A list of Roman remains to visit in Barcelona & Catalunya

Visit Roman Ruins or Romanesque style buildings

Catalunya and Barcelona have a large collection of Roman ruins. They are everywhere if you know where to look. The centre of Barcelona is a Roman walled city.

Barcelona as a settlement is over 2,000 years old with the first city emerging as a Roman colony called Barcino. Founded by Emperor Augustus during the period of 15–10 BC with the full Roman name of Iulia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. Many remains of Barcino still exist in various locations of Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter.

The Roman Barcino city was founded on land already populated by the Iberian Laietani tribe (Via Laietana street derives its name from this tribe). As a colony, Barcino was established to distribute land among retired soldiers and was less important than the Roman town of Tarraco (Tarragona).

Barcino became a walled and fortified city between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, with further expansion of the walls in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The footprint of Barcino within the city walls remained until the Middle Ages where parts of the walls were knocked down to expand the city or were absorbed into buildings.

The population of Roman Barcino was about 3500–5000 citizens with the main economic activity being cultivation of the surrounding land and its wine exportation.

The coastal city of Tarragona has scatterings of Roman ruins along the coastline and Tarraco was one of the first Roman outposts outside of mainland Italy, being founded in 218 BC.

In 2000 the collection of archaeological remains of the Roman city of Tarraco (Tarragona) was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO due to its size, quantity and excellent state of preservation. The Roman ruins in Tarragona can be visited in one day and it is only 1 hour by train from Barcelona.

On this page I list the most prominent Roman ruins and museums dedicated to the preservation and study of Roman ruins. I also listed the extensive Roman ruins in Tarragona as well as some others outside of the cities.

Walking along the coast from Torredembarra to Tarragona, you will find Vila de Munt, a large Roman farm for the production of grapes and wine. Vila de Munt is a museum. Tamarit is a 6th‑century castle which can be viewed from outside and from the sea.

Click on a photo to find out the details about each ruin site and how to best enjoy it.

Happy Exploring!