Cartagena, Spain: My Roman Surprise

We walked off into a city that feels like a living archaeological site. The Roman theater appeared suddenly between modern buildings – 7,000 people watched plays here 2,000 years ago and it's still perfect. We entered through the museum tunnel and emerged onto the stage looking up at tiered seats carved into the hillside – goosebumps. The Punic Wall, Byzantine fortifications, and modernist Casas on Calle Mayor are all within 10 minutes' walk.

We had lunch at Techato – arroz caldero that tasted like the Mediterranean distilled, eaten on a terrace overlooking the harbor. In the afternoon we went to Cala Cortina beach – 15 minutes by taxi, clear water, pine trees, almost no one there. The pros: compact, beautiful, and genuinely surprising. The cons: still relatively unknown, which is also why it's perfect.