Mérida

Mérida's Roman sites in one day, ending at the aqueduct at sunset

One full day covers Mérida's Roman core: the Casa del Mitreo, the theatre and amphitheatre, the Museo Nacional de Arte Romano, the Templo de Diana and the Alcazaba, then the Puente Romano and sunset at the Acueducto de los Milagros. Buy the combined ticket at the Casa del Mitreo to skip the longest queue.

Be at the Casa del Mitreo when it opens. Its mosaic floors justify the stop, and buying the combined ticket here instead of at the theatre booth skips the longest queue in town. Then walk to the Roman Theatre and amphitheatre while the morning light is still low and the tour coaches have yet to arrive.

Cross the road to the Museo Nacional de Arte Romano before lunch and give it at least an hour: Rafael Moneo's brick arches frame the statues in the main hall, and the crypt runs over an excavated stretch of Roman street. Eat near Plaza de España, then look at the Templo de Diana, its columns wedged between houses, and climb into the Alcazaba to walk down the steps of the Moorish cistern.

In the late afternoon, cross the Puente Romano over the Guadiana and back, then head north to the Acueducto de los Milagros for sunset, when storks settle on the piers. In July and August, swap the aqueduct for an evening play inside the theatre.

Torta del Casar, acorn-fed ham and Guadiana wine in Mérida

Order Torta del Casar, a sheep's cheese so soft when ripe that the top is cut off like a lid, and thin-carved jamón ibérico from acorn-fed pigs. Both lead menus in Mérida, and the restaurants around Plaza de España and the Templo de Diana serve them with Ribera del Guadiana wine.

Extremadura eats from its dehesa, the open oak woodland where black Iberian pigs fatten on acorns, and from its flocks of sheep. Two products lead most menus in Mérida. Torta del Casar is a sheep's cheese from a village near Cáceres, so soft when ripe that the top is sliced off like a lid and the inside spread on bread. Jamón ibérico from acorn-fed pigs is the other, carved thin and eaten at room temperature.

Look also for red peppers stuffed with fish, lamb or cornmeal, and for local cheeses rubbed with pimentón, the smoked paprika made in the La Vera valley in the north of the region. Migas, breadcrumbs fried with garlic, chorizo and pork, are old shepherd's food and appear on colder days. The local wine is Ribera del Guadiana, much of it grown in the Tierra de Barros vineyards just south of the city.

Most restaurants and tapas bars cluster in the streets around Plaza de España and towards the Templo de Diana, where some terraces face the columns. In summer, eat late; locals stay in through the afternoon heat and come out after dark.

Spring in Mérida, 35°C summers and the classical theatre festival

March to May is the best time for Mérida, with highs climbing from 20°C to 27°C, followed by late October. July and August reach 35°C, though the International Classical Theatre Festival brings plays to the Roman stage on summer nights, and winter days of about 14°C fall to 4°C after dark.

Summer here is serious. July and August average 35°C at their peak with barely 10 mm of rain between them, and many afternoons go higher. Sightsee from opening time until late morning, retreat into the Museo Nacional de Arte Romano, and come out again at dusk. Winter swings the other way: January days reach about 14°C but nights fall to around 4°C, and October and November bring the heaviest rain of the year.

The heat has one reward. Every July and August the International Classical Theatre Festival, first held in the 1930s, stages Greek and Roman plays on the Roman Theatre's own stage after dark, once the stone has cooled. Book seats ahead, as the best nights sell out. Holy Week, in March or April, brings processions through the centre.

For a break from ruins, the Roman reservoir of Proserpina, a few kilometres north, is still held back by its original dam wall and turns into the town's swimming spot in summer. Cáceres and Badajoz are each about an hour away by train for a day out.