Roman Merida

Merida was born Emerita Augusta in 25 BC, a retirement city for Rome's veteran legionaries that grew into the capital of Lusitania - and its archaeological ensemble, UNESCO-listed in 1993, remains among the richest in Spain. The crown is the Roman theatre, raised around 16 BC under the patronage of Agrippa, its two-tiered marble stage front restored to full splendour and its 6,000 seats still filling every July and August for the classical theatre festival, when Sophocles and Plautus play under the stars in their original setting. Next door the amphitheatre kept the rougher entertainments; across town the Temple of Diana stands embedded in later centuries, the Los Milagros aqueduct strides the valley in ruined elegance, and the long Roman bridge over the Guadiana - among the longest surviving anywhere - still carries footsteps. The superb National Museum of Roman Art binds the whole city-under-a-city together.

What you actually see

• The Roman theatre - Agrippa's 6,000-seater with its marble stage front.
• The amphitheatre - the arena next door for the rougher games.
• Los Milagros aqueduct - ruined arches striding the valley.
• The Guadiana bridge - one of Rome's longest survivors, still walked.

When to go

Spring and autumn spare you Extremadura's fierce summer heat; if you can take warm evenings, July and August bring the classical festival and the theatre alive after dark. Winter is quiet and mild by Spanish-interior standards.

Honest expectations

Summer middays here are among Spain's hottest - sightsee early and late. The monuments scatter across a working modern town, so expect walking between sites rather than one enclosed park. Festival tickets for the best July nights sell out well ahead.

Nearby

Caceres' old town, the Roman bridge at Alcantara and the dehesa country of Extremadura.