We loved the little corner of Spain we recently stayed in. The Costa Dorada is not only famous for it’s beaches, but there’s lots of fantastic sights to visit too.
Whilst in Spain we took some time to explore the lovely local city of Tarragona, here are 6 things to do in and around Tarragona.
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Train Tour
We didn’t actually realise there was a road train in Tarragona, until we spotted it whilst visiting the Roman amphitheatre. It starts across the road from the amphitheatre at the end of a little walkway down from the sea view end of Rambla Nova.
The tour takes you around the entire city, with particular highlights being the beach, harbour, bull ring and the old town. It’s a hop-on-hop-off train, so you can get off at various points along the way and wait for another train to pick you up later. When you buy tickets you are also given a leaflet with the route and stops, plus a set of headphones for each passenger to listen to the recorded tour (you can choose from several languages).
This was probably the highlight of the boys day, considering it was a train and they love trains!
Roman Amphitheatre
Overlooking the sea is a Roman ampitheatre, only a few original parts remained, but a lot of the stone work has been reconstructed. The original amphitheatre was carved out of the bedrock in the 2nd century and gladiators would fight each other and wild beasts.
In the 6th century a Basilica was built on the site, later replaced by a church. It looks a bit strange now seeing the church in the middle of what would have been the fighting oval, but it is a later addition.
Entrance fee is payable on the way into the amphitheatre and there are toilets on site too. It’s very dusty and hot with no wind inside the oval, so take plenty of water. The garden above the amphitheatre has plenty of shade to relax in if you get too hot in the oval!
Old Town
The old town looks gorgeous with it’s twisty narrow streets. We only saw this part from the road train as the boys were already hot and tired by this point. However, this is definitely somewhere worth wandering around and getting lost in.
The streets are very quaint, but there is also a dominating cathedral at the top of the hill. We spotted some impressive carvings and architecture and I would have loved to investigate it more.
Beach
The beach at Tarragona is typical of the beaches along the Costa Dorada, plenty of sand for everyone! You can easily hop off the road train here, or there is parking nearby.
The beach looked busy when we were there, but still plenty of space for more visitors and it looked perfectly clean too.
Rambla Nova
The Rambla Nova is a long, wide street, with roads either side, but a pedestrianised walkway in the middle, tree lined and shady. The Western end of the Rambla Nova has fountains and statues, as you walk along there are plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants.
The Rambla culminates at the Balcon Del Mediterraaneo, a fancy iron balcony looking out across the sea. It’s a good meeting point and a perfect spot for an ice cream from a nearby shop!
PortAventura World
Although PortAventura World is not actually in Tarragona, it’s not too far away in nearby Salou. The Adventure Park is actually 3 separate parks, the PortAventura Theme Park, PortAventura Water Park and Ferrari Land. We paid to enter the theme park section only.
My husband was doubtful that it would be worth it with two young children who might not meet the height restrictions. However, we found plenty of rides for them to go on (although there were a lot that our 3 year old was too short for, but this will be why he was free entry).
There is also a train, created to look like the famous Jupiter, which you can take across the park. It’s a nice ride ad does make it easier to reach some of the kiddy rides at the far side of the park.
I can’t say that I’m not sad that I couldn’t go on the bigger rollercoasters, but we still managed an amazing day out with our two little boys.
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