DAY 1: Sunday 30 03 2025: from Serviès-en-Val to SAGUNTO via the Via Augusta
- Magda Kirsch
- Apr 18
- 2 min read
Peter took me in one long ride of 600 km from Serviès-en-Val via Perpignan to Sagunto on the Via Augusta. Our first stop was the small Romanesque church of St Martin de Fenollar near the town of Le Boulou almost on the border between France and Spain. The tiny church has a wealth of Romanesque frescoes which you can admire at
The church of St. Martin de Fenollar with Romanesque frescoes
From there it went via Figueres, the city with the Salvador Dali museum to Tarragona. A beautiful example of the Roman presence is the Roman amphitheater from the 2nd century AD where 14,000 spectators could watch the fights between the gladiators and the executions. It is located on a slope near the sea and you have a beautiful view. If you have a lot of time you can also go and see the Roman circus where chariot races were organized. The old Roman city walls are impressive. Tarragona also has a beautiful cathedral, known for its beautiful stained glass windows but we didn't have time for that this time.
Tarragona: remains of the ancient Roman city
From Tarragona the Via Augusta runs along the coast to the south. We also visit the town of Tortosa with a beautiful castle, beautiful old city walls, a beautiful cathedral, a bit Romanesque, a bit Gothic and a West side that is baroque. The city is located on the Ebro river that forms the delta of the Ebro here in a beautiful nature reserve. Here I take the time to enjoy a first Spanish beer, an Estrella. It is a beautiful sunny day and in the afternoon it is already 25 degrees. A fresh beer certainly tastes good.
Tortosa: the cathedral, the Ebro and Yves drinking a Spanish beer.
After this stop in Tortosa we continue along the via Augusta to Sagunto, a city with an old Roman part of town and also closer to the sea a very busy port. It is almost 19:00 when we can move into our rooms located in a flat in the old part of town: simple but OK even though the hostess who brings us the key is of the grumpy unfriendly type who is more interested in the money than in the customers.
We are tired and will visit the city tomorrow. It is Sunday evening and almost everything is closed, but we still find a “Pakistani” shop that is open and where we can buy some refreshments. Then we go looking for our dinner; a (Spanish?) kebab is the only thing open and so we eat our kebab at sunset in our flat on the 5th floor without a lift. We have a nice view, with the sea in the distance and the setting sun and that is a bonus. At 22:00 we are in our bed because tomorrow I start with the bike via Augusta.
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