Tarragona
The hidden gem of Catalonia
Barcelona is a wonderful city, we all know that: It is a destination worth choosing for all sort of travellers... and for more than one trip! There are many ways of visiting Barcelona: You can take it as a beach destination, lay all morning at the beach, have an afternoon ice cream and enjoy the nightlife and the tapas in the evening, and the clubs and the concerts. You can also take it as a cultural trip, and go to the wonderful museums, and to the Gaudí houses ?and you can also do a bit of both. Or you can decide to explore its surroundings, as Barcelona is just an hour away from other wonderful places that are waiting for you to discover them.
Tarragona is one of those places. This beautiful city is often overlooked, but it is perfect for a day or a weekend trip if you're travelling to the capital. Tarragona receives over 2,5 million visitors a year lately, and we can guarantee that it leaves a beautiful memory for most of them. As Barcelona, it also enjoys wonderful surroundings, as it is located by the sea, in the Costa Daurada (the Golden Coast), which has beautiful yellow sand beaches, and also has a beautiful interior, full of vineyards and cultivated lands. Besides, now is the perfect time to visit it, as it will be the host of the Mediterranean Olympics of 2017 - so it's really making itself beautiful for the special occasion!
However, Tarragona doesn't need much sprucing up to be beautiful, as it breathes history and has enough attractions as it is. Did you know that is has been declared as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO? And quite an important one! Keep reading this article to find out why, as we're going to tell you all about it.
An imperial history and an old town up to the task
Tarragona is nowadays much less populated than Barcelona, but centuries ago, it was the most important city in Catalonia. In fact, it was one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean coast! Under the name of Tarraco, it was an ancient Roman city, the capital of one of the provinces of Hispania, Hispania Citerior.
Tarraco was a work of the Scipio family. The Romans arrived around 217 BC, and they started using it as a winter and summer residence, as they warred against the Celtiberians. Back then, the capital of Hispania Citerior was Cartago Nova, but the importance of Tarraco kept growing. However, its legal status isn't clear, as it was considered a military base, and it didn't acquire the status of colony until the second half of the 1st century BC. Its splendour would come with Emperor Augustus. After Tarraco had acquired that new status, the Romans needed to give the city the prestige and the monumentality it required. During Augustus' rule, the Roman Forum and a theatre were built next to the sea, in the lower part of the city. The higher part would be built later on, by the Flavian dynasty, where the Roman Circus and another Forum where built. The last great construction that would be given to Tarraco would be the amphitheatre, already in the 2nd century AD.
All of that is considered a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO, and can be visited today. In fact, in the city you can also see a miniature of Tarraco in its peak, where you will be able to appreciate how it didn't follow the typical structure of a Roman city, probably due to the geography of the area. Tarragona is similar to Barcelona in having both the sea and the mountain, by the first is actually located on a hill, which forced the Romans to build Tarraco in a series of terraces that climbed down towards the sea. The theatre and the amphitheatre would remain outside the walls of the city, which was also atypical.
What to see in Tarragona
Of course, the Roman ruins of Tarragona are a must-see ?but they're not the only attraction in the city! Get your notepad ready to write down the following amazing tourist attractions. You will have to make decisions if you're there just for one day!
- The Roman Amphitheatre: It's probably the most impressive monument of Tarragona, as it is quite well preserved and dates back from the 2nd century AD. It served the same purposes as any amphitheatre, as it saw gladiator and animal fights, hunts, executions and athletic events. The horrors of its past make an unforgettable contrast with the beauty of the enclave ?impressive, sand-coloured ruins with the deep blue of the Mediterranean sea in the background.
- The Roman Circus and the Pretorium: The Pretorium Tower and the Roman Circus are also a must-see, especially the Circus, which has the particularity of the underground vaults, which can also be visited. The Pretorium Tower was part of the Provincial Forum of the city, and inside of it you will find the miniature we mentioned before.
