Lleida

Long before Rome arrived, this hilltop city was Iltirta, capital of the Iberian Ilergetes tribe, whose chiefs Indíbil and Mandonio allied with Carthage against the advancing Roman armies. Rome eventually prevailed, transforming the city into Ilerda, and Julius Caesar himself fought a civil war battle outside its walls. Visigoths held it for several centuries, then Muslim forces took it in 714 with relatively peaceful terms. It passed through Moorish taifa kingdoms until 1149, when Christian forces under Ramón Berenguer IV of Barcelona recaptured it.

Under Aragonese rule the city flourished. In 1297 Jaume II founded the Estudio General, the oldest university in the Crown of Aragon, which ran continuously until Felipe V ordered it closed and the university district demolished in 1717. That same Bourbon campaign badly damaged much of the city. The old cathedral was converted into a military barracks in 1797. Napoleon's forces sacked it again in the early 19th century. Recovery came slowly, but through the reign of Carlos III a new cathedral was built and the city began to take the shape of a provincial capital.

The hilltop La Seu Vella, the Old Cathedral, is the centrepiece of the city, built between 1203 and 1278, with a Gothic cloister and a later bell tower. Immediately behind it stands the Castillo de La Suda, a Moorish-era castle where in 1150 Ramón Berenguer IV married Petronila of Aragon, uniting the County of Barcelona with the Crown of Aragon. The castle was partly destroyed by explosions in 1812 and 1936.

Down in the city, the Palau de la Paeria, a Romanesque civil building, serves as the town hall. The former Hospital de Santa María, a fine example of civil Gothic architecture, now houses the archaeological museum and the Institut d'Estudis Ilerdencs. The Convent del Roser, begun in 1669, is today the Parador Nacional.

The Templar castle of Gardeny sits on a nearby hill. Other landmarks include the Baroque new cathedral, the neogothic church of San Juan, and several Romanesque churches, San Lorenzo and San Martín among them. The Centre d'Art la Panera occupies a medieval trading hall.

The Arboretum Dr. Pius Font i Quer covers more than seven hectares and represents natural environments from the Pyrenees to desert zones from around the world.

Lleida is a useful hub for reaching Andorra, which has no rail link, buses bridge the gap. The bus station is at Carrer Saracíbar 2, about 1.3 km southwest of the train station, though some buses from Andorra and Barcelona also stop at the train station. Alsa runs direct services from Madrid (€27), Barcelona (€20), and Andorra la Vella (€19).

Montmantell also runs direct buses from Andorra la Vella (€18). The city has its own airport, though connections are limited. The city centre is walkable, and multiple city bus lines serve the train station.