Historic places in Lyon

Historic places in Lyon

1. Do

   ASVEL

   The Villeurbanne basketball team has a long history as one of the major clubs in the country.

2. Eat

   Boulangerie Chez Jules St Paul

   Small boulangerie near the historic centre with a great variety of breads, cakes, sandwiches, pizza, salads. There is also the possibility to sit down. Very good croissant aux almond. Also nice to have breakfast. Warm welcome.

3. See

   Institut Lumière - Musée vivant du Cinéma

   This museum in the Lumière brothers' house presents an interesting history of cinema through various items and film excerpts. Also worth seeing for the lovely architecture.

   Tue-Sun 11:00-18:30. Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, and 25 Dec. Open on bank holiday Mondays·€6, under 18 and students €5

4. See

   Montée du Gourguillon

   This picturesque montée (sloping street on hillside) starts behind Vieux Lyon metro station and ends quite close to the Roman theatres of Fourvière. It was the main link between the river Saône and the top of Fourvière throughout the Roman era, Middle Ages and Renaissance. Nowadays it keeps a medieval spirit. Around numbers 5-7 is Impasse Turquet, a small cul-de-sac named after Etienne Turquet, an Italian who is said to have founded the silk industry in Lyon in 1536. In this small passageway are the oldest houses of the city, dating back to the 13th or 14th century, with wooden balconies.

5. See

   Mur des Canuts

   This painted wall is dedicated to the history and typical architecture of the Croix-Rousse hill.

6. See

   Musée Miniature et Cinéma

   Miniature and Movie Museum

   Created by artist Dan Ohlmann, this private gallery shows about 120 miniature models of all kinds of scenes: houses, restaurants, workshops, schools, etc., from Lyon or elsewhere, historical or contemporary. The accuracy of the models is astonishing and some sections will be real fun for children. Movie sceneries, models, costumes, masks and props are also presented, including a wand from the Harry Potter films and the Alien Queen from Alien vs. Predator. The gallery is in a large 16th-century building called Maison des Avocats (Lawyers' house).

   Daily 10:00-18:30 (ticket sales close at 17:30)·€9.50, senior €8, student €7, under 15 €6.50

7. See

   Musée de l'Imprimerie

   Printing museum

   An excellent collection of some facets of printing. The collection features some particularly early works and a reasonable amount of supporting material. Unfortunately, the collection is quite biased towards local Lyonnaise history and thus coverage of printing as an art remains regrettably rather spotty overall. Minimal coverage of photographic processes, weak coverage of typography, zero technical information about later post-physical developments such as postscript and TeX, etc. There is no disabled or child-friendly access (no lifts, and no strollers allowed for fire safety reasons). Budget about an hour and a half if you are in to this sort of thing, 45 minutes otherwise.

   Wed-Sun 09:30-12:00, 14:00-18:00, closed on holidays·€5

8. See

   Musée des Arts Décoratifs et Musée des Tissus

   Decorative Arts museum and Fabrics museum

   Great if you are into old European oil paintings, or relocated Egyptian, Greek or Mesopotamian antiquities. An impressively large local numismatic gallery. Housed in an interesting building with a pleasant courtyard. Probably disappointing if you have come from larger museums such as those in Paris, unless you have a specific local history or antiquarian focus.

   Closed for renovations until 2024

9. See

   Musée gallo-romain de Fourvière

   The second largest museum in France, it has all kinds of things relating to Rhone-Alps history. A free visit to the Roman theatres may be just as interesting for those not into the details.

   Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed 1Jan, 1 May, 1 Nov and 25 Dec·€4, reduced fee €2.50, under 18 and disabled free; free for all on Th

10. See

    Musée urbain Tony Garnier

    This museum was created during the renovation of the États-Unis neighbourhood in the 1980s and 1990s, and the inhabitants were strongly involved in the project. The museum comprises a recreated apartment of the 1930s, which shows how life was like in these very modern housing units, and the 25 wall paintings depicting Garnier's work and ideals. You can also see the walls on your own but you will miss the interesting comments on the history of the area and the social project behind it.

