12 essentials: what to see and do in Tarragona in 1 or 2 days

For a long time I had wanted to know the ancient Tarraco from Roman times.

Which today is the current one Tarragona, which in its heyday had 40.000 inhabitants, and which is now declared Heritage awarded by the Unesco.

Although he had previously traveled to Tarragona, it had been quickly and I had not had time to visit the city with enough time to walk through its historic center.

What I can tell you is that it is one of the most beautiful in Catalonia

On the occasion of the recent trip to Priorat is when I have had the opportunity to visit it, beyond seeing a couple of performances of its cultural festival Long Live Tarraco, as I did on one occasion.

I was also curious to see what can really be seen from the remains of that roman city from more than 2.000 years ago.

What to see and do in Tarragona, ancient Roman Tarraco

The truth is that the visit of current Tarragona allows you to imagine what it was like roman tarraco and get the feeling of walking through the streets and monuments of the time.

Below I give you some keys that you should keep in mind to know it on your own.

Or if you prefer, here you can sign up for one guided tour of Roman Tarragona.

Pallol Gate in Tarragona

The essential way to start visit of ancient Tarraco is to go directly to the headquarters of the ancient Audience (Pallol Square 3).

If you go by car you should leave the vehicle in the Saavedra parking, because there are the walls where you will walk through the so-called Archaeological Walk, and the Pallol Gate which gives you access to the interior of the ancient Roman city.

I tell you that the corner of the Pallol square It is one of the most beautiful in the old town, with a Gothic style building in it, in addition to the old Audience.

Model of Tarraco in Tarragona

This historic building now houses a cultural center where you will be able to see a very educational model of the roman city.

The aforementioned model of Tarraco shows you how the city was distributed at different levels on a hill, with the upper area of ​​the Provincial Forum dedicated to government buildings, and with the great circus at its feet.

Then the city descended between the walls until it reached the sea.

With the image of the model in your mind, throughout the visit of the historic center of Tarragona You will try to recognize the different corners of the ancient Roman city.

Roman walls of Tarragona

From here you can begin the visit by leaving again through the aforementioned Pallol Gate to walk around the outside of a part of the old wall, a route known as Archaeological Walk.

La Tarraco wall It was about 3,5 kilometers long, and there are still sections of just over a kilometer, which partially surround the old town of Tarragona.

In this section of the original Roman wall that you visit, you will see some blocks of megalithic origin, as well as three towers of the same and some stones with marks of the Iberian alphabet.

La Archbishop's Tower It was extensively remodeled in medieval times, and the Minerva Tower preserves the oldest Roman sculpture and inscriptions on the Iberian Peninsula.

It will also catch your attention that in a good part of the stretch of wall the windows of semi-detached houses open inside it, which their residents did over the centuries.

This happens especially in the section of the wall extension that was made during the medieval period, in the second half of the 14th century, which is known as the Wall.

El Archaeological Walk It is one of the enclosures of the MHT Tarragona History Museum, and the price of the visit is 3,30 euros.

Tarragona Cathedral

You will enter the old town again through the Gate of San Antonio, from the 18th century, and you will reach the area that in Roman times occupied the Provincial Forum, which extended into two squares of different heights.

In the upper plaza, which was the area of ​​worship, was the Roman temple, a place now occupied by Cathedral of Tarragona.

In fact, some Roman remains from said cult site can still be found in the cloister of the aforementioned cathedral.

For its part, the current Cathedral of Tarragona It was built in the 12th century in a transitional style from Romanesque to Gothic.

At first you will be enthralled by its spectacular main façade, with a large doorway with pointed arches.

I want to highlight within you the Tailors Chapel from the middle of the 13th century located to the right of the High altar, Gothic style, where you can see an altarpiece and decoration with paintings from the time.

Also notable is the Gothic altarpiece dedicated to Saint Tecla, patron saint of the city of Tarragona, made of polychrome alabaster at the beginning of the 15th century.

Also worth highlighting is its beautiful cloister and its gardens, which in spring you will see covered with plants with large flowers.

Here you can consult the Visiting hours of the Tarragona Cathedral, as well as the price of admission general to see the cloister and the religious works of the Diocesan museum it is 5 euros.

There are discounts for students and children from 7 years old, and minors under this age enter for free, as well as the unemployed and disabled people.

Plaza de la Seu in Tarragona

The square in front of the cathedral, known as of the Seu, is one of the most charming corners that you can see in the historic center of Tarragona.

