The Gergovie Plateau, a true lookout over the Auvergne region and a symbolic site in French history, is located 15 km south of Clermont-Ferrand in the Puy-de-Dôme department. At the very top of the site, you can take in the entire battlefield of the famous 52 BC confrontation between Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix, which was recounted by the Roman in his “Gallic Wars” narrative. Today, the Gergovie site belongs to the State and welcomes over 400,000 visitors per year! We went to discover it in July 2023 with my favorite photographer, and it was a fascinating visit.
The Gergovie plateau is shaped like a basalt table, as it is the result of an ancient lava flow. Let’s not forget that volcanoes were active in this area 25 million years ago. This type of plateau is quite common in this region, which forms the ancient foundation of the Massif Central. The one in Gergovie offers a 360° view over the landscapes of Auvergne, over the Sancy Massif (which I mentioned in another article), over the Cézallier plateaus, and over the Chaîne des Puys with the Limagne fault, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. At the foot of the plateau, you will find the village of Gergovie, a wine-growing village that produces volcanic wines.
It is assumed that the Arverni settled in this region around the 2nd century BC and seem to have densely occupied the area just before the Gallic Wars. However, older (and also more recent) occupations are attested on the plateau by archaeological excavations: during the Neolithic period; the 1st Iron Age; as well as two Gallo-Roman occupations. As for the oppidum (fortified Gallic town) of Gergovie, it dates back to 60 BC and combines 3 fortified sites that functioned simultaneously. On the occasion of this visit, we learned more about the site, but also about the famous battle of Gergovie.
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Table of Contents
Visit the Archaeological Museum of the Battle of Gergovie
Opened in 2019 in a sleek, contemporary building designed to house it, this museum allows you to relive this major moment of the Gallic Wars, the only victory of the Arverni leader Vercingetorix over Julius Caesar. You can admire treasures from excavations carried out on this listed site across 600m² of exhibition space and discover the art of living of the Arverni, one of the Gallic peoples of that era. This museum is very interactive and fun, allowing you to understand the context, the protagonists, and our current knowledge of this battle that took place in 52 BC. It is also perfectly integrated into the landscape of the Gergovie Plateau and offers a 180° view over the Sarliève plain and the oppida of Corent (which I’ll tell you about a little further down) and Gondole.
The museum route offers an immersive audiovisual show, video animations, models, reconstructions, and over 250 objects or artifacts are on display (coins, weapons, tools, jewelry, military equipment…). The venue also offers a temporary exhibition space, and during our visit in 2023, we were able to discover the “Caesar at Gergovie” exhibition (June 18, 2022 – September 17, 2023). In 2024, the new temporary exhibition allows you to discover a new page of history, the recent and little-known one of the “Gergoviotes,” this group of mostly Alsatian students who, under the guise of archaeological excavations, committed themselves very early to the first Resistance movements of the Second World War: “The Gergoviotes, Students in the Resistance,” which runs until September 15, 2024.
Gergovie Archaeological Museum
Plateau de Gergovie 63670 La Roche-Blanche
Rates: 9 € / 7 € reduced / youth rate (6 to 25 years old) 5 € / free for under 6s
Pro tip: the museum is free during the Archaeology Days
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Take a guided tour “Gergovie, in the heart of the battle”
This guided tour, which takes place mainly outside the museum, allows you, in the company of a tour guide, to locate the various sites of the battle in the landscape and to discover the remains of the fortifications of the Gergovie oppidum. I found this guided tour to be a very good complement to the museum visit itself. It helps you get your bearings better and imagine the battlefield of the famous 52 BC confrontation between Julius Caesar and Vercingetorix. You discover the theater of the battle, the Roman positions, and troop movements, as well as the fortification systems.
