Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls, Lyon, France

The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls was part of the federal sanctuary of the three Gauls dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum (Lyon). The amphitheatre was built at the foot of the La Croix-Rousse hill at what was then the confluence of the Rhône and Saône.

Excavations have revealed a basement of three elliptical walls linked by cross-walls and a channel surrounding the oval central arena. The arena was slightly sloped, with the building's south part supported by a now-vanished vault. The arena's dimensions are 67,6m by 42m. This phase of the amphitheatre housed games which accompanied the imperial cult, with its low capacity (1,800 seats) being enough for delegations from the 60 Gallic tribes.

The amphitheatre was expanded at the start of the 2nd century. Two galleries were added around the old amphitheatre, raising its width from 25 metres to 105 metres and its capacity to about 20,000 seats. In so doing it made it a building open to the whole population of Lugdunum and its environs.

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User Reviews

Hector Menendez (13 months ago)
Amazing ancient amphitheater. I like how you can explore the ruins at the top. Worth seeing and it is close to other points of interest.

Catadores Locales (13 months ago)
Its a really simple site that is more food truck event space than an amphitheater as the roman stands from Hadrian's era have mostly been abandoned and not maintained. Nothing too special here but if you happen to be walking by its ok.

Kelly Heimlich (15 months ago)
It’s neat. As an American, anything old holds fascination but … that being said, there is some kind of event held there obviously and it looks like a stage. We knew there was a fence and that we could go TO it. I would not recommend this as a stop unless you happen to be in the area like we were. We had coffee down below and then were looking for a path to ground.

Samantha Platt (15 months ago)
We were walking past these ruins and stopped to take a look. They are not as impressive as the ones at the topic of the hill near the basilica and you cannot access these, but they are still remarkable to view from above. It's remarkable that they have stood the test of time and that there are now major roads and houses surrounding this historic site.

Moss Chuenphan (16 months ago)
If you walk pass, it is okay to visit. But if you have to take a bus, it not worth to go. Just only seeing from the photo is okay.

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Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls

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