Sagunto

In 219 BC Hannibal besieged the Iberian city of Arse for eight months. When it fell, Rome declared war, and the Second Punic War - Hannibal, the Alps, the elephants - began here, half an hour north of Valencia. Sagunto has been paying the price of its location ever since: Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, and Napoleon's marshals all fortified the same kilometre-long hilltop.

We climb through the old town and the Jewish quarter to the castle ridge, walk the Roman forum at the summit, and come down to the restored Roman theatre - still hosting performances two thousand years on.

This is my home ground as an archaeologist. Expect the full story, from the pottery in the museum cases to the reason the ramparts change style five times in a hundred metres.