← Maratón de Don Benito·Day trip

Mérida: The Roman Capital on the Guadiana

Spain's largest group of Roman monuments, 45 minutes by train from Don Benito, with a theatre that still hosts plays, a 60-arch bridge and a national museum of Roman art.

DurationDay trip
TransitRenfe regional train, about 45 minutes from Don Benito
DepartsDon Benito railway station

After the Maratón de Don Benito: Mérida

The Route: Don Benito → Mérida → Don Benito Logistics: Renfe regional train, about 45 minutes each way. Most sites are within a flat walk of each other. Marathon Month: February Duration: Day trip

Don Benito ──(about 45 mins Renfe regional)──> Mérida ──(about 45 mins)──> Don Benito

The Maratón de Don Benito runs on the plain of the Guadiana. Follow the river downstream by train for 45 minutes and you reach Mérida, founded by the Romans in 25 BC as Emerita Augusta and for centuries the capital of their province of Lusitania. Its monuments are listed by UNESCO and spread across a compact, mostly flat town.

February in Mérida is cool and often sunny, with afternoons in the low to mid-teens. The sites are quiet out of season.

Regional trains run from Don Benito to Mérida on the line towards Badajoz in about 45 minutes. There are only a few each day, so plan around the timetable at renfe.com and check the last return. From Mérida station, the centre is a flat walk of about 10 minutes.

The theatre and amphitheatre

The Roman theatre is the reason most people come. Built in the first century BC, its two-storey stage front of columns and statues was restored in the twentieth century, and it still hosts a classical theatre festival every summer. The amphitheatre is next to it. Both are reached on the level from the town, with seating steps to climb only if you want to. A combined ticket covers several of the town's sites; buy it at the entrance.

The museum

The Museo Nacional de Arte Romano, opposite the theatre, is a brick building by the architect Rafael Moneo, its great arched nave filled with mosaics, statues and inscriptions from the Roman town. It is level and has lifts. Like other state museums in Spain it closes on Mondays, so on the Monday after the race, see the theatre and bridge and come back for the museum another day, or make this a Tuesday trip.

The Roman bridge

The Puente Romano crosses the Guadiana on 60 granite arches, one of the longest surviving Roman bridges. It is closed to cars and makes a level walk of about 800 m each way, with the river below and the Alcazaba, a ninth-century Moorish fortress, at its town end.

Lunch and the return

Eat around the Plaza de España in the centre. Regional dishes include migas, Iberian pork and cheese from La Serena, the district south of Don Benito. Walk back to the station in time for the last train.