Tarragona is located on Spain’s southeast coast between Valencia and Barcelona. It’s defendable hill location overlooking the ocean made it an attractive base for the Roman invasion of Spain in the 3rd Century BC. Founded around 218 BC as Tarraco by the two Scipio brothers, both Roman generals, it was Rome’s first major city in Spain and became one of the principal capitals of Roman Hispania, and was the base for Julius Caesar’s victory over Pompey in 49 BC, who declared Tarraco a colonia, the highest status of a Roman city. It’s a popular day trip from Barcelona but with extensive Roman artefacts, a compact medieval center and walkable beaches, it’s really worth a few days of your time.

Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco: The Roman City

Praetorium and Roman Circus

The extensive remains of the Roman circus and forum area are the main attraction. These were built in the 1st Century BC and later built over by the Visigoths and then the medieval Crown of Aragon as the core fortified area. To orient with the reconstruction picture below, you enter the circus at its lower right (southeast) corner and move north along the original Roman passageways into the lower right of the forum building.

Tarragona’s fortress core, built up over the Praetorium Tower, sits on this area. The Roman city wall shown at the top left of the picture also remains and we’ll see that later. The oceanside amphitheater is located to the southeast and can be visited separately.

From the passageways that bordered the amphitheater and forum, you then move up into the Praetorium, a military tower that was extended in the 12th century by the Crown of Aragon. The southerly facing view in the photo below captures the curved eastern side of the circus and shows the original Roman access passageway that ran along the east side of the circus building – now topped off by the medieval Torre de los Monges in the southeast corner.

Looking north from the Praetorium tower, you can see the old city and medieval cathedral – built from the late 11th century and consecrated in 1331 under the Crown of Aragon, which included Catalunya. The cathedral sits over the site of Roman temples (seen top center in the city illustration above), including the main Temple of Augustus, and was preceded by a Visigothic cathedral destroyed in the Moorish invasion.

There are other Roman sites around the city – in addition to the amphitheater, the forum site, located at Placa del Forum, is one of the main gathering places in the old city. Further south in the lower town (and just south of the central market hall), the Colonial Forum, built in 30 BC, is worth a visit. Also, the Roman city wall that is largely intact along the northwest to northeast of the old city. Finally, the National Archaeological Museum provides an overview – although was closed for remodeling as of summer 2023. Walks around the old city reveal Roman structures and the occasional inscription. With the decline of the Roman empire, Tarragona was occupied by the Visigoths in around 476 AD, who ruled it until the arrival of the Moors in around 713 AD.

The Roman Wall

The Roman Wall, located in the Archaeological Park (Passeig Arqueologic), runs over a kilometer from the northwest to northeast sides of the old city, with residences built into the inner side. The perimeter was originally established in 217-197 BC, before being built up into more extensive fortifications around 150 BC. You can see the difference between the original large blocks and the smaller and more regular stones and brickwork of the later fortification. The upper works were added to in the medieval era under Aragonese rule, and an outer bastion was built in the 18th century. The current park walkway is between the Roman wall and the outer bastion.

The wall is one of the few intact continuous sections of Roman fortification outside Italy and was originally 3,500 meters long – total demolition was prevented by designation as a cultural site in 1884.

Tarragona Cathedral

The plain facade of the cathedral – more ornate development was halted in 1348 by the effects of the Black Death – reveals an ornate Gothic interior, including the high altar from around 1430 dedicated to St. Thecla.

The cathedral also contains the tomb of James of Aragon – the eldest son of James II, King of Aragon, who renounced his right to the throne to become a monk.

There are a series of mid-15th century tempura paintings, uncovered in the 1930s.

There are various chapels built over the life of the cathedral, including the Cardona Family chapel from around 1520, with panels depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary.

Port and Beaches

If you have some spare time left over from the old city, a walk to the old Port area along Moll de la Costa and the fisherman’s Serrallo neighborhood, is in order. There are two main beaches in the city, with Platja Arrabassada, to the north, being the more scenic, located in a bay between two wooded headlands.

Logistics

I stayed at the Hotel Astari (Via Augusta, 95), recently renovated and a 5-minute walk from the old center. If you come by train, note that the fast inter-city trains usually call at the Camp Tarragona station, 14 kilometers north of town. There are frequent 20-minute bus services between Tarragona’s central bus station (https://empresaplana.cat). The best food options are in the old town and around the central market – southeast of the market, La Mossegada is great for lunchtime tapas.

The old town’s main square, Placa de la Font – really a rectangle – is an excellent place to have an early evening drink and soak in the sandstone. There are plenty of good food options around Placa del Forum and the streets leading into it, including La Vermuteria del Forum, El Galliner de Antiquari and Toful Forum. Further south in the old town, Lo Cat (Carrer d’en Vilarroma, 10) is a great seafood restaurant, and the Serallo neighborhood by the old port has a cluster of seafood places. Twins Craft Beer (Carrer del Trinquet Vell, 21), overlooking a section of the Roman circus terrace, is a good craft beer bar, and Domum (Plaça de la Font, 13) has an extensive Belgian beer selection.