Mérida was founded by the Romans in 25 BC as Augusta Emerita, a city for veterans of the Cantabrian wars, and it grew into the capital of the province of Lusitania. Few places in Spain carry their Roman past so openly. The small Alcantarilla bridge on the edge of town is one piece of the Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida, listed by UNESCO in 1993, and its name, from the Arabic for little bridge, tells you how many hands this landscape has passed through. It is a quiet, unassuming structure, and that is a good reason to start here before you tackle the big sights.
Those big sights are spectacular. The theatre, with its two-storey stage front of columns, still hosts a classical drama festival in summer. The amphitheatre sits beside it. The long Roman bridge over the Guadiana, with dozens of arches, carried traffic until well into modern times. The tall arches of the aqueduct of Los Milagros, with storks nesting on top, carried water from the Proserpina reservoir north of the city, itself a Roman dam that is still a popular place for a swim on hot days. The National Museum of Roman Art, designed by Rafael Moneo, is one of the best museums in the country.
The riding around Mérida is that of the Extremaduran plains: long straight roads through dehesa, the open woodland of holm and cork oak where black Iberian pigs root for acorns in autumn. It is wide open, hot and sometimes windy, with big skies and very little traffic once you leave the city. South of town, the road to Alange and its reservoir has more curves and hills, and Alange's thermal baths go back to Roman times too. Summer temperatures often climb above forty degrees, so start early and take a long lunch.
Mérida is the regional capital, with fifty-six thousand people, so fuel, food and accommodation are plentiful. Try migas, the shepherd's breadcrumb dish, jamón ibérico from the dehesas around you, and Torta del Casar, a soft sheep's cheese you eat with a spoon. In the evenings the city comes alive late, with tapas bars around the Plaza de España; nobody here dines before nine.