Tarragona

Tarragona city, 92 km south of Barcelona, showcases a roman legacy which has been declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco with important buildings such as the amphitheatre. The medieval quarter, known as the Part Alta, is home to palaces and the Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral. Fish and seafood lovers should visit the fishing district of Serrallo with its many restaurants.

Tarragona city, the capital of the Costa Daurada, is a city that grew out of the sea. In 210 bc, the romans set up a military camp on the beach and built a fortress on the site. A century and a half later, Tarraco had become the capital of Hispania Citerior and its main port. The roman legacy can be found everywhere: an archaeological promenade, the passeig arqueològic, follows the walls that encircled Tarragona (they were extended in the 16th and 18th centuries); the impressive amphitheatre (2nd century) overlooking the sea; the circus and praetorium (converted into a palace in the 16th century), which are connected by galleries. The early-christian necropolis by the river Francolí consists of a basilica and 160 tombs dating from the 4th and 5th centuries. The Cathedral (12th-14th centuries) was built on the site of the roman temple. Highlights include the cloister, the sculptures above the gothic door and the altarpiece.

The neighbourhood of narrow streets around Tarragona city features palaces (Palau castellarnau) and shops founded 400 hundred years ago. A walk along the Rambla Nova reveals modernista Tarragona with its Teatre Metropol (1908). At the end of the rambla, the observation deck, the "Balcó del Mediterrani", boasts magnificent views of the sea, the amphitheatre, the beach, the platja del Miracle, and port.