Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

Le stade Geoffroy-Guichard is the home of AS Saint-Étienne and has been since 1931. It is named after Geoffroy Guichard, founder of the Casino group, who helped fund its construction. ASSE have played their matches there since the professional club was founded in 1933.

With close to 42,000 seats, Geoffroy-Guichard is one of the largest grounds in French football. Its current layout comes from the work carried out for Euro 2016. The stadium also hosts international competitions, including matches at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The nickname "Chaudron" (the Cauldron) dates back to a European Cup tie against Hajduk Split in November 1974. Beaten 4-1 in the first leg, Saint-Étienne, led by Jean-Michel Larqué and Dominique Bathenay, turned things around at home with a 5-1 win after extra time. Struck by the atmosphere in the stands, a Yugoslav journalist compared Geoffroy-Guichard to a boiling cauldron, and the nickname stuck. The two kops behind the goals, driven by the Magic Fans in the north and the Green Angels in the south, generate most of the songs, tifos and atmosphere on matchdays.

Away from matches, Geoffroy-Guichard can be visited on a guided tour lasting about an hour. Visitors get to see several areas normally closed to the public, including the press room, the mixed zone, the players' tunnel and, when available, the dressing rooms.

The tour of "l'enfer vert" (the green hell) is often combined with a visit to the Musée des Verts, located inside the stadium itself. Billed as the first football museum in France, it traces the history of AS Saint-Étienne through shirts, archives, photographs, historic objects and temporary exhibitions. Visitors can choose the museum alone with an audio guide from €8, or a museum and stadium package from €16. There is also an option with a guided tour of both the museum and the stadium from €21.