Amphithéâtre Gallo-Romain Amphitheatres / Gallo-Roman Sites in Saintes

Opening hours

Closed

  • Monday Closed
  • Tuesday 10:00 am - 12:30 am 01:30 pm - 05:00 pm
  • Wednesday 10:00 am - 12:30 am 01:30 pm - 05:00 pm
  • Thursday 10:00 am - 12:30 am 01:30 pm - 05:00 pm
  • Friday 10:00 am - 12:30 am 01:30 pm - 05:00 pm
  • Saturday 10:00 am - 12:30 am 01:30 pm - 05:00 pm
  • Sunday Closed

Opens Tuesday at 10:00 am

Useful information

Location : In town

Province : Saintes and Vals de Saintonge

  • English
    • History


      The Santones tribe lived in the Saintonge region at the time of the Gauls. During the reign of the Emperor Augustus, Saintes (Mediolanum Santonum) became the capital of the Roman province of Aquitania, which stretched (from the Loire to the Pyrenees).

      Mediolanum was one of the first towns to have an amphitheatre, which was constructed during the reign of the Emperor Claudius in 40 to 50 A.D.

      Like many amphitheatres in the Roman Empire, that of Saintes was built on the outskirts of the town on a site that is today called the "Vallon des Arènes" (Small valley of the amphitheatre). lts builders took advantage of the local topography to construct part of the amphitheatre along the slopes of the valley, meaning that they managed to reduce the amount of construction work needed.

      The amphitheatre’s function was to seat the large number of spectators who came to watch such violent and bloodthirsty events as gladiatorial combats and wild animal hunts. Within this large elliptical structure, which is 126 metres long and 102 metres wide, several thousand people – a large part of the local population – couId be seated.

      Today, in spite of the disappearance of its superstructures, the remains give an extremely good idea of what this amphitheatre looked like at its peak. The site is now open for visitors to discover throughout the year.

  • Français

Traveller Reviews Amphithéâtre Gallo-Romain

4.2 sur 5 3744 reviews

  • Radek Dohnal

    5 sur 5 Reviews posted by Radek Dohnal on 25/07/2024

    Ruins of roman amphitheatre. Not in good conditions, but its in reconstruction now. Low entrance fee, you can pay by card. Small gift shop. They have nice children playground with games from roman times - recommended try it. They offer 3D glasses but its only drone images, not historically animation.

  • Ian Walshaw

    4 sur 5 Reviews posted by Ian Walshaw on 19/06/2024

    An impressive example of Roman engineering and architecture. Unfortunately it was undergoing restoration work so access was limited to a small part of the site. Entrance fee is very reasonable as it also gives access to 3 other museums in the town.

  • Sébastien Ltze

    3 sur 5 Reviews posted by Sébastien Ltze on 15/09/2024

    Only in France would a place like this be closed on a Sunday. Lots of people were trying to visit during the short time we were there, but all of them were shocked it was closed. We could see it from the outside, but nothing more.

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Amphithéâtre Gallo-Romain

Address

20 rue Lacurie
17100 Saintes

GPS coordinates

45° 44'44.52"N, 0° 38'38.1"W

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