greek, roman ruins
 

Greetings all,

I need some recommendations for Greek and Roman ruins in the following countries: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Great Britain (England and Wales). We know about Pompeii and Herculaneum. Beyond that, we don't know what is really great and what is not, so we need some help prioritizing. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?
Thank you.

You'll have a hard time looking for greek ruins in France, Spain, Portugal and Britain :D. I've visited a really beautiful roman bath house in Weissenburg/Bavaria. Roman ruins are basically "everywhere", so where are you going?

We just went to Sicily and it has the most Greek ruins outside of Greece. In fact, I think most of them are better than what you'll find Greece.

Major temples at Segesta, Selinunte, Agrigento. Three amazing theaters at Segesta, Siracusa and Taormina.

We also saw Roman stuff like various amphitheater ruins, but they're less impressive than those in or near Rome.

Paestum, just south of Salerno, has beautiful and amazingly preserved Greek temples and an extensive ruin area. I didn't get to visit the museum, but I understand it's excellent too.

The best Greek ruins in Spain are located near Girona (Costa Brava) in a town called Empuries. They are, by far, not the only ones located in that area (logically near port areas), but they are the most accesible and better preserved. The Ruins of Empuries are open all year round, about $4/pp, allow about 2 hours sightseeing.

In France, Orange has a wonderful Roman theater and a triumphal arch. I have not been to the Pont du Gard in Nimes, but the pictures are spectacular and it is on my list to get to.

Roman ruins are everywhere - you can hardly walk in europe for falling over them.

Ones I have seen and liked:

GB: Bath, Hadrians wall/housteads, there are even some in London (Museum of London) and nearby the Tower

Germany: Trier has a bunch of stuff - from the Port Negra to a very sizeable museum and basilica

Spain: Merida has a lot

Forgot to include recs for Roman ruins in Spain on previous message.... I strongly recommend three sights; the Roman Aqueduct in Segovia (MUST!), Merida (near Seville), and the Roman Ruins of Baelo Claudio (near Tarifa).

You will not find Baelo Claudio in many guidebooks; we stumbled upon this sight while driving leisurely on the countryside. It is an spectacular sight as you approach from the road. It sits on a knoll by the ocean; temples and all. It was abandoned after been destroyed by an eartquake and the sense you get as you approach is that you are arriving the day after the earthquake. Hard to explain.

From the places you listed I would place Italy (logically) at the top, but don't discard Spain at all.

Keep also in mind that the Romans took over a lot of Greek-developed establishments and they weren't really into preserving! Best of luck in your research!!

There are wonderful Roman ruins all over the South of France: Nimes, Orange, Arles, near Avignon, Nice, etc. and etc. We particularly enjoyed Nimes since admission to coliseum was free; there were other fascinating ruins in a public park; Roman public buildings; etc. The other major towns also had fine ruins, coliseums, too. Nimes is also a "real" functioning small city/large town -- it was easy to get laundry done, go to street fairs, an art musuem, etc.

Part of the frequency of ruins reflects the fact that Rome used this part of France as retirement communities for its retired soldiers. Basically, a roman soldier could retire with a good pension after 20 years of service. Since the Romans were a pretty healthy lot, this meant a number of 40-somethings who could still have a number of years to do something with their lives. What better way to ensure some level of loyalty to the Empire than to create communities for retired soldiers (and others) dependent on pensions from Rome? As such, other facilities for leisure followed, e.g. colliseums, etc.

You will find Roman ruins in France in :
Orange (theater - Arc de Triomphe)
Vaisons-la-Romaine (theater)
Vienne near Lyon + the museum in Saint Gal close-by
Nîmes
Glanum
Pont du Gard (roman aqueduc)
Narbonne (horreum)
Enserune near Beziers (oppidum)
La Turbie near Nice etc...

In Spain : Merida (theater and adjoining museum)
Tarragona
Italica near Sevilla

etc, etc.

Thank you all. Viajero2, you made my husband's heart sing! This was one that we had never heard of. We are hoping to get to the south of France, so the Avignon, Nimes etc. recommendations are wonderful. Please keep the suggestions coming!

"You'll have a hard time looking for greek ruins in France, Spain, Portugal and Britain "

Hmm, some mistake here ?

The area around the Med (including North Africa) has a huge number of Etruscan, Phoenician, Greek and Roman remains.

The further colonies (i.e. England, Germany etc) also have many remains.

Perhaps the largest concentration is along the Via Domitia which linked Rome to Spain and passed through Provence, Marseille, Nimes, Agde, etc.

Some local photos :

http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/im...anguedoc04.jpg
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/images/nimesair1.jpg
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/images/pdg98.jpg
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/im...anguedoc05.jpg
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/images/nimes50.jpg
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/im...bullfights.jpg
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/images/vidsud.jpg

This site : http://musee.lattes.free.fr/
is currently undergoing excavation. The 8 levels of civilisation discovered so far date back to 1000 BC

Peter

Augusta Raurica / Kaiseraugst in Northern Switzerland, near Basel: http://www.bl.ch/docs/kultur/augusta...sta_main-e.htm

Another vote for Nimes and definitely Arles. Spend at least a full day (two nights) in Arles. It was our favorite place while visiting the Provence area in 2001....lots to explore including Roman ruins. Didn't get to Orange but wish we had. Next trip:)