Autun was founded by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum and was one of the most important cities in Roman Gaul. Two thousand years later, the Roman legacy is still the first thing you notice: Porte Saint-André and Porte d'Arroux, two monumental Roman gates, still stand at the edges of the old town, and the remains of a vast Roman theatre — one of the largest in the Western Roman Empire — sit on a hillside above the city. The Temple of Janus stands in open fields to the north, and the enigmatic Pierre de Couhard — a 27-metre pyramidal funerary monument — crowns the ridge above the theatre.
The medieval Cathedral of Saint-Lazare is Autun's other great landmark. Its tympanum, carved by the sculptor Gislebertus around 1130, is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture — the Last Judgement scene over the main entrance is extraordinarily expressive and detailed. Inside, the capitals throughout the nave are equally remarkable.
Autun sits in southern Burgundy, surrounded by the wooded hills of the Morvan. It is a quiet, understated town that sees far fewer tourists than Beaune or Dijon, which is part of its appeal. The Musée Rolin, housed in a 15th-century mansion, has a good collection of Gallo-Roman artefacts and medieval art, including Gislebertus's original Eve from the cathedral.