Roman Trier

Trier was a Roman capital on the Moselle, and enough of it survives to fill a day of walking. The Porta Nigra, a blackened sandstone gate raised in the second century, stands at the head of the main street because a medieval hermit moved into it and the building was turned into a church, which saved it from being quarried away. The Imperial Baths never entered full service, so their underground service tunnels can be walked end to end. The Aula Palatina is a fourth century throne hall, a single brick room of daunting proportions, now a plain Protestant church. Add the amphitheatre, the Barbara baths and a bridge on Roman piers still carrying traffic.

What you actually see

• Porta Nigra - a Roman city gate blackened by weather, saved by its centuries as a church.
• The Imperial Baths - walkable service tunnels under a bath complex that was never fully used.
• The Aula Palatina - a fourth century brick throne hall, one enormous undivided room.
• The amphitheatre - tiered earth banks and the cellars where equipment and animals waited.

When to go

April to October for comfortable walking between sites that sit a kilometre or two apart. The tunnels under the baths stay cool and damp whatever the weather, so carry a layer in summer. Combined tickets pay off from about three sites onwards, and most of them close an hour or two earlier from November.

Honest expectations

These are ruins, and several read as brick stumps without a tour or audio guide. The amphitheatre in particular is mostly earthworks. The sites are spread out, and doing all of them in a day means a lot of walking on hard streets. The cathedral is often full of pilgrimage groups, and the centre is expensive in season.

Nearby

Moselle vineyards downstream, Luxembourg City an hour away, and the wine village of Bernkastel.