[3] Surrounded by hills and Champagne vineyards, the city is traversed by the river Aube, from which it derives its name.
The TER Grand Est Troyes to Chalindrey railway passes through the commune coming from Vendeuvre-sur-Barse to the west to Bricon in the south-east with a station in the town.
With a substantial urban area in the west and some forest in the south the commune is mostly farmland.
[6][7] The Aube river flows through the commune and the town from south-east to north-west continuing to eventually join the Seine at Marcilly-sur-Seine.
A coin with the image of a horse in the name of Togirix (Chief of the Lingones) was discovered on the Sainte Germaine hill.
During the period of the Counts of Champagne the town was of great importance with the Champagne fairs where merchants from Flanders and Italy traded Oriental spices and silk for textiles and raw materials from the north of Europe in mid-February and mid-April.
In 1318 Philip V the Tall sold the town to Jacques de Croÿ, residents bought it themselves to ensure that the king could no longer sell or alienate the lands.
The city and surrounding area was the scene of the Battle of Bar-sur-Aube towards the end of the Napoleonic era on 27 February 1814.
List of Successive Mayors[11][12] Bar-sur-Aube has twinning associations with:[13] In 2017 the commune had 4,902 inhabitants.