Where is the Costa Dorada? A map, what to see and a driving route from Calafell

Tarragona was Tarraco, and its archaeological ensemble has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. It is made up of fourteen monuments, eleven of them within Tarragona itself, such as the 2nd-century amphitheatre on the shores of the Mediterranean, the circus, the Provincial Forum with the Praetorium, and the Roman walls. At the top of the old town, work began on the Gothic cathedral in 1184. In May, the Tarraco Viva festival fills these settings with historical re-enactments, talks and workshops.

On the outskirts of Tarragona, the Les Ferreres aqueduct, which everyone calls the Pont del Diable (Devil's Bridge), is another of the monuments in the Tarraco World Heritage ensemble. You can see it on a short walk among the pines.

The Costa Dorada's camins de ronda are the old paths along the sea that now follow the GR 92 long-distance trail. The stretch from Tarragona to Tamarit crosses Platja Llarga and the Bosc de la Marquesa woods, an area of natural interest that includes Cala Fonda (known as Waikiki); it passes Punta de la Móra, with its tower built to guard against pirates, and reaches Tamarit Castle, documented since the 11th century. Along the sand from Tamarit you can carry on to Altafulla, which has its own entry in charming villages of the Costa Dorada.

Salou, on the Costa Dorada, has shallow beaches of fine sand, according to Turisme de Catalunya. Between Salou and Vila-seca is PortAventura World, which the same source describes as the most visited theme park in Catalonia.

According to Turisme de Catalunya, Cambrils harbour is one of only three on this coast with a fishing industry of some size; the other two are Tarragona and Calafell. On the outskirts, Parc de Samà is a Romantic park commissioned in 1881 by Salvador Samà, Marquis of Marianao, with a lake and a Gothic-inspired temple on a column of rock.

Reus, capital of the Baix Camp, is Antoni Gaudí's birthplace, and the Gaudí Centre tells his life story. Modernisme, the Catalan take on Art Nouveau, fills the centre, with buildings by Lluís Domènech i Montaner such as Casa Rull and the Institut Pere Mata, and the Gaudí Route links the places in the city connected with the architect.

Poblet is a Cistercian monastery, a World Heritage Site and the resting place of the kings of the Crown of Aragon, and it is home to a community of monks once again. Together with Santes Creus and Vallbona de les Monges, the latter in the province of Lleida, it forms the Cistercian Route (Ruta del Císter). Close by, Montblanc keeps its medieval walls.

Siurana, part of the municipality of Cornudella de Montsant, was the last Muslim stronghold in Catalonia. Its Romanesque church of Santa Maria sits on top of a crag, with the reservoir below. All around is the Priorat: mountain vineyards and the DOQ Priorat wine appellation. If you'd rather not go too far, there are the Penedès wineries near Calafell.

To the south, beyond the Costa Dorada, the Terres de l'Ebre have been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2013. The Ebro Delta Natural Park brings together rice fields that change colour with the seasons, wetlands and birdlife. Upriver, at Miravet, the Templar castle towers over the village and the Ebro.