Beside Mérida's Plaza de Toros, the Casa del Mitreo is a late-1st- or 2nd-century Roman house with a well-preserved fresco and several intricate mosaics. Among the mosaics you'll find the partial but beautiful remains of the 3rd-century mosaico cosmológico (with its bright colours and allegories about the creation of the world), which was damaged by a fire. The Casa del Mitreo is connected by footpath to the adjacent Los Columbarios Roman funeral site.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.33 MILES
Mérida's most spectacular Roman monument, and the only one to once again fulfil its original function – by hosting performances during the Festival…
0.47 MILES
Don't miss the extraordinarily powerful spectacle of the Puente Romano spanning the Río Guadiana. At 792m in length with 60 granite arches, it's one of…
0.42 MILES
Even if you visit only a handful of Mérida's sights, make sure one of them is this fabulous museum, which has a superb three-floor collection of statues,…
15.62 MILES
One of the stars of Extremadura's Ribera del Guadiana wine-producing region, Palacio Quemado produces excellent reds and runs guided tours (including one…
29.94 MILES
Built from a preexisting Moorish fort by the powerful local Feria house, Feria's impeccably revamped 15th-century castle enjoys spectacular panoramas in…
0.4 MILES
The soaring columns here are one of Mérida's most dramatic, incongruous sights, surrounded as they are by the buildings of a modern Spanish city…
0.43 MILES
This large Islamic fort was built in the mid-9th century on a site already occupied by the Romans and Visigoths, probably becoming the first ever alcazaba…
0.64 MILES
This basilica was built in the 5th century in honour of Mérida's patron saint, who is said to have been martyred in the 4th century. It was then…
Nearby Mérida attractions
0.18 MILES
This garden-fringed Roman funeral site contains two well-preserved 4th-century crypts and is decently documented (in Spanish) and illustrated. A footpath…
0.33 MILES
Mérida's most spectacular Roman monument, and the only one to once again fulfil its original function – by hosting performances during the Festival…
0.39 MILES
Attached to the grand Teatro Romano, the (slightly less dazzling) Anfiteatro opened in 8 BCE for gladiatorial contests and held 14,000; the gladiator…
0.4 MILES
The soaring columns here are one of Mérida's most dramatic, incongruous sights, surrounded as they are by the buildings of a modern Spanish city…
0.4 MILES
The restored 1st-century Pórtico del Foro, the municipal forum's portico, is 100m northeast up Calle de Sagasta from the Templo de Diana.
6. Museo Nacional de Arte Romano
0.42 MILES
Even if you visit only a handful of Mérida's sights, make sure one of them is this fabulous museum, which has a superb three-floor collection of statues,…
0.43 MILES
This large Islamic fort was built in the mid-9th century on a site already occupied by the Romans and Visigoths, probably becoming the first ever alcazaba…
0.47 MILES
Don't miss the extraordinarily powerful spectacle of the Puente Romano spanning the Río Guadiana. At 792m in length with 60 granite arches, it's one of…