The great theatre
Ten thousand seats from 15 BC — among Gaul's oldest theatres.
Jean-Christophe BENOIST — CC BY 4.0 · Agence de presse Meurisse. Agence photographique (commanditaire) — Public domain · Agence de presse Meurisse. Agence photographique (commanditaire) — Public domain · Agence de presse Meurisse. Agence photographique (commanditaire) — Public domain
Before Lyon was French it was Lugdunum — capital of Roman Gaul and birthplace of emperors. On Fourvière's slope its grandest witnesses remain: a great theatre of 15 BC seating ten thousand, and beside it a smaller odeon for music with its original coloured marble floor. The tiers are free and open to climb as you please — from the top, the city shows between two-thousand-year-old columns — and in summer the theatres return to their original work: the Nuits de Fourvière festival stages its big concerts on the Roman seats themselves. The Lugdunum museum, dug into the hill beside them, shows the Roman city's treasures of mosaic and bronze — for a small ticket — completing the Roman slope in ninety minutes before or after the basilica above.
Ten thousand seats from 15 BC — among Gaul's oldest theatres.
The smaller music hall with its original coloured marble floor.
A summer festival returning the tiers to their purpose after two millennia.
The Roman capital's treasures, dug into the hill itself.
17 Rue Cléberg, 69005 Lyon
Lugdunum MuseumLugdunum is Roman Lyon's memory: a museum buried in the Fourvière hill beside th1 minute walk4.7
Governor's Palace of LugdunumAn archaeological site on the Fourvière hill holding the remains of what is most1 minute walk4.8
Fourvière Museum of Sacred ArtA small museum within the complex of the basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, sh5 minutes walk4.1
Basilica of FourvièreThe Basilica of Fourvière crowns Lyon's white hill and shows from the whole city5 minutes walk4.9
Fourvière Metallic TowerA metal tower on the Fourvière hill beside the basilica, built at the end of the6 minutes walk3.7Lugdunum, founded 43 BC, became capital of the Three Gauls, hub of their roads and mint — emperors Claudius and Caracalla were born here. The banking, trading Lyon of later ages inherits a site Rome chose for the meeting rivers.
Ideal: freely climbable tiers, running room, and an echo to test from the sound spot at the theatre's centre. The museum next door is calm and short with them. One of history's easiest doses for a family.
Among Lyon's signature experiences: music under stars on Roman stone with the lit city below. The June–July programme runs orchestras to global stars — book early; big nights sell out.