Empuries Costa Brava

It was the Greeks who first established a trading post here on what was then an island; contact between Greek settlers and indigenous tribes led to the development of the Iberian culture. The Romans anchored at Empuries in 218 BC, the first step on the route to the colonisation of Spain. The Roman city of Emporiae was abandoned in the 3rd century AD and only rediscovered by archaeologists in 1908. Much of it has still to be excavated.

The remains of the Roman city show how much Spanish town planning owes to Roman influence. The forum at the centre, the forerunner of the Placa Major, would once have been surrounded by arcades; there were temples at one end and a main street leading to the city walls. Even the amphitheatre outside the walls has its equivalent in today's bullring or football stadium.

Below is the Greek city, dominated by a statue of Asklepios, the god of healing (the original is in Barcelona's archaeological museum). A small museum interprets the ruins, and there is an excellent audiovisual show. Afterwards you can walk along the seairont, past the original Greek jetty, to the village of Sant Marti d'Empuries, site of the first Greek settlement.