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 in Al-Andalus. In the middle of the complex, its pretty goldfish-populated aljibe (cistern) reuses Visigothic marble, flower motifs and stone slabs, while the ramparts look out over the Puente Romano and the Río Guadiana. The 15th-century monastery in the northeast corner now serves as regional government offices.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.45 MILES
Mérida's most spectacular Roman monument, and the only one to once again fulfil its original function – by hosting performances during the Festival…
0.12 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…
0.41 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,…
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15.96 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…
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0.14 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…
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0.43 MILES
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…
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0.43 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…
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0.77 MILES
The 1st-century Circo Romano could accommodate 30,000 spectators. Discovered in the 16th century, its remains represent the only surviving hippodrome of…
Nearby Mérida attractions
0.11 MILES
Many of the Visigothic objects unearthed in Mérida are exhibited in this archaeological museum, set inside a 16th-century church-convent just off the…
0.12 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…
0.14 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…
0.16 MILES
This imposing 15m-high granite archway isn't known to have anything to do with Roman emperor Trajan, but it was situated on one of Mérida's main Roman…
5. Zona Arqueológica de Morería
0.19 MILES
This excavated Moorish quarter contains the remains of a cemetery, walls, houses dating from Roman to post-Islamic times and the foundations of a 4th…
0.22 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.
0.29 MILES
The modern 20th-century Puente Lusitania, a sleek suspension bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava, mirrors Mérida's Roman bridge to the northwest.
8. Museo Nacional de Arte Romano
0.41 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,…