Avenches & Roman Aventicum

Rail to Avenches · 35 min di sini

Across the Seeland by train. The line runs through Kerzers and the flat market-garden country that was lake bed until the Jura water corrections of the 19th century drained it.

Avenches medieval town · 20 min di sini · Jalan kaki 15 min

Walk up from the station into the small hilltop town founded by the bishops of Lausanne, built on and largely out of the Roman ruins. The castle and the arcaded main square orient you before you go down to the site.

The amphitheatre · 35 min di sini · Jalan kaki 20 min

Seating for around 16,000, built in two stages as the city grew. The medieval tower on the main entrance is a later addition, put up when the arena had become a quarry and a fortification.

Roman Museum · 40 min di sini

Housed in that tower. The collection covers everyday Aventicum - inscriptions, mosaics, bronzes - and its most famous object, a gold bust of Marcus Aurelius recovered from a drain in 1939 and among the finest Roman goldwork known.

Cigognier sanctuary & the Tornallaz · 30 min di sini

The sanctuary precinct beyond the walls, where the bust was found. One column still stands: the Tornallaz, held up since antiquity and long crowned by a stork's nest, which is what its name refers to.

Roman theatre · 20 min di sini · Kereta 35 min

The last stop on the site, still used for performances in summer. From the upper rows the layout of the Roman street grid is easy to read across the fields.

Return to Bern · 45 min di sini

Rail back from Avenches. Tour ends at Bern Hauptbahnhof around 13:00.