Let the collections of the Nyon Roman Museum take you back to Noviodunum, a city founded over 2,000 years ago by Julius Caesar on the shores of Lake Geneva. Right next to the castle, the museum includes permanent collections, temporary exhibitions and kids’ activities.
Between Lausanne and Geneva, Nyon is situated on the remains of one of Switzerland’s biggest Roman cities: Noviodunum. The vestiges of this period are magnificently preserved in the Nyon Roman Museum. Special sculptures, objects relating to everyday life, culture or religion are part of the uniquely rich permanent collection. Many amphora, and other vine and wine related objects, attest to the long history of the La Côte AOC vineyard around the town of Nyon, the biggest wine-making area of the Lake Geneva Region.
The Roman Museum is housed in the foundations of the Forum Basilica, discovered in 1974. It presents the heritage of Colonia Iulia Equestris, founded during Julius Caesar's lifetime in the 1st century BC, and of its urban centre Noviodunum. Nyon has always lived in direct contact with the remains of the past, as the centre of the city has not moved since Antiquity. The museum thus reveals the intense archaeological research activity of the town. Its exhibition presents evidence of the life of the Ancients, combining ancient remains, models and immersive digital devices.
Throughout the year, the Roman Museum of Nyon offers conferences, thematic visits, brunches and role-playing games, while the children's programme "Roman Holidays" transforms the youngest into Julius Caesar's heirs thanks to disguises, games and workshops.
