Roman Paris

/ PARIS & ENVIRONS

The Romans settled in Lutetia (Lutèce in French, modern-day Paris) around 52 BC during the Gallic Wars led by Caesar. Till then the area around the Ile de la Cité had been settled by a Celtic tribe known as the “Parisii”. The whole of Gaul became a province of the Roman Empire, with Lyon its capital. The Roman Empire lasted all the way until the early 400s when it started to teeter, with 476 marking its fall when the last Roman Emperor was deposed.

 

Now we know what to expect from Roman towns – impressive constructions after the model of Rome: amphitheatres, thermal baths, a forum, a triumphal arch and a grid-like network of roads. And between the towns they left straight roads, bridges and aqueducts (like the magnificent “Le Pont du Gord” near Nimes in the South of France). So what can we find in Paris?

 

Unfortunately, next to nothing! Everything there is to see is in the 5th arrondissement (Latin Quarter) of Paris on the Left Bank. Let’s take a look…

The amphitheatre

This is by the most interesting vestige of Roman colonialism in Paris. It’s not quite the amphitheatre at Nîmes or at Arles (the one painted by Van Gogh). But it’s still of an impressive size – see the photo at the top.

These quaint “panneaux d’information” (information panels) are placed around French cities at key landmarks.

You can access the site from 49, Rue Monge. The panel outside announces you’ve found ”Les Arènes de Lutèce” (“arène” in French means “arena”, and it’s used in its plural here since it stands for both the central area and the surrounding seating area). The inscription reads: “This amphitheatre was built perhaps from the end of the 1st century AD by bricks with no binding. Ruined by the barbarian invasions of the 3rd century, these materials were used by the Gallo-Romans who had taken refuge on the Ile de la Cité. Its exact site was rediscovered in 1858… and it was restored in 1917”. By the way, the barbarian incursions mentioned here refer to Germanic tribes like the Franks and Goths sweeping across Europe, before the massive migrations of the 5th century which brought the Empire to an end.

 

The original Roman stone exists in parts, but some sections have been rebuilt or repaired. You can still get the sense of the scale of the place. It must have held almost 20,000 people, and we can try to imagine plays, dancing and fights being put on there!

The forum

The forum was the centre of city life. Not only was it the seat of politics, but tradesmen plied their wares too and it was generally a convivial place to meet up. The forum was typically built on high ground, and in Paris the location of the forum was located not far from where the Panthéon now stands. The main north-south axis (the “cardo maximus”) went by the forum, now Rue Saint-Jacques.

A view down Rue Saint Jacques towards the river. On the left we have 172-174 Rue Saint Jacques which constitutes the highest point. The forum would have stretched a block from here.
And the Panthéon a stone’s throw away. This whole area has a new and strange feeling to it, now I know the history!

If you’re really desperate to catch a glimpse of the original forum wall, you can descend the steps of the underground parking at 63 Boulevard Saint-Michel (quite far from 172 Rue Saint Jacques!).

The entrance to underground parking at 63, Blv Saint-Michel
A fragment of the original wall behind glass (I couldn’t get any closer without a parking ticket!)

The baths

There are some remains of the Roman baths next to the magnificent Musée de Cluny (a museum of medieval Paris, worth perhaps a blog post for itself). You can spy some of the remnants of the baths from the road, but it’s not worth going to see and I couldn’t manage to take a decent photo of it through the wire fencing.

The “Musée de Cluny” from afar (seen across the Square Samuel Paty)

Here are all three locations on the map. If you’re in the area, I would at least recommend you look in on ”Les Arènes de Lutèce”, which can still conjure feelings of the awe and achievements of that great and long-lost empire!