Cirencester Amphitheatre
Cirencester Amphitheatre
3.5
Historic SitesAncient RuinsPoints of Interest & Landmarks
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

3.5
3.5 of 5 bubbles169 reviews
Excellent
29
Very good
59
Average
53
Poor
17
Terrible
11

Sarah B
Teignmouth, UK267 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023
People on here leaving reviews saying "It's disappointing...not exactly the Colosseum" Seriously ?! This place is wonderful, it's an historical treasure in the middle of a housing estate, at the back end of the Roman Empire. If you want the Colosseum go to Rome not good old Cirencester. At the Colosseum you'll be jostled by 20 thousand fellow tourists and hawkers of tat and be charged half your holiday budget for the privilege; at Cirencester Amphitheatre it's free and you're more likely to bump into Great Auntie Doris walking her poodle...I know which I'd prefer. If you like grass beneath your feet, birdsong and tranquility this is the amphitheatre for you. DO NOT disrespect the cute baby amphitheatre ever again !
Written July 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Spike C
Stamford, UK943 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020 • Friends
Ok so you need a little imagination to think what this was like centuries ago but it’s all there with a bit of vision.
You can wander round it’s free and there are information boards
A must if you’re in the area.
One of the largest surviving amphitheater’s that held over 8000 people.
Written October 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BathshebaE
Oxfordshire, UK6 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022
Went with young children. Came home after ten minutes as three-year-old’s shoes, clothing and legs got covered in dog poo. Wonderful place, but absolutely mined with dog poo. No good for letting children have a relaxed runaround.
Written June 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

meddleman
Crewe, UK23 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
I was rather surprised when one of the staff at the brilliant Corinium Museum warned us about visiting the amphitheatre because of the number of dogs there. We took our picnic anyway and on arrival encountered an extraordinary number of very badly behaved dogs and even worse owners who made it virtually impossible to sit down without our private space and our lunch being invaded. Is 'Cirencester' Latin for 'City of the Dog Toilet'? We made our escape and will certainly never go back.
Written August 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Geoff H
Sissinghurst, UK12,682 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Couples
It was raining hard the afternoon we went but it was worth braving the wetness to walk on history. What surprised us was the actual size of the place. It was much bigger than we thought it would be. Thanks to the information boards it was easy to stand in the middle of the earthworks and image what it would have been like in Roman times. Certainly well worth seeking out and, while you're there, don't forget to have a quick look at the nearby, unusual Chichester Obelisk.
Written August 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steve P
Southampton, UK784 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
We parked in the small car park in Cotswold Way, near the Obelisk, which affords quick and easy access to the site.

The site consists of some grassy humps which, with some imagination, can be accepted as the basis for a Roman amphitheatre. However, having visited a number of Roman amphitheatres in Europe and the Middle East, where the brick work remains, and you feel the vibration and enchantment of the past, this one leaves a lot to be desired.

We were all a bit disappointed. Consider it a picnic site or grassy area which has the twist that the humps you can see and walk on were once a Roman amphitheatre, and you'll probably appreciate it more. But go for the amphitheatre, and it's going to be a let down. Certainly not worth going out of your way to visit, but if you're in the area, go to stretch your legs and satisfy your curiosity.
Written April 26, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

joeysel
Leeds, UK541 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Family
This doesnt need much time allocated to it but we're glad we visited.
No cost and a few signs to read and the kids enjoyed running up and down the sides playing gladiators.
A little activity to tick off if you were wandering around Cirencester for a morning as we were
Written August 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

cirencester
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2019
Do not be put off by negative reviews of Cirencester's amphitheatre. It is an extraordinary place, and anyone with the slightest imagination will be captivated by it. It's surprising that it isn't more widely known about. Roman Corinium - modern-day Cirencester - had as large a population as the town does today, approx 10,000 people. The amphitheatre could hold more than 8000. Considering it is almost 2000 years old, the site is extraordinarily well-preserved. It's size, shape, height and twin entrances are pretty much as they would have been in 200 AD when it was built. It's not hard to imagine gladiators waiting to enter the arena to fight, or slaves to battle for their freedom (granted to the last man standing) or wild and exotic animals being led in to tear their throats out before the baying crowd of thousands. Chariot races too, with much betting on the surrounding terraces, which you can sit on today, and look down on the arena where so much blood, animal and human, would have been spilt. Corinium was second only in size and influence to Londinium in Roman Britain, and surrounded in the nearby Cotswold countryside by hundreds of luxurious villas with underfloor heating, flushing toilets (really!) and intricate mosaic floors. Nearby Bath was to all intents and purposes a leisure centre, with its plunge-pools, communal heated baths and spas. These people led essentially modern lives, and yet their privileged, pampered world imploded after a few centuries and ushered in the so-called Dark Ages. If (or rather, when) our own 'civilisation' implodes, just as every preceding one has, will the next look back at us with the same sense of wonder and awe at our achievements? Go to the Cirencester amphitheatre and savour our past - and our future.
Written January 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MedEngland
England2,302 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2015 • Friends
Reading other Tripadvisors reviews and their difficultly in finding the location/ being a distance from the Town Centre, I found that these 2 factors could be overcome by parking at the entrance to the site on Cotswold Avenue (off the Bristol Road at postcode GL7 1XW). At the entrance is an illustrated display board where, amongst other things, it mentions that the seating capacity was 8,000 !! I firstly walked on the top of the bank where the shape of the Ampitheatre can be appreciated, including the 2 entrances for the Actors. I then dropped down to the centre of the stage and got a taste of how the Actors must have felt playing to such a large audience completely surrounding them.
Written July 6, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Charles M
Harlow, UK123 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2013 • Couples
A short walk from the town center we did not think it difficult to find.
There is nothing really there but a large bowl with grass sides so it is up to your imagination to conjure up how it would have looked 2,000 years ago with screaming hoards watching the shows unfold.
Personally i thought it was excellent and evocative and happily sat there for half an hour imagining how it would have been.
Written August 3, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Cirencester Amphitheatre - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Cirencester Amphitheatre

Cirencester Amphitheatre is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM


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