Page 27 - Off the Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 1 of 2)

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ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL SIGHTS

Spectacular opera staging inside Verona’s stunning oval arena
Arena di
Aerial view of Mérida’s Roman amphitheater, with the theater beyond Monument to the bull-fighting tradition at the Arènes de Nîmes
Anfiteatro di Verona, Italy Arènes de Nîmes,

Mérida, Spain NEED TO KNOW France

LOCATION The city of 7&30/"
NEED TO KNOW Verona is in the Veneto .JMBO 7FOJDF NEED TO KNOW
region of northern Italy, #PMPHOB
LOCATION The city of "UMBOUJD 0 DFBO 160 miles (255 km) from LOCATION The city of 6/*5&%
Mérida lies in western Milan and 120 miles Nîmes is located in the south ,*/(%0. -JMMF
Spain’s Extremadura region, #JMCBP (195 km) from Venice *5"-: "ESJBUJD of France, 360 miles (580 km)
4FB
175 miles (280 km) from 3PNF south of Paris and 65 miles 1BSJT 4USBTCPVSH
CAPACITY 25,000 #BSJ
the capital, Madrid (105 km) west of Marseille
41"*/ #BSDFMPOB DAYTIME '3"/$&
CAPACITY 15,000 10356("- .BESJE TEMPERATURES Jan: 36°F 5ZSSIFOJBO CAPACITY 24,000 48*5;&3-"/%
DAYTIME (2°C); Apr: 57°F (14°C); Jul: 77°F 4FB DAYTIME #BZ PG -ZPO
-JTCPO *POJBO #JTDBZ *5"-:
TEMPERATURES .²3*%" (25°C); Oct: 59°F (15°C) 1BMFSNP 4FB TEMPERATURES #PSEFBVY
Jan: 43°F (6°C); Apr: 75°F Jan: 45°F (7°C); Apr: 55°F /².&4
(24°C); Jul: 99°F (37°C); 4FWJMMF .FEJUFSSBOFBO (13°C); Jul: 73°F (23°C); .BSTFJMMF
4FB
Oct: 79°F (26°C) Oct: 61°F (16°C) .FEJUFSSBOFBO
41"*/
Although you don’t have to see a performance to 4FB
appreciate the harmonious structure of Verona’s
On the hot, dusty plains of Spain’s high Meseta amphitheater, a summer night watching the This is the most complete surviving Roman
lies the lovely ruined municipium of Mérida. This opera here is unforgettable. For these incomparable amphitheater in the world. It still entertains the
was the provincial capital of Lusitania, and its events, the building is transformed into a theater, crowds today, regarded as one of the country’s
ensemble of stunningly preserved ruins makes with a wide stage at one end and additional best music venues as well as playing host to a
it one of the finest Roman sites in Europe. Its seating arranged across the arena floor, creating season of bullfights. It is easy, on a balmy night, in
amphitheater, entered through brick arches, is an an auditorium for 15,000. Although it looks this incredible atmosphere, to forget that the
arid bowl, open to the skies and unshielded by complete, it was once encased in three-story building is 2,000 years old. Its 34 rows of seats are
the high walls of later surviving examples. It is outer walls, faced in pink and white limestone, arranged in three tiers, originally socially graded –
complemented by an adjoining circus and 5,000- which provided the access galleries to the 42 rows from the front seats reserved for dignitaries to
seat theater, connected to the amphitheater by of stone seating. The amphitheater’s museum the distant, high rows allocated to slaves. It’s no
underground tunnels. The Roman museum has shows how its hydraulic system worked. surprise that every sporting stadium built since
the finest collection of such artifacts outside Italy. then has been modeled on this ideal design.
Practical Information
Practical Information Getting There Verona is linked by shuttle bus to its own airport (6 miles/10 Practical Information
Getting There Mérida lies on the N-V highway between Madrid and km from the city center) and Brescia airport (30 miles/52 km away). It lies Getting There Nîmes lies on France’s A4 autoroute. Its own airport is only
Lisbon, and is served by regular trains and buses from Badajoz (1 hour), on the A4 Milan–Venice autostrada and has direct train services to the served by UK budget airlines, but larger airports exist in Marseille and
Seville (3 hours) and Madrid (5–6 hours). The nearest international airport main northern Italian cities, including Venice (1.5 hours), Milan (2 hours) Montpellier. By rail, there are high-speed TGV links to Paris (3–4 hours),
is Badajoz, 28 miles (45 km) west, near the border with Portugal. and Rome (5 hours). Verona’s historic center is easily explored on foot. and frequent services to Marseille (1 hour) and other cities in the region.
When to Go Spring (Apr–Jun) and fall (Sep–Oct) are most pleasant. The When to Go Between Easter and November. The annual Opera Festival When to Go The mild climate here makes it pleasant most of the year. Try to
Mérida Festival runs July–August, with concerts in the Roman ruins. takes place between June and August. catch the Feria de Pentecôte, a 5-day event centered on the Arena in May.
Websites www.merida.es; www.festivaldemerida.es Website www.arena.it Website www.arenes-nimes.com

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