Roman Sites in France
Fréjus Roman Amphitheatre
Fréjus Roman Amphitheatre was built at the end of the 1st century AD. This structure, made of small tiles of local green sandstone, could accommodate up to 10,000 spectators. It most likely hosted gladiator fights and wild beast hunts. Today, this building comes to life every summer: large concerts, dancefloors and various performances form a rich and diverse program.
Founded: 0-100 AD |
Location:
Fréjus, France
Pont du Gard
The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct that crosses the Gardon River in southern France. The bridge is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50-kilometre system built in the first century AD to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). Because of the uneven terrain between the two points, the mostly underground aqueduct followed a long, winding route that called for a bri ...
Founded: 40-60 AD |
Location:
Vers-Pont-du-Gard, France
Arena of Nîmes
The Arena of Nîmes is a Roman amphitheatre built around AD 70. It was remodelled in 1863 to serve as a bullring. The Arenas of Nîmes is the site of two annual bullfights during the Feria de Nîmes, and it is also used for other public events. The building encloses an elliptical central space 133 m long by 101 m wide. It is ringed by 34 rows of seats supported by a vaulted construction. It has a capacity o ...
Founded: 70 AD |
Location:
Nîmes, France
Briga
Briga was a medium sized Roman town that was discovered during the digging of a local road shortly after the French Revolution. From the first century AD onwards, the Romans developed a substantial sanctuary complex on the site of what was a Celtic shrine, as well as the other features one finds at Roman towns, such a theatre, bathhouses and a forum.
Founded: 0 - 200 AD |
Location:
Eu, France
Le Mans Roman Walls
The Roman wall in the old town of Le Mans is one of the best of its type still extant in France. The 1300m long construction is laid out with 12 towers wraps around the immaculately preserved and restored Plantagenet Old City. There are only two longer ancient Roman walls left, in Rome and Istanbul (Constantinopole). These walls are highlighted every summer (July and August) evening in a light show that tells the history ...
Founded: 300 AD |
Location:
Le Mans, France
Roman Pyramid
The Roman Pyramid in Vienne is an emblematic building of the architectural heritage of the city together with the Roman Theatre. It is an unique remain of a Roman circus, where racing took place. The pyramid was the central building of the Roman 'circus maximus'. The 25 meters high obelisk stood in the center of the sand track. Its location on an axial platform (Spina) was confirmed by excavations in the nin ...
Founded: 100-200 AD |
Location:
Vienne, France
Museums of Metz
The Museums of Metz were founded in 1839. They are also known as the Golden Courtyard Museums, in reference to the palace of Austrasia"s kings in Metz, whose buildings they occupy. The collections in this museum(s) are distributed through a 3,500 m² labyrinthal organization of rooms, incorporating the ancient Petites Carmes Abbey, the Chèvremont granary, and the Trinitaires church. The institution is orga ...
Founded: 1839 |
Location:
Metz, France
Maison Carrée
The Maison Carrée is one of the best preserved Roman temple façades to be found in the territory of the former Roman Empire. In about 4-7 AD, the Maison carrée was dedicated or rededicated to Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar, grandsons and adopted heirs of Augustus who both died young. The building has undergone extensive restoration over the centuries. The Maison Carrée is an example of Vitruvi ...
Founded: 4-7 AD |
Location:
Nîmes, France
Vieux-la-Romaine
During the 1st century AD, Aregenua (Vieux) became the capital of the Viducasse tribe. Situated at the crossroads of two Roman roads it became an important commercial staging town. Aregenua and Lillebonne are the only two capital towns in Gallo-Roman Normandy that did not become Medieval towns. A number of buildings have been excavated, and some have been partially reconstructed.
Founded: 0 - 200 AD |
Location:
Vieux, France
Porte Mars
Porte Mars is an ancient Roman triumphal arch in Reims. It dates from the third century AD, and was the widest arch in the Roman world. The arch stands 32 metres long and 13 metres high. It was named after a nearby temple to Mars. The arch has many highly detailed carvings on its exterior and on the ceilings of its three passageways. Local folklore says that the inhabitants of Rheims built the arch in gratitude when the ...
