Walking in Portugal and Spain 2025: 72 Hours in Mérida, Spain

Roman Holiday?

By Laurel

Upon arrival from Cordoba, in Merida we stepped off the train and stepped back 2,000 years into the past! The extensive Roman ruins and world class museum here had been recommended to us by friends who had passed through Merida while walking the Via de la Plata.

We knew very little about this small city of 60,000. We soon learned that Augusta Emeritas was founded by Caesar Augustus in 25 B.C. as the capital of the province of Lusitania, at the western side of the Iberian peninsula. Befitting a major location in the Roman Empire, they endowed the city with many public buildings such as a theater for stage performances, an amphitheater (like the coliseum, but smaller) for gladiator fights, a circus for chariot races, a forum for public meetings, aqueducts, baths, temples, as well as ‘paved’ roads and a long bridge over the Guadiana River. This bridge was the second-longest constructed in the Empire and is, in 2025, the longest surviving Roman bridge. Today, these structures altogether are the most impressive Roman ruins in Spain and very accessible, as one may walk from one site to another close by amongst the modern buildings of Merida. Outdoor concerts are even hosted in the ancient theatre (however, none were scheduled during our visit).

After the Romans, Merida was ruled by the Visigoths (a Germanic tribe) and then by the Moors (Muslims from North Africa). During the Muslim period, the fortress at the city entrance was expanded, the stone walls heightened, and it came to be known as the Alcazaba. The walls are still quite intact and this site was another interesting place.

Sitting on the Alsa bus heading to Salamanca with Mérida fading from view, I thought of how fortunate we were to have included it in our itinerary.

Roman Amphitheater