After the Maratón de Badajoz: Mérida

The Route: Badajoz → Mérida → Badajoz Logistics: Renfe train from Badajoz station, about 40 minutes and around four direct services a day. The Roman sites are a flat walk from Mérida station. Marathon Month: March Duration: Day trip

Badajoz station ──(40 mins Renfe)──> Mérida ──(40 mins Renfe)──> Badajoz station

The Maratón de Badajoz runs along the Guadiana for much of its middle section. Mérida is 55 km upstream on the same river, and it was the capital of the Roman province of Lusitania. The ruins are the reason to go, and most of them sit on level ground in the town centre.

March in Mérida is mild and usually dry enough for a day outdoors, with cool mornings and afternoons that can reach the high teens. The summer theatre festival is months away, so the monuments are quiet. Semana Santa falls later in the spring in most years; if it arrives early, expect processions and busier streets.

Renfe runs direct trains from Badajoz station on the north bank. The trip takes about 40 minutes, with about four services a day, the first a little after 07:00 and the last in the evening. Fares are low, from about €4. With so few trains, check the return times at the station before you leave and plan the day around them.

The theatre and amphitheatre

The Roman theatre is the centrepiece. It was built in the last decades BC, and its two-storey stage front of columns and statues has been restored. It is still used for performances in summer. Next to it is the amphitheatre, where gladiators fought. The two sit together inside one ticketed site on the edge of the centre, and the paths between them are mostly level, with some steps and uneven stone in the seating. Allow 90 minutes.

The Consorcio that runs the monuments sells a combined ticket (entrada conjunta, €17 at the most recent published rates) covering the theatre, the amphitheatre, the Alcazaba, the Temple of Diana, the Roman circus and several smaller sites, or a theatre-and-amphitheatre ticket at €13. On post-marathon legs the second is plenty.

Across the river

The Roman bridge over the Guadiana is one of the longest to survive from the Roman world and is now pedestrian only. It is flat, about 800 m end to end, and the best recovery walk in Mérida. The Alcazaba, the Moorish fortress at its town end, is included in the combined ticket.

The Temple of Diana stands in the middle of the modern town, a short flat walk from the main square, Plaza de España.

The Museo Nacional de Arte Romano, in a brick building by Rafael Moneo opposite the theatre, holds the finds from the site. Like most Spanish state museums it is normally closed on Mondays, so if you come the day after the race, save it for another visit or check the current hours.

Lunch and the return

The streets around Plaza de España have plenty of places serving Extremaduran cooking at lunchtime. Leave time to walk back to the station, which is about 15 minutes on the flat from the theatre.