The perfect day trip itinerary to Tarragona Spain if you only have one day! Pin this on Pinterest so you can read and refer to it later!
Day trip itinerary in Tarragona
We went on a 2-week road trip to Spain this summer and it was a lot of fun! We started the road trip from Madrid and it ended in Barcelona. During our 2-week road trip in Spain, we decided to go on a day trip to Tarragona. It’s a city located in the Catalonia region in northeastern Spain. We’ve never heard of Tarragona before, and we discovered Tarragona when we were driving toward Barcelona and trying to decide where we should stop along the way after doing some research.
Good to know: Tarragona is only 99km away from Barcelona (about 1.5 hours if you are driving). Tarragona is located between Valencia and Barcelona. Tarragona might not be as famous as Valencia or Barcelona for destinations in Spain, but it’s worth to visit for a day trip if you are in the area. Make sure that you bring some small change with you because some of the roads have tolls.
How to get there ⤵
If you are coming from Barcelona Plaça d’ Espanya → take the exit toward Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes/C-31 and the next exit will be the A-2 ramp to Lleida/Tarragona. Follow signs for B-20/C-32 and then merge onto B-20 and stay here for about 57 kilometers. Take exit E-15/AP-7 toward Tarragona/Valencia and stay here for about 27 kilometers. Take exit 33 toward Tarragona/Centre ciudad/Valls then follow the sign for Tarragona.
If you are coming from Valencia Cathedral → head toward Av. de Catalunya/V-21 and stay here for 21 kilometers. Take exit E-15/A-7 toward AP-7/Castelló/Castellón/Barcelona and stay here for 233 kilometers. Please note that there is a toll here. Take exit 33 toward Tarragona/Center ciudad/Valls then follow the sign for Tarragona.
So, what did we do in Tarragona?
#1 Les Ferreres Aqueduct
The first place that we visited once we arrived in Tarragona was Les Ferreres Aqueduct also known as Pont del Diable. It is an ancient Roman Aqueduct bridge that was built to supply water to the ancient city of Tarraco (now called Tarragona). One of the reasons why we were interested to visit Les Ferreres Aqueduct other than its story was its beautiful shape. It also looks pretty similar to the Nine Arch Bridge in Sri Lanka.
Good to know:
- There was no entrance fee to visit Les Ferreres Aqueduct
- There was free parking available by the entrance
We parked our car in the free parking area a little bit past the entrance. We walked further in from the parking lot and apparently it was not the right way toward the aqueduct. Once you park your car, walk back toward the entrance and there will be a gate/entrance on your left. The aqueduct is a short walk from the entrance. The trail was well-maintained, easy, and flat. The hike time posted on the signs along the trail was not accurate. It only took us about 15 minutes at the very most to get to the viewpoint below the aqueduct.
The viewpoint below the aqueduct was the best spot to take some photos because you can see both levels and almost the whole length of the aqueduct.
What to wear: Wear something comfortable that is appropriate for the weather. We also recommend wearing comfortable footwear to explore the area. Wear white, red, and pink for photos and avoid wearing green, yellow, orange, and blue to get the best contrast/color combination here.
Les Ferreres Aqueduct viewpoint
After taking photos from the viewpoint by the trail, we went to the nearest entrance of the bridge to walk on the bridge and see the view from above. The wall on the right and left side of the bridge has a pretty good height, but please make sure to stay safe and stay on the path. The path on the bridge is pretty narrow that it doesn’t fit two people standing side by side. People will come from both directions of the bridge, so please be mindful of others and stand on your back/front against the wall to let others pass.
If you are not a big fan of height, you can skip walking on the bridge. The height of the bridge is 27 meters (about 89 feet) and the length of the bridge is 249 meters (about 817 feet/0.15 mile).
#2 Eat lunch a CreeA
We finished our visit to Les Ferreres Aqueduct at around lunch time. As you might already know, many businesses in Spain usually have a siesta in the middle of the day. Businesses are usually closed for a couple of hours in the middle of the day to take an afternoon rest or nap where The thing is, there is no standard schedule and it looks like every business has its own schedule, so it is very important to check the business hours (or even call, if possible) to see whether they are open or not. We use HappyCow to find vegan/vegetarian restaurants in new cities and that’s how we found CreeA, a small place with cute decoration. Their prices were on the higher end, but the foods were delicious! There weren’t any street parking by the restaurant, so we parked our car in a paid parking garage nearby.
Good to know: There is a parking garage within walking distance from CreeA and our 3rd destination (Circ Romà). It is located in between Circ Romà and CreeA. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you can use happycow to check vegan/vegetarian restaurants in your destination.
#3 Visit Circ Romà
After lunch, we walked to Circ Romà. It is another famous attraction in Tarragona. Circ Romà used to be a place for a Roman circus. Some of the towers were still up, though many of them were already crumbled down. Single entry to all monuments and museums costs €11.05. We decided not to go in because we could see enough from the outside. We walked around the ruins from the outside and there was an uphill road on the side of the ruins that gave us a pretty good view of the ruins.
Our visit to Tarragona was not long and there are many more things that we could’ve visited in Tarragona. We’d like to explore more of Tarragona next time we are in the area! Bonus tip: stop by or drive by the waterfront on your way out of Tarragona.
