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Hidden gem1st – 4th c. ADFree

Roman amphitheatre of Martigny

Amphithéâtre de Martigny, Amphitheater von Martigny

amphitheatre · Martigny District, Valais, Switzerland

What it is
The amphitheatre of Martigny is a small Roman arena built early in the 2nd century AD for Forum Claudii Vallensium, the Roman town under today's Martigny in the Valais; its walls stand restored and it is free to walk into.
What you’ll see
The arena measures 75.5 by 63.7 m and held about 5,000 spectators (de.wikipedia).
Worth the trip?
If you are in the Valais, yes: it costs nothing, the walls and entrances are well kept, and the setting, with vineyards and mountains above the arena, is half the pleasure.
Getting there & cost
The amphitheatre is about 1 km from the centre of Martigny. A public car park, with a fee, is mapped about 110 m away, and the nearest public-transport stop, Martigny-Bourg, about 280 m (OpenStreetMap).Free · Free · checked 7 October 2026Hours, tickets and parking
The long, low outer wall of the amphitheatre in rough stone across a lawn, with vineyard terraces and a steep wooded mountain rising behind under a blue sky.
The amphitheatre's outer wall, with vineyards and mountains behind. · Photo: Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A grassy oval arena ringed by a stone wall, with rows of seating rising in blocks behind it and a small doorway in the wall, set against a wooded slope.
Inside the arena; the rows of seating are benches for events. · Photo: Jean Housen · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A path paved with large irregular flat stones running between strips of grass and asphalt, with a litter bin at the side.
Road paving beside the amphitheatre, described on Commons as the Via per Alpis Poenina. · Photo: LeZibou · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What is there today

The arena measures 75.5 by 63.7 m and held about 5,000 spectators (de.wikipedia). Like every amphitheatre known in Switzerland it was built of earth: the walls you see held up the banks under the seating and framed the entrances, while the seating itself lay on the slope left by digging out the arena. On the south-east side a vaulted passage led to the magistrates’ box (de.wikipedia). The structure was studied and restored from the late 1970s (fr.wikipedia), and today it is used for open-air cinema in summer and for the cow fights of the Valais, the combats de reines (de.wikipedia, fr.wikipedia); the benches in the stands are temporary seating for these events (Wikimedia Commons).

Beside the amphitheatre, a stretch of road paved with large flat stones is described on Wikimedia Commons as a Roman street, the Via per Alpis Poenina.

Is it worth the trip?

If you are in the Valais, yes: it costs nothing, the walls and entrances are well kept, and the setting, with vineyards and mountains above the arena, is half the pleasure. It is, though, a small amphitheatre, and the tourist office presents it as the chief remain of the ancient town rather than one sight among many; its 4 km archaeological walk through the town centre (about 1 hour 30, with commentary in the Guidigo app) adds the town’s history from the Roman era to the Middle Ages.

Getting there

The amphitheatre is about 1 km from the centre of Martigny. A public car park, with a fee, is mapped about 110 m away, and the nearest public-transport stop, Martigny-Bourg, about 280 m (OpenStreetMap). The tourist office lists the site as a free visit and gives no opening hours; guided tours are organised in summer (martigny.com, read 7 October 2026).

Visiting details

Opening hours
The tourist office lists it as a free visit ("Visite libre") and publishes no opening hours. Guided tours run in summer.
Tickets
Free.
Parking
A public car park (fee) about 110 m from the arena (OpenStreetMap, way/215310131).

Hours and prices checked 7 October 2026 on the operator's own site. Confirm before travelling.

History

Octodurus, also called Forum Claudii Vallensium, was a Celtic and then Roman town on the site of Martigny. Founded as a Roman town under Claudius, it had everything a Roman colony had - forum, basilica, baths and amphitheatre - and remained active until the end of the 4th century (fr.wikipedia, “Octodurus”); de.wikipedia calls it the chief town of the Vallis Poenina. The amphitheatre most probably dates from the reign of Trajan (Pleiades, de.wikipedia) and was abandoned with the rest of the town at the end of the 4th century (fr.wikipedia).

The painter Raphael Ritz began excavating in Martigny around 1883, but large-scale work came only in 1978, when the Swiss Confederation bought the ground. The restored amphitheatre was inaugurated in 1991, for the 700th anniversary of the Confederation, with Arthur Honegger’s oratorio Nicolas de Flue (de.wikipedia).

More photographs

Heavy walls of squared yellowish stone forming an entrance passage into the arena, with grass in front, the seating banks behind and wooded mountains beyond.
The south entrance. · Photo: Arkelin · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

  • Seen from under an arch, a footbridge with metal railings leads across a sunken area towards a large round stone arch flanked by two smaller ones; above them runs a band of stonework and a ruined upper wall with three arched window openings, with a town street visible through the central arch.

    Photo: Carlo grifone · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons

    44 km · gate · Aosta Valley

    Porta Praetoria

    The gate is two parallel rows of arches with a small square between them, which served as a parade ground for troops (it.wikipedia; Lovevda).

Straight-line distances.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from the records below, each used under the licence noted.

SourceLicence
Pleiades 747857719CC BY
Wikidata Q2844412CC0
Vici.org 4306CC BY-SA (text), CC0 (metadata)
OpenStreetMap relation/2840414ODbL
Pleiades — Octodurus/Forum Claudii Vallensiumlicence not recorded
Wikipedia (de) — Amphitheater von MartignyCC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (fr) — Amphithéâtre de MartignyCC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (fr) — OctodurusCC BY-SA 4.0
KGS inventory 9700 — Forum Claudii Vallensium, ville romaine (BABS)licence not recorded
Martigny Tourism — Roman amphitheatrelicence not recorded
Martigny Tourism — archaeological walklicence not recorded