Museums and galleries in Lyon

Museums and galleries in Lyon

1. Eat

   Balthaz'Art

   Croix-Rousse has more and more interesting restaurants, and this one is a fine example. In a "flea-market-meets-art-gallery" decor, you will enjoy a fresh and creative cuisine with Mediterranean and Asian influences. Nice wine list, and it is still possible to get a table at a relatively short notice.

   Lunch Thu-Sat, dinner Tue-Sat

2. See

   Centre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation

   Museum of the Resistance during World War II

   This museum in the former Gestapo regional headquarters depicts the daily life in Lyon under the German occupation and keeps memories of this tragic period. Often holds exhibitions (mostly photography).

   Wed-Sun 09:00-17:30, closed on holidays·€3. Free for children under 18

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

   Musee d'art religieux

   Museum of Religious Art

   The small museum holds treasures donated to the church for its construction.

   Daily 10:00-12:30 and 14:00-17:30, closed in January and February

5. 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

6. See

   Musée d'Art contemporain

   Museum of Contemporary Art

   It holds temporary exhibitions of Contemporary Art, and selections from its permanent collection of more than 1,400 works.

   Wed-Sun 11:00-18:00·Full price €9; reduced price €6 for people aged 18 to 25 and for holders of a ticket less than 6 months old purchased at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon; free for under 18s

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

    Place des Terreaux

    This large square was completely redesigned in the 1990s by the artist Daniel Buren. On the East side stands the City Hall. On the North side, you will find the fountain sculpted by Bartholdi, the 'father' of the Statue of Liberty; this fountain was moved from the West side when the square was renovated. It now faces Palais St Pierre, which hosts the Museum of Fine Arts.

13. See

    Roman theatres

    These two well-preserved theatres are the most important remnant of the Roman city of Lugdunum. The Gallo-Roman museum was built next to them. The summer festival "Nuits de Fourvière" takes place here every year, which may cause access restrictions in the evening from June to early August.

    Free

14. See Not mapped

    Car museum of Rochetaillée

    Has a very nice collection of modern and old cars. The main attraction of the museum is Adolf Hitler's armored car.

    Open Tue-Sun 09:00-19:00 in July and August, Tue-Sun 09:00-18:00 the rest of the year. Closed on Christmas and New Year·Fees: Adults €5, free for children under 18

15. 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).

16. See Not mapped

    Rue Juiverie

    Another typical street of Vieux Lyon. It is named after the Jewish community who settled there but were expelled in the 14th century. Check out the back courtyard at Hôtel Builloud (number 8); it has a magnificent gallery on the first floor, designed by Philibert Delorme who was one of the most prominent local architects during the Renaissance.

17. See

    Palais Saint-Pierre / Musée des Beaux Arts

    Museum of Fine Arts

    20 place des Terreaux

    Mon Wed Thu Sat 10:00-18:00, Fri 10:30-18:00, partial closures 12:00-14:15, ticket office closes 17:30·€6, reduced €4, under 18, EU students, and some others free, audioguide €3 or free for some

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