Free Tour Essential Mérida

We invite you to explore Mérida, the heart of Extremadura. Located in the center of the region and on the banks of two waterways (the Guadiana River and the Albarregas stream), this ancient city has witnessed significant events over the centuries and has enjoyed periods of great wealth. Do you want to visit the places that shape the great stories that happened there?

We will begin our itinerary at the Puerta de la Villa, where one of the entrances to the urban complex was once located, and today pays tribute to the archaeologists who began the excavations in Mérida. The Decumanus Maximus, one of the main axes of the Roman city and now Santa Eulalia Street, will lead us to the Calatrava Market, an interesting building that will soon house the Museum of History and Archaeology. Next, we will stop at the Parador Nacional de Turismo Vía de la Plata, which occupies an old convent-hospital from the 18th century.

We will continue to the Temple of Imperial Worship, dedicated to Emperor Augustus, where we will discover the secrets of Roman religion and the difference between the provincial forum and the local forum of the city. We will then reach the Arch of Trajan, an impressive semicircular Roman arch that hides a very curious story about Roman construction techniques.

Did you know that the seat of the Assembly of Extremadura once occupied an old hospital before becoming the institutional building we know today? Our steps will then lead us to the Convent of Santa Clara, home to the Visigothic Art Museum of Mérida, and then to the most important religious monument in the city, the Co-Cathedral of Santa María la Mayor, of Romanesque and Gothic styles, where we will learn about Bishop Masona, one of the great figures of Visigothic Mérida.

We will continue to the Plaza de Roma, where the archaeological area of Las Morerías will tell us about the Arab refoundation of the city at the end of the 8th century, next to the Roman bridge from the 1st century BC that explains why Mérida was founded precisely at this point of the river. We will pass by the Arab Alcazaba and the Conventual Santiaguista, built after the Leonese conquest, two more traces of the different peoples who inhabited this enclave.

As a result of this mix of cultures, today we enjoy a great variety of artistic examples of all kinds, such as the Plaza de España, home to the Town Hall, where the neoclassical and neo-Mudejar Casa de los Pacheco and the eclectic Palacio de la China welcome us. Finally, we will conclude the guided tour at the most spectacular space of the entire route: the Temple of Diana. The proportion of its columns will leave you breathless! This incredible 1st-century complex was part of the municipal forum of the Roman city, and by contemplating it, you will feel as if you have traveled back in time.

What are you waiting for? Join our free tour, and we will show you the most outstanding places in Mérida!