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Hidden gem1st – 3rd c. ADTicketed

Roman villa of Pully

Villa romaine du Prieuré, Villa romaine de Pully

villa · Lavaux-Oron District, Vaud, Switzerland

What it is
The Roman villa of Pully, in the canton of Vaud, was a large villa of palatial size; its curved hall, with a rare wall painting of chariot races put back together from thousands of fragments, is shown together with ArchéoLab, a discovery space on archaeology for children.
What you’ll see
The heart of the visit is a semicircular pavilion of the villa that has been uncovered and can be visited (Lausanne Tourisme).
Worth the trip?
Yes, for the painting: a Roman chariot race back on the wall where it was painted, which the tourist office calls rare. Do not expect a villa to walk round; it is only partly excavated, and what you visit is one hall.
Getting there & cost
The villa and ArchéoLab are at Avenue du Prieuré 4 in Pully (Lausanne Tourisme). The Pré de la Cure car park is mapped about 40 m away and the Clergère bus stop about 185 m (OpenStreetMap).Ticketed · CHF 10 (about €10.70) · checked 7 October 2026Hours, tickets and parking
A cobbled square in front of a row of old village houses, with lines of pink paving set into the cobbles.
Pink paving on the square marks the lines of the villa's walls. · Photo: Odrade123 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A wall painting pieced together from many cracked fragments, showing in red outline a charioteer in a helmet driving horses at speed, above a green band.
The charioteer, part of the chariot-race painting reassembled on the curved wall. · Photo: Odrade123 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Two joined fragments of painted wall plaster on a gravel bed, one with a reddish band, the other green with an orange and yellow flower.
Fragments of painted plaster from the villa. · Photo: Odrade123 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What is there today

The heart of the visit is a semicircular pavilion of the villa that has been uncovered and can be visited (Lausanne Tourisme). The villa had two large hall-like rooms built into the hillside, with a double wall that probably kept out the damp of the slope, and in one of them extensive remains of wall painting showing a chariot race came to light (de.wikipedia). The painting was found in thousands of fragments scattered on the floor and has been reassembled on the curved wall: an architectural trompe-l’œil with chariot races (Lausanne Tourisme). On the square outside, lines of pink paving mark the villa’s walls (Wikimedia Commons).

ArchéoLab, which shares the site, is a discovery space about archaeology aimed at children (Lausanne Tourisme).

Is it worth the trip?

Yes, for the painting: a Roman chariot race back on the wall where it was painted, which the tourist office calls rare. Do not expect a villa to walk round; it is only partly excavated, and what you visit is one hall. The opening hours are short, so plan for a Wednesday afternoon or a weekend.

Getting there

The villa and ArchéoLab are at Avenue du Prieuré 4 in Pully (Lausanne Tourisme). The Pré de la Cure car park is mapped about 40 m away and the Clergère bus stop about 185 m (OpenStreetMap). It opens on Wednesdays 14.00–18.00 and on Saturdays and Sundays 11.00–18.00. Entry is CHF 10 (about €10.70), CHF 8 for students, pensioners, disability-insurance recipients and the unemployed, and free up to 16; the Lausanne Transport Card gives 20% off, and entry is free on the first Saturday of the month (Lausanne Tourisme, read 7 October 2026). The villa’s own website could not be reached that day, so check before travelling.

Visiting details

Opening hours
Wednesday 14.00–18.00, Saturday and Sunday 11.00–18.00 (2026).
Tickets
CHF 10 (about €10.70); CHF 8 (about €8.55) for students, pensioners, disability-insurance recipients and the unemployed; free up to 16; 20% off with the Lausanne Transport Card; free entry on the first Saturday of the month.
Parking
The Pré de la Cure car park is about 40 m away (OpenStreetMap, way/24718025).

Before you go

  • The villa's own website could not be reached on 2026-10-07; hours and prices are from the Lausanne tourist office.

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

History

Remains of Roman buildings turned up in Pully over the centuries; excavations in 1971 identified them as a villa. It was built in several phases, beginning at the end of the 1st century AD with a building that had a portico at the back; a later phase added the two great halls set into the hill. The villa is only partly excavated (de.wikipedia). It is listed as a cultural property of national significance for its wall paintings (KGS 11702).

Nearby

  • An octagonal mosaic panel framed by braided borders, showing a man in a crested helmet holding a staff and a shield, with two other figures beside him, set in a floor of geometric patterns.

    Photo: Leemburg-CH · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons

    28 km · villa · Jura-Nord vaudois District, Vaud

    Orbe-Boscéaz

    The mosaics are all there is to see: the operator says plainly that the nine floors, found in the 19th and 20th centuries, are the only remains visible today.

  • Three fluted stone columns on a low stone platform under chestnut branches, two tall ones carrying a weathered stone block across their tops and a shorter broken one beside them, with the lake and distant hills behind.

    Photo: Odrade123 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons

    35 km · city · Nyon District, Vaud

    Noviodunum

    The modern town covers the Roman one entirely, and most of the remains found have been covered again once archaeologists had recorded them (fr.wikipedia).

Straight-line distances.

Sources

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

SourceLicence
Wikidata Q3558926CC0
OpenStreetMap node/1415770465ODbL
Wikipedia (de) — Villa Rustica (Pully)CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (fr) — Villa romaine du PrieuréCC BY-SA 4.0
KGS inventory 11702 — Le Prieuré, villa romaine avec peintures murales (BABS)licence not recorded
Lausanne Tourisme — ArchéoLab, practical informationlicence not recorded