Roman Theatre of Orange

The Roman Theatre of Orange is one of the best-preserved Roman theatres anywhere, and its great stage wall still stands to its full original height. It was built early in the 1st century AD under Augustus for the Roman colony of Arausio, founded by veterans of the Second Legion. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1981.

The first thing to see is the outer facade: a sheer wall of stone 103 metres long and 37 metres high, almost bare of ornament, that towers over the streets of Orange. Inside, the scaenae frons, the stage wall, rises to the same 37 metres. It was once dressed with coloured marble, columns, friezes and statues, and in its central niche stands a 3.5-metre statue of Augustus, placed above the royal door through which the leading actors entered. The stage in front is 61 metres long, and the tiers of seating cut into the hillside held several thousand spectators — estimates range from about 5,800 to 7,300.

The theatre was closed by imperial edict in 391, stripped of stone in the following centuries, used as a defensive post in the Middle Ages and as a refuge during the Wars of Religion, and eventually crammed with houses. Restoration began in 1825 under Prosper Mérimée's heritage service, and by 1869 the theatre was hosting festivals again; Sarah Bernhardt played Phèdre here in 1903. The seating has since been largely rebuilt, and the stage is covered with a modern platform for performances.

Every summer the Chorégies d'Orange, one of France's oldest opera festivals, fills the theatre at night, and hearing a voice carry off that wall is the best way to understand why it was built. The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire opposite displays fragments of the stage decoration.

Getting there

The theatre is in the centre of Orange, on Rue Madeleine Roch. Orange station is 1.2 km away, less than 15 minutes on foot. The nearest airport is Avignon-Provence (AVN), about 27 km away.