ROMANOS JEAN-MARIE

Google maps says open 24 hours but the gates were closed. Everything looked to be set up for theatre or cinema so maybe that was why? Shame cos we'd gone out of our way on a detour back from dinner to visit.

Interesting site, wasn't open to walk around but seems to be a venue for events. Some information around the outer wall.

The surviving stones of the Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules are only the visible edge of a larger federal arena built midway down Croix-Rousse, with its northern side cut into the slope and its southern side facing the Saône-Rhône confluence. Under Tiberius, Caius Iulius Rufus, a Santon notable and priest of Rome and Augustus, and his family paid for the amphitheatre and podium. Deputies of the sixty peoples of the Three Provinces gathered here through the imperial cult, while seating inscriptions named peoples including the Arvernes, Bituriges Cubes and Tricasses. Later enlargement added wider spectacle to this representative function. In the 177 martyrdom tradition, Blandina, Maturus, Sanctus and Attalus were brought here for wild-beast torment. Terraces, inscriptions, excavation cuts and recent sondages near the Jardin des Plantes still make the fragment a clue to Roman Croix-Rousse.

I was pleasantly surprised we could walk around and on the ruins

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.

Tucked into the Croix-Rousse district, the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls is a quiet but powerful reminder of Lyon’s ancient Roman roots. Built in the 1st century AD, this historic site once hosted gladiator fights, wild animal shows, and other public spectacles during the Roman Empire. Though only part of the structure remains today, the atmosphere is still palpable. Standing in the stone steps, you can almost hear the roar of ancient crowds and the clash of weapons. It originally seated thousands and served as the central arena for gatherings of the three Gallic provinces—hence the name. The site is free to visit and open to the public, making it an easy and meaningful stop for anyone interested in history or archaeology. It’s less polished than Lyon’s Fourvière Roman theatre, but that rawness adds to its authenticity.

Skip this one! There’s nothing (anymore) worth seeing here; it’s not just ruins, it’s the ruins of ruins. To make things even less appealing, the whole site is wrapped in a metal fence. Unless you happen to travel with a drone, the only “immersive experience” you’ll get is sticking your hand through the bars like a desperate paparazzo and snapping a few sad photos. Meanwhile, online you’ll find all sorts of pompous reviews — “a place full of history,” “vestiges of a glorious past,” “a perfectly preserved Roman amphitheater” — clearly written either by overzealous romantics or by people simply looking for an excuse to show off their English, rather than by actual tourists who’ve set foot here. And here’s the cherry on top: if you visit the Lugdunum Museum (and bother to read the information boards), you’ll discover that it isn’t even certain that the Amphitheater of the Three Gauls was located here at all. The claim rests mostly on a plaque found back in the 16th century (see attached picture). So yes, you might actually be staring at a fenced-off pile of rocks… in the wrong place.

You can walk to see the ruins but it was closed when we arrived. It appears you can only visit if there is an event scheduled. From outside you can see almost all the way around at different angles. The roman ruins are pretty prominent for what they excavated, but unfortunate it's not better preserved or protected.