Autun - Roman Augustodunum

On this page	Location and access	Sites and attractions
	In the area	Hotels and accommodation  ►

A sub-prefecture of the Saône et Loire department of France, lying well off the beaten track in the south of the Morvan hills regional park, Autun is a hill town with a history, that would be much better known were it in a less isolated location.
   Located sixty kilometres from the Saône and 100 km from the Loire, well away from any significant modern route across France, Autun  tends to get missed even by most of those who make a deliberate decision to visit Burgundy.
    It was not always so. Two thousand years ago, the Romans fortified this hilltop, building a major oppidum known as Augustodunum, the city of Augustus, which soon rose in stature to become the second most important city in northern Gaul (Gallia Lugdunensis)  after the capital Lyon. Augustudonum was a hub of culture and learning that was known across the Roman Empire, and it was very much on the beaten track, one of the key road hubs in Roman France. The size of the city's surviving Roman gates. bears witness to the importance of some of the roads that converged on this city.
    Cassini's map of 1797 shows the main road from Paris to Lyon still passing through Autun, and in 1885, the city was chosen as home to one of France's six military academies. But away from the new lines of communication that developed in the railway age, and then the age of the motor car, Autun's fortunes waned, and the once powerful city became the small town that it is today.

The town

    Autun's lack of visibility is all the more surprising insofar as this town has the most substantial Roman remains of any French town north of Provence; four of the six kilometres of walls that once enclosed the Roman city are still standing today, in various states of repair. In addition to its Roman heritage, Autun also has one of the finest Romanesque cathedrals in France, not to mention a charming old town, with cobbbled streets, plenty of small shops, as well as cafés and restaurants and museums  The town's more important institutional buildings, theatre, town hall, tourist office and other administrative buildings, congregate around the Champ de Mars, lower down the hill.

1. Roman remains

• The city walls  Over 4 km of Roman walls still survive in varying states of repair. The most impressive stretch runs north from the Tour des Ursulines, beside the Bvd. MacMahon.
• The city gates The Porte d'Arroux and the Porte Saint-André are two of the best preserved roman city gates in France .
• The Roman theatre.  Built around 70 AD, this theatre was one of the largest in the Roman world, with a capacity in its heyday of up to 20,000 people. 
• The Temple of Janus.  Two of the four walls of this substantial Roman temple are still standing. The attribution to Janus is of dubious origin.

2. Other points of interest

• Cathédrale Saint-Lazare -  Essentially built in the early tenth century, this has the finest romanesque tympanum of any French cathedral
• Musée Rollin - Near the cathedral, this small museum houses art and artefacts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
• Tour des Ursulines - The twelfth century octagonal keep of the former chateau that once stood beside the ramparts at the highest point of the town. The view from the top is superb.
• Passage Balthus - An unexpected Parisian-style mid 19th century city arcade, in the heart of old Autun, fully renovated in 2018.
• Temple Protestant - the oldest protestant church in France, next to the Roman Porte Saint André.

• Morvan Regional Park  - The Morvan Regional Park in Burgundy is an exceptional area of forests, lakes and rolling green hills, much appreciated by hikers. The highest peak is the Haut Folin, at 901m (2956ft) above sea level.
• Chateau de Sully (20 km). Fairytale sixteenth-century castle, standing in the middle of a moat / lake - one of the most impressive châteaux in Burgundy
• Beaune and the Burgundy vineyards ( 50 km)  Beaune is the capital of the Burgundy vineyard area, a UNESCO world heritage site. 
• Mont Beuvray / Bibracte (26 km) - Culminating at 821 metres, Mont Beuvray is one of the highest peaks in the Morvan, and site of the historic Gaulish town of Bibracte. A museum inaugurated in 1995 is open from March to November, and the major archaeological site can be visited on foot.
• Vélorail du Morvan, at Cordesse.  (12km). Enjoy a electrically-assisted pedal-cart ride along an abandoned railway line in the heart of the Morvan. Return routes 8.4 km or 22 km

•  By air   The nearest airports with international services are Paris Orly and Lyon Saint Exupéry
•  By train  There are no longer any train services to Autun.  To reach Autun using public transport, take a local TER service from Dijon to Etang-sur-Arroux, and connect to a bus for Autun. There are also buses from Le Creusot TGV station, 40 km from Autun. For details check out Trainline.com .
•  By car.  From Paris, leave the A6 motorway at the A38 interchange, and after the tool booth take the D981 to Autun. From Beaune follow the D 973 westwards. From Nevers, on the Loire, follow the D978 via Chateau-Chinon.