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.
Why people fall for Tarragona
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
Who Tarragona is for — and who it isn't
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities and read off where Tarragona lands.
Good for
- American retirees 100th percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · a health centre close by
- Retiring couples 97th percentile of 8,132 towns a hospital in town · a health centre close by
- Families with school-age kids 96th percentile of 8,132 towns 3 km from the sea · a hospital in town
- Remote-working couples 96th percentile of 8,132 towns 3 km from the sea · 143,260 people
- Budget-first coastal settlers 93rd percentile of 8,132 towns 3 km from the sea · 143,260 people
The numbers
The decision data — each figure placed among all Spanish municipalities that report it ("top 10%" always means good, also where lower is better). Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.4°C top 19% of 8,131 towns 2.7°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 30°C top 45% of 8,131 towns 0.2°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 48 days top 13% of 8,088 towns 31% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 7.3 h/day bottom 47% of 3,829 towns about the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 bottom 31% of 8,033 towns 16 above the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €1,838/m² top 43% of 306 towns 17% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Net income per person
- €15,847 top 30% of 8,059 towns 9% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 18% bottom 12% of 6,605 towns
Schools
- Schools in town
- 74 top 1% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 2 km top 1% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 #12 of 17 regions, −10 vs national 12 below the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 1.1 km top 5% of 7,025 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 142 days #16 of 17 regions, +39 days vs national 32% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 23 min top 4% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 96% top 22% of 8,132 towns 17% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 99% top 14% of 8,132 towns 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: SpainScore town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
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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