    Visitor centre: Tue-Sat 14:00-18:00, guided tours Sat at 14:30 or by appointment for groups of 10 or more·Guided tours: €6, under 18 €4, children under 5 free; audioguide: €5, under 18 €3, children under 5 free

11. See

    Musées Gadagne: Historical museum of Lyon and International puppet museum

    These museums dedicated to the history of the city and to puppets (like the famous Guignol from Lyon). The building is a magnificent Renaissance palace that is worth a visit. A nice garden and cafe have also been created at the top of the building (free access). Unfortunately there is no view, however. Temporary exhibitions are shown. The puppet museum is mostly for kids and is skippable if you don't read French and don't have a fascination for either the local puppet tradition or seeing a small number of typical pieces from the most known and easily collected traditions (Turkey, Java, Japan, Siam). Wheelchair or pram access is possible to the historical museum through a labyrinthine series of lifts, though only to portions of the puppet museum.

    Wed-Sun 11:00-18:30 except public holidays·1 museum: €6 including audioguide, 2 museums: €8, 2 museums + temporary exhibition: €10. Under 26 and disabled: free

12. See

    Opera house

    Opéra Nouvel

    Opposite the City Hall stands the opera house. The 1826 theatre built by Chenavard and Pollet was completely redesigned by Jean Nouvel who kept only the façades and the foyer on the first floor. The building was reopened in 1993. The history of these works was epic: a lot of technical problems occurred and the final cost of the project was six times the initial estimate. Today, the glass top has become a classical landmark of the city but the interior design is criticised, for both aesthetic and functional reasons.

13. See

    Palais de Justice

    The historical court house, also named "the 24 columns", was built between 1835 and 1842 by architect Louis-Pierre Baltard. It is a fine example of French "neo-classical" architecture. It now hosts only the criminal court (Cour d'Assises) and the court of appeal. The other jurisdictions moved to a new building in Part-Dieu in 1995. The most famous trial held there was that of the former head of the Lyon Gestapo, Klaus Barbie, in 1987. The building is undergoing major refurbishment works.

14. See

    St Jean Cathedral

    The cathedral is dedicated to St John the Baptist (St Jean-Baptiste) and St Stephen (St Etienne) and has the title of primatiale because the Bishop of Lyon has the honorary title of Primat des Gaules. Built between 1180 and 1480, it is mostly of Gothic style with Romanesque elements; the oldest parts are the chancel and the lateral chapels, and as one goes towards the façade, the style becomes more and more Gothic. The cathedral hosts a spectacular astronomical clock built in the 14th century but modified later. It is especially worth seeing when the bells ring, daily on the hour from 12:00-16:00. Over the main door, the rose window, known as the "Lamb rose window", is an admirable work of art depicting the life of St Stephen and St John the Baptist.

    Mon-Fri 08:15-12:00, 13:45-19:30, Sat Sun 08:15-12:00, 13:45-19:00; services (no visits) Mon-Fri 09:00 and 19:00, Sat 09:00, Sun 08:30 and 10:30 (high mass)·Free, appropriate dress required

15. See

    St Jean archaeological garden

    Jardin archéologique

    Next to St Jean cathedral (on the northern side), this small garden shows the remains of the religious buildings which occupied the site before the cathedral was erected. The oldest remains date back to the 4th century (baptistery of the former St Etienne church).

    Free

16. Do Not mapped

    Institut Lumière

    The museum also has a theatre showing thematic series of cinema masterpieces (in original version). The theatre is in the former Lumière factory, which was the scenery of the first movie in history (La sortie des usines Lumière).

17. Do Not mapped

    TNP

    Jean Vilar's spirit of 'popular theatre' lives on in the historically left-wing Villeurbanne.

18. Do Not mapped

    Théâtre des Célestins

    The historical theatre, in a beautiful 19th century building by Gaspard André. Serious programme.

19. See Not mapped

    Traboules

    The traboules are a typical architectural feature of Lyon's historical buildings. They are corridors which link two streets through a building, and usually a courtyard. Many traboules are unique architectural masterpieces, largely influenced by Italy and especially Florence. Some of them are officially open to the public. They link the following addresses: - 54 rue St Jean <> 27 rue du Boeuf (the longest in Lyon) - 27 rue St Jean <> 6 rue des Trois Maries - 2 place du Gouvernement <> quai Romain Rolland. To open the doors, just press the service button next to the door code keyboard. If you are unable to enter from one side, try the opposite entrance. In the morning, many other doors are open for service (mail, garbage collecting), so more traboules are accessible. There are traboules in almost all buildings between Quai Romain Rolland and Rue St Jean/Rue des Trois Maries, and others between Rue St Jean and Rue du Boeuf.

    Closed at night·Free

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Lyon (CC BY-SA 4.0).