Guided tour “Gergovie in the heart of the Battle”
This tour takes place in the summer between July and August
Rates: 7 € / 5 € reduced / free for under 6s
Duration: 1 hour (approximately 400m walking circuit, no difficulty)
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Take a guided tour of the archaeological excavation site of the Gergovie plateau
This guided tour allows you to discover the current research led by Inrap and the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Clermont-Ferrand to understand new aspects of the daily life of the Gallic populations who lived on the Gergovie plateau. The visit specifically helps you learn that the plateau has been excavated for a long time, and yet, only 3% of its surface has already been subject to archaeological excavations! Which seems very little given the importance of the site.
The current excavations, commissioned by the State, initially constitute a 3-year project aiming to practice non-invasive excavations and also to conduct research on old excavations that took place on the plateau. The first excavator of this part of the site was Claude Auclair in the 19th century. Then, it was Napoleon III who went to the plateau and requested the implementation of archaeological excavations, as he wanted to find the location of the Roman camps of the Battle of Gergovie. There were then more excavations on this part by an English team in the 1930s, then university excavations by Strasbourg students in the 1940s during the war. The tour provides a fairly precise idea of this “history” of the site’s archaeology, which I found particularly interesting.
Visit to the archaeological excavation site
This tour takes place in the summer in July
Rate: free
Duration: 45 minutes
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Take a hike around the Gergovie plateau
After or before your visit to the museum, if the weather permits, I advise you to go for a walk on the plateau to discover the magnificent landscapes that surround the place. We didn’t have time to do the full tour of the plateau, but we went on a nice little hike. However, remember to bring a hat and water in the summer, as the sun is strong and there are few places to take shelter.
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Take a guided tour of the Corent site
Located a handful of kilometers from the Gergovie plateau, the Corent site was the seat of a powerful oppidum and probably a capital of the Arverni people in 120 BC. It was excavated by the archaeologist Mathieu Poux. We discovered the site during a humorous theatrical tour entitled “Living like the Gauls, what if it were the future?“. The pitch: Stéphane Plazax is back on the Corent plateau to tout the benefits of sustainable living, Gallic version. A colorful theatrical tour that allowed us to discover this other Arverni oppidum near Gergovie in a very unusual and fun way.
You can also visit this site freely if you cannot or do not wish to do so as part of a guided tour. Indeed, the route is marked with information panels and numerous computer-generated images proposing a reconstruction of the oppidum. The interpretive route is complemented by an audio-guided tour with video content, 3D reconstruction images, and 360° views to be found on the “Puy-de-Dôme Land of Archaeology” application.
Humorous theatrical guided tour of the Corent site
This tour takes place in the summer between July and August
Rates: 9 € / 7 € reduced / free for under 6s
Duration: 1 hour (approximately 500m walking circuit, no difficulty)
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Where to have lunch at the Gergovie site? La Hutte Gauloise
This restaurant is located in the old building constructed to house the excavators of the 1930s, which I mentioned a little earlier in the tour of the current excavation site. The address offers a beautiful panoramic terrace with a breathtaking view of the surroundings. It also offers local specialties and some Auvergne wines as well, if you want to discover this local production!
To taste: the Auvergne patranque with fresh tome cheese, with dry-cured ham from Cantal farm pigs “Maison Laborie” (21 €); stuffed cabbage, Auvergne-style, with farm pork from Cantal from “Maison Laborie” (22 €); great selection of Auvergne wines for enthusiasts, worth discovering as we didn’t know them at all: IGP Puy-de-Dôme, AOC Côtes d’Auvergne Gergovia (price per glass between 6 € and 6.40 €); also a selection of local craft beers.
La Hutte Gauloise
Plateau de Gergovie – 63670 La Roche-Blanche
Price: gourmet menu at 36 € / flavor menu 42 € / children’s menu 13.60 €
Thanks to the Archaeological Museum of the Battle of Gergovie and the Sylvie Blin agency for organizing this great stay to discover the Gergovie site.
I hope that all this will have made you want to visit the Gergovie site and if you also have your own favorite addresses and tips for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below!
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez Photos not royalty-free, photographer's authorization required before any use