Founded: 200-300 AD |
Location:
Reims, France
Château de Brest
The Château de Brest is one of the largest roadsteads (sheltered area outside a harbor) in the world. From the Roman castellum to Vauban"s citadel, the site has over 1700 years of history, holding right up to the present day its original role as a military fortress and a strategic location of the highest importance. It is thus the oldest castle in the world still in use. The structure"s heterogeneous archi ...
Founded: 200 AD |
Location:
Brest, France
Jardins de la Fontaine
The Jardins de la Fontaine (Gardens of the Fountain) are built around the Roman thermae ruins. The remains of Roman baths were discovered on the site in the eigheenth century and the gardens were laid out using the old foundations with canals, terraces and water-basins.
Founded: 100-200 AD |
Location:
Nîmes, France
Arles Amphitheatre
The two-tiered Roman amphitheatre is probably the most prominent tourist attraction in the city of Arles, which thrived in Roman times. Built in 90 AD, the amphitheatre was capable of seating over 20,000 spectators, and was built to provide entertainment in the form of chariot races and bloody hand-to-hand battles. Today, it draws large crowds for bullfighting as well as plays and concerts in summer. The building measure ...
Founded: 90 AD |
Location:
Arles, France
Roman Theatre
The Roman theatre in Vienne was built around 40-50 AD and is considered to be one of the largest theatres in Roman Antiquity with a capacity of 11500 seats and a diameter of 130 metres. In the 2nd century it was double sized by a second smaller theater, the odeon, which was built nearby on the southern slope of the ravine of Saint-Marcel. The annual Vienne Jazz Festival has been held on the ancient theatre since 1980.
Founded: 40-50 AD |
Location:
Vienne, France
Arles Roman Theatre
Arles Roman Theatre was built in the time of Augustus and. It had a capacity of seating for 8,000 on 33 tiers of steps. In the early Middle Ages the theater was used as a quarry, and with the material it provided the town wall was erected. Of the rear wall of the stage only a few stumps of pillars and two more or less complete columns remain. Since the theater is now used again during the summer it is protected on the out ...
Founded: 90 AD |
Location:
Arles, France
Tour Magne
The Tour Magne, or the Great Tower, is the only remnant of the ancient Augustan fortifications. Standing at the highest point of the Nïmes, Mont Cavalier, it overlooks the entire plain and is a focal point for all means of communication. The tower was originally a dry-stone oval tower, with a maximum height of 18m and already part of a rampart. A structure that was both prestigious and strategic, it represented sanc ...
Founded: around 0 AD |
Location:
Nîmes, France
Temple of Diana
The so-called Temple of Diana was part of the Roman sacred complex but it was not a temple, rather it was a library that originally faced onto a portico that enclosed much of the spring sanctuary. The date is uncertain; some scholars suggest the first century, others the second. It was used as a church from the Middle Ages till the 16th century when it was damaged in the Wars of Religion.
Founded: 0-200 AD |
Location:
Nîmes, France
Toulouse Roman Amphitheatre
The amphitheatre of Toulouse-Purpan is constructed on a filled structure, unlike those in Arles, Nîmes, and the Colosseum in Rome, where a hollow structure composed of vaults and pillars supports the tiers. The cavea (the rows of seats intended to receive the public) is fifteen meters wide. This area is separated from the arena by a wall and bound at the outside by a high wall covered in brick. The cavea is divided ...
Founded: 40 AD |
Location:
Toulouse, France
Saint-Romain-en-Gal
On the border of the Rhône river, the archaeological site of Saint-Romain-en-Gal is home to the Gallo-Roman remains of an ancient district of Vienne. Its museum recounts the ancient history of Vienne and boasts a magnificent collection of mosaics. Saint-Romain-en-Gal is one of the largest Gallo-Roman sites in France. The classified site contains more than 3 hectares, where are located the remains of residential and ...
Founded: 0-300 AD |
Location:
Vienne, France
Roman Bridge
The Roman bridge in Sommières is 190m long. It was built on the instructions of Emperor Tiberius at the start of the 1st century. It was restored in the 18th century. At the town end of the bridge is the gothic town gate known as the "Tour de l"Horloge". Only 7 of the 19 arches can be seen, the others lie beneath the town where they act as cellars.
Founded: 0-100 AD |
Location:
Sommières, France