Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By Car:
Follow
Centre-Ville
signs, then
Théâtre Antique
signs, and park as close to
the Roman Theater's huge wall as possible—the easiest option is labeled
Parking Office
du Tourisme
(by the fountain and the TI). Those coming from the autoroute will land here
by following
Centre-Ville
signs; others should follow
Centre-Ville
signs, then
Office du
Tourisme
signs, to find this parking lot. To reach the theater, walk to the hill and turn left.
▲▲▲
Roman Theater (Théâtre Antique)
Orange'sancienttheateristhebest-preservedinexistence,andtheonlyoneinEuropewith
its acoustic wall still standing. (Two others in Asia Minor also survive.)
Cost and Hours:
€9, drops to €7.50 one hour before closing; ticket includes film,
multimedia show, good audioguide, and entry to small museum across the street; daily
April-Sept9:00-18:00,until19:00June-Aug;Oct-March9:30-17:30exceptNov-Febuntil
16:30,closingtimescansometimesbechangedforeveningperformanceorrehearsals,tel.
04 90 51 17 60,
www.theatre-antique.com
.
Cheap Trick:
Vagabonds wanting a partial but free view of the theater can see it
from the bluff high above in the Parc de la Colline St-Eutrope. Find the
escalier est
(east
staircase) off Rue Pourtoules and start climbing—it's several hundred steps to the top. At
the sign for
Promenade Botanique,
keep left, and at the next fork, follow the stairs up to
the right. When you see the playground, head to the right to find the view. Benches and
grassy areas make this a good picnic spot (no WCs).
Museum:
Popintothemuseumacrossthestreet(Muséed'Artetd'Histoire,included
with ticket) to see a few theater details and a rare grid used as the official property-owner-
ship registry—each square represented a 120-acre plot of land.
Eating:
The café in the theater, La Grotte d'Auguste, has reasonably priced snacks
and lunches and great views (closed Sun year-round, closed Mon off-season, tel. 04 90 60
2254).Ashaded,café-filledsquare,PlacedelaRépublique,istwoblocksfromthetheater
up Rue Ségond Weber.
Self-Guided Tour:
Afteryouenter(totherightoftheactualtheater),you'llseea
hugedig—thesiteoftheTempletotheCultoftheEmperor(Englishexplanationsposted).
Arausio
is the Roman name for the town.
Look for signs to the worthwhile film and multimedia show (near the ticket office).
The 15-minute
film
is in French with English subtitles (ask at front desk if subtitles aren't
on).
TheGhostsoftheTheatre
multimedia show
coversfourdifferentperiodsofperform-
ance history. Both run continuously and can help you gain a good visual sense of how the
theater looked to the Romans.