There, the scene of the group that forms the aforementioned façade of the cathedral, with its large rose window, stands out, along with the historic buildings that surround it, such as the old Cambrería palace, with its façade with Gothic and Renaissance windows.

In said palace that would later become known as Balcells House, the kings stayed when they visited the city, and as a curiosity, the mother of Ferdinand the Catholic.

Also noteworthy is the Porch House located next to the palace, which gives access to the great staircase that goes down from the Plaza de la Seu to main Street.

This grand staircase becomes a natural stand used to watch various events held in this corner of Tarragona, such as the exhibition of Castells which takes place every Wednesday.

Roman Provincial Forum in Tarragona

The neighborhood that now extends on a lower plane in front of the façade of the cathedral occupies the space of the second large square of the Provincial Forum, which was more than 300 meters long and almost 200 meters wide.

In Roman times, this square was surrounded by a structure of porticoes, and now on your walk through the neighborhood under the cathedral you will be able to see some remains of it.

Forum Square in Tarragona

Specifically, a large block of stone remains of said ancient porticos from Roman times has all the prominence in the forum square of the old town.

Surrounded by bar and restaurant terraces, it is one of the liveliest squares in this historic area of ​​the city. Roman Tarragona.

Roman Praetorium in Plaza del Rey in Tarragona

Another prominent corner that occupies an access space to the old Provincial Forum is king's square, where a section of wall is located and the Praetorium.

This is how a tower is known that in the Middle Ages became King's castle, which you can now climb to see the best panoramic views of the old town of Tarragona, with the cathedral building taking center stage.

Bass the Praetorium a series of overlapping Roman era galleries with large vaults, through which you can reach underground to the space where the old circus was located.

The Praetorium Tower It is also part of the aforementioned MHT and the price of general admission is 3,30 euros.

Roman circus of Tarragona

As I have already mentioned, when you see the model of Tarraco, you will see that at a lower level of the two squares that make up the Provincial Forum was located the circuswhich was the largest from Roman times.

With a capacity of 25.000 spectators, more than half of the population of Tarraco, to imagine what the circus was like, you must go to its eastern part where you can see original stands and an emulation of the sand floor.

Plaza de la Font in Tarragona

From there it extended to the west, an area now occupied by the large rectangular plaza of the Town hall, Fountain Square, one of the most atmospheric corners in the city.

You have to keep in mind that under part of the houses in this Town Hall Square A good part of the old stands are still preserved. Roman circus of Tarragona.

In the Square of Sedassos and in the street Vell Ratchet You can see exposed sections with remains of the stands of said circus.

And also inside establishments on the aforementioned street, such as the Les Voltes restaurant, a city classic that permanently closed its doors in August 2021.

Nuns Tower in Tarragona

Leaving the walled enclosure from the king's square you can address another Roman enclosure of Tarragona which is preserved quite well.

I mean the Roman amphitheater, where you will arrive passing through the Nuns Tower, built at the end of the 14th century as part of the section of medieval wall, which during the Carlos V a bastion was attached.

Roman amphitheater of Tarragona

The amphitheater was built at the beginning of the 2nd century and was used for gladiatorial fighting.

Precisely in the amphitheater, during the celebration of the Tarraco Viva festival In May, you can see a show that emulates the gladiator fight in which they explain how this show was performed.

In the amphitheater you will see that a good part of the original stone steps are preserved, as well as interior vaults.

It will also catch your attention to see inside the remains of an ancient visigothic church from the end of the 6th century, and those of the Romanesque church of Santa María del Miracle, from the 12th century.

In this way you will have completed the visit of ancient Tarraco in the area corresponding to the current old town of Tarragona.

More Roman remains in Tarragona

But if you are interested, in other places nearby Tarragona you can see other Roman remains.

Thus, under the parking lot of the Parc Central shopping center is the Francolí Paleochristian Ensemble.

These are the remains of buildings from a Roman city from the 160th century and an early Christian basilica from the XNUMXth century where more than XNUMX tombs were discovered.

Furthermore, the Ferreres Aqueduct o Devil's Bridge It is the best preserved of the two that were built by the Romans in the 1st century.

A section of it that is 217 meters long and 26 meters high is preserved and you can see it four kilometers from Tarragona, on the N-240 that goes to Lérida.

Finally, 20 kilometers from the city, on the N-340 at the height of Roda of Bara is the Arch of Bara built in the 1st century on the Via Augusta.