Tarragona · Cataluña
Tarragona
The first city settled by the Romans on the Iberian Peninsula, sited on a rocky hill sheer above the sea, with the most remarkable amphitheatre on the Costa Daurada.
What Tarragona is like
Portrait drawn from Lonely Planet, the Michelin Green Guide & The Rough Guide.
On a rocky hill, sheer above the sea.
On the table. Shady plazas for vermouth-sipping.
Worth the trip
- The amphitheatre, which could host up to 14,000 spectators on its seaside perch
- A cathedral blending Gothic and Romanesque styles
- The Museu Nacional Arqueològic, with a complete collection of Roman mosaics
A little history
Under Augustus, Tarraco was named capital of Rome's eastern Iberian province — the most elegant and cultured city of Roman Spain, boasting at its peak a quarter of a million inhabitants.
Who it suits: Roman-history travellers
The numbers
The decision data — each figure against the Spanish average. Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.4°C 2.7°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30°C 0.2°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 48 days 31% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.3 h/day about the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 16 above the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,838/m² 17% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Net income per person
- €15,847 9% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 18%
Safety
- Recorded crime
- 65 per 1,000 48% more than the Spanish average (44 per 1,000)
Schools
- Schools in town
- 74
- Nearest international school
- 2 km
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 12 below the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min
- Nearest health centre
- 1.1 km
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 142 days 32% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 23 min
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 96% 17% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 99% 16% above the Spanish average (83%)
Who lives here
- Population
- 143,260
- Born in Spain
- 72.7% 16.1% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 3.1% 0.7% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.37 per 1,000
Numbers: SettleSpain town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma, Ministerio del Interior and the Catastro. National average = the unweighted mean across all 8,132 Spanish municipalities with data. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Tarragona fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Tarragona against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 18 min from Reus, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Tarragona for you →Nearby towns
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