7. Baelo Claudia

The photo of Baelo Claudia taken from : www.arteespana.com

So now let's travel to Baelo Claudia which is the seventh top most visited cities in Spain. Baelo Claudia is an ancient Roman town situated on the Costa de la Luz, some 15km north of Tarifa, next to the town of Bolonia and the beautiful beach. Its history lies in the trade routes serving Europe and North Africa - the town's strategic position on the coast near the Straits of Gibraltar made it a crucial stopping-off point between the two continents. The ruins of Baelo Claudia, with its impressive temple, forum and basilica, and especially the large fish-salting factory, show how important the town was.

Deriving its wealth from the fishing industry, Baelo Claudia supplied the popular Roman delicacy, garum (fish paste) to the whole Roman Empire. It was thriving at the time of Emperor Claudius (41-45 AD), who gave the town his name. By the second century the town was in decline and was nearly destroyed by an earthquake. By the sixth century AD, Baelo Claudia was abandoned.Baelo Claudia is stunningly located, with a backdrop of a golden sandy beach and the blue sea, and has an excellent visitor centre (see below).

This is the photo of the symbolic monument at Baelo Claudia which was ruined by the Romans. Taken from : www.andalucia.com

Main attractions

The town follows the classic urban planning model of Rome, with streets running from east to west, and north to south; you can still walk along remaining parts of these. Main attractions to be seen at the site include:

• Basilica
• Theatre
• Thermal Baths
• Temple of Isis
• Aqueducts
• Salting Factories (currently being restored)

How to go to Baelo Claudia?

To get you to Baelo Claudia, you can take the N-340 main road and at km 70.2 turn off onto the CA. P8202 Local road and continue until you reach the village of Ensenada Bolonia. Continue straight on rather than turning left to the beach and in 500m you will see the visitor centre and its Car Park on the left hand side.