This stunning and eminently manageable museum showcases France's finest collection of sculptures and paintings outside of Paris, from antiquity onwards…
Must see attractions in Lyon
- Musée des Beaux-Arts
- MMusée des Confluences
This eye-catching building, designed by the Viennese firm Coop Himmelb(l)au, is the crowning glory of Lyon's newest neighbourhood, the Confluence, at…
- Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière
Crowning the hill, with stunning city panoramas from its terrace, this superb example of late-19th-century French ecclesiastical architecture is lined…
- Lyon Confluence
Lyon's race toward the future is personified in this reborn industrial district near the southern tip of Presqu'île. Once a landscape of empty warehouses…
- Cathédrale St-Jean-Baptiste
Lyon's partly Romanesque cathedral was built between the late 11th and early 16th centuries. The portals of its Flamboyant Gothic facade, completed in…
- Musées Gadagne
Housed in a 16th-century mansion built for two rich Florentine bankers, this twin-themed exhibition space incorporates an excellent local history museum,…
- Place des Terreaux
The centrepiece of the Presqu'île's beautiful central square is a 19th-century fountain made of 21 tonnes of lead and sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste…
- OOpéra de Lyon
Lyon's neoclassical 1831-built opera house was modernised in 1993 by renowned French architect Jean Nouvel, who added the striking semi-cylindrical glass…
- PParc de la Tête d'Or
If you're museumed out, head to this lovely space north of the centre, which provides a green haven for nature lovers and families. Spanning 117 hectares,…
- CCentre d'Histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation
The WWII headquarters of Gestapo commander Klaus Barbie evokes Lyon's role as the 'Capital of the Resistance' through moving multimedia exhibits. The…
- MMur des Canuts
Said to be Europe's largest fresco, this magnificent trompe l'oeil shows a slice of daily life among Lyon's residents. The work is packed with intricate…
- FFresque des Lyonnais
Well-known Lyonnais peer out from this beautifully executed seven-storey mural, including loom inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752–1834), Renaissance…
- MMusée Lumière
Cinema's glorious beginnings are showcased at the art nouveau home of Antoine Lumière, who moved to Lyon with sons Auguste and Louis in 1870. The brothers…
- AAtelier de Passementerie
Preserved for posterity by the Soierie Vivante association, this silk-trimmings workshop functioned until 1979, weaving braids and intricate pictures…
- MMusée des Arts Décoratifs
This well-organised museum displays 18th-century furniture, tapestries, wallpaper, ceramics and silver. Ticket includes admission to the adjoining Musée…
- MMusée des Tissus
Extraordinary Lyonnais and international silks are showcased here. Ticket includes admission to the adjoining Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which displays…
- MMusée Gallo-Romain de Fourvière
For an enlightening historical perspective on the city's past, start your visit at this archaeological museum on the hillside of Fourvière. It hosts a…
- MMusée d'Art Contemporain
Lyon's contemporary-art museum mounts edgy temporary exhibitions and a rotating permanent collection of post-1960 art. It sometimes closes for several…
- PPlace Bellecour
One of Europe’s largest public squares, gravel-strewn place Bellecour was laid out in the 17th century. In the centre is an equestrian statue of Louis XIV.
- PPalais de Justice
Facing the river in old Lyon, the grandiose neo-classical Palais de Justice is