in the city, in particular the 2nd century AD Roman amphitheatre. The venue would have once held 15,000 people and played host to gladiatorial battles and other pastimes of the ancient Romans. You are unable to get too close to the amphitheatre, it is well cornered off to preserve the structure, so you can’t sit on the stone seats and imagine what it would have been like as a Roman watching an event there thousands of years ago (like I did in Sicily) but it is still an impressive site to see.

Just up from the amphitheatre is the Praetorium, a Roman tower which was converted into a palace during Medieval times. It  was used as a prison in the 19th century. You can go inside (we didn’t) where there are some Roman and Medieval finds. You can also explore passageways of the Roman circus built in 1st Century AD.

Above ground, much of the remains of the circus lie. A Roman circus was another space used for entertainment and sporting events such as chariot racing.

Close by is an Archeological museum containing a collection of Catalonia’s Roman artefacts. Tarragona is one of Spain’s most important Roman sites. We only spent a few hours in the city so didn’t explore in detail its maze of narrow, cobbled streets, Roman walls and 12th century cathedral. There’s a little ‘train’ you can get on and off if you want to see more of the city.

The main street, Rambla Nova, is a tree-lined space with a pedestrianised area in the middle where elderly men chat and smoke cigarettes under the shade of the trees.

At the end of the street is a promenade on the edge of a cliff top with views of the seaside, amphitheatre and cathedral. There was a man blowing huge bubbles into the sky which kept Mrs T entertained as she enjoyed one of Spain’s famous confectionary exports, a Chupa Chup lollipop.

We stopped for something to eat on Rambla Nova and were enormously impressed by the
quality of food (not so much the service). We had a three course meal at at cafe/restaurant called Cappucino. The portions were pretty generous. I had a delicious sea bass for main (while Mrs T had my spaghetti starter) and my husband had moussaka to start followed by a huge cuttlefish. In all, it cost €24!

If you are in the Catalonia area, Tarragona is definitely worth a trip. We thoroughly enjoyed soaking up some of the Roman history and culture. As well as the Roman remains, Tarragona also has a wide range of shops, cafes and a beach too. It is a relatively large city although most of the main sights are within walking distance. I would probably not recommend going (as we did) in the heat of the July sun though. It gets hot! In fact, it is known as one of the sunniest places in Spain…plenty of reasons then to pay it a visit.

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