Cripta de Santa Eulalia

Mérida


This basilica was built in the 5th century in honour of Mérida's pat­ron saint, who is said to have been martyred in the 4th century. It was then reconstructed in the 13th century. The modern-day church is closed to the public, but, beside it, a museum and excavated areas allow you to identify Roman houses, a 4th-century Christian cemetery and the original 5th-century church.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Mérida attractions

1. Pórtico del Foro

0.26 MILES

The restored 1st-century Pórtico del Foro, the municipal forum's portico, is 100m northeast up Calle de Sagasta from the Templo de Diana.

2. Museo Nacional de Arte Romano

0.26 MILES

Even if you visit only a handful of Mérida's sights, make sure one of them is this fabulous museum, which has a superb three-floor collection of statues,…

3. Arco de Trajano

0.3 MILES

This imposing 15m-high granite archway isn't known to have anything to do with Roman emperor Trajan, but it was situated on one of Mérida's main Roman…

4. Templo de Diana

0.31 MILES

The soaring columns here are one of Mérida's most dramatic, incongruous sights, surrounded as they are by the buildings of a modern Spanish city…

5. Museo de Arte Visigodo

0.34 MILES

Many of the Visigothic objects unearthed in Mérida are exhibited in this archaeological museum, set inside a 16th-century church-convent just off the…

6. Casa del Anfiteatro

0.35 MILES

Outside the main gate to the Roman theatre, the Casa del Anfiteatro, a 3rd-century mansion, has some reasonable floor mosaics but was closed for…

7. Anfiteatro

0.36 MILES

Attached to the grand Teatro Romano, the (slightly less dazzling) Anfiteatro opened in 8 BCE for gladiatorial contests and held 14,000; the gladiator…