- The Provincial Forum: In the higher part of the city you can see the ruins of what was the Provincial Forum of Tarraco, which was the political and administrative centre of the province. You will be able to see different fragments of the portals and the buildings
- The Cathedral & the modern town: There is another beautiful part of the city of Tarragona that isn't actually modern, but quite new if we compare it with the old ruins of Tarraco! The Rambla Nova will show you several buildings of Modernisme Style, but you can choose the "other" old town of Tarragona as well, and visit the cathedral of Santa Tecla, which has an interesting history. It was built between the 12th and the 14th century, and its Gothic façade was supposed to be much more detailed and impressive than what it actually is. The reason? The plague of the 1348 and its impact on the workforce. The cathedral is still a beautiful sight, and the impressive staircase sure deserves a visit.
- The Arqueology Museum: Of course, Tarragona has an archaeology museum where you will be able to learn much more about the Roman city of Tarraco. If you want to learn even more, you can also visit the History Museum of Tarragona. There's so much to learn about this hidden gem only 99km away from Barcelona!
- The Serrallo, the fishermen's neighbourhood: Are you in the mood for something different? Go to the port and take a walk along this neighbourhood of fishermen, where you can see the fish sales in the afternoon and early evening. It is also a great place to go to great restaurants that specialise in fish and seafood.
- A balcony over the Mediterranean Sea: At the end of the Rambla Nova you will find a viewpoint known as the Balcón del Mediterráneo, which offers a privileged view over the coast of Tarragona ?Including, of course, the amphitheatre! If you want to brag about the beautiful places you're seeing in Catalonia in your social media accounts, this is the place for you.
- Tarraco Viva: Tarragona is proud of its heritage and its imperial past, and the relive it with a wonderful festival every year, Tarraco Viva (Tarraco alive). It is an international festival of culture that offers plays, dance events and concerts focused on the history of Tarragona. It usually takes place in the spring, so plan your trip accordingly if you want to go! Of course, you can also buy your Tarragona online tickets for the festival with us.
Tarragona online tickets & other useful information
After reading all this about Tarragona, you must be completely convinced to spend a day or two there. Don't worry, because now you can plan your day trip with GowithOh! We've been helping you find the best tourist apartments for a while now, and now we can help you plan your trips even more. Get your Tarragona online tickets with us!
In order to travel to Tarragona, you will need to get your Tarragona online tickets to get there. The easiest way there is by train, as you can leave from the centre of Barcelona and be in Tarragona in more or less an hour. Convenient, isn't it?
There are different trains that you can take to get to Tarragona, as many long distance trains that go south make their first stop there. However, the easiest and cheapest way is to get a regional train, which will be a bit slower (around an hour and a half) because it will stop in more towns before getting there. The Regional Express is an orange train that travels to other parts of Catalonia, and there are two lines that will take you to Tarragona, R15 and R16. You can get them in different train stations in Barcelona (Estació de França, Passeig de Gràcia and Barcelona Sants; these last two in the city centre), and you can buy your Tarragona online tickets with GowithOh. The price can be under 10 euros!
Regarding the attractions, you can also get your Tarragona online tickets with GowithOh. And, besides buying with us, we can also guide you through your options, which are quite a lot. There are different combinations of Tarragona online tickets depending on what you're visiting, and the combined tickets are well worth-it. In fact, the prices of all the Tarragona online tickets are quite cheap, considering the unmeasurable value of all the Roman ruins there. A single Tarragona online ticket for one monument is under 4 euros, whereas the combined one for all the monuments and museums about the Heritage monuments is only a little bit over 10. It's possible that you don't have time to visit absolutely everything; in this case, you can also buy combined Tarragona online tickets for 4 different monuments for less than 10 euros.
Are you ready to visit this hidden gem? It's possible that you were underwhelmed by the Roman ruins of old Barcino, but you can undoubtedly make up for it in Tarragona. And now you can organise your trip with GowithOh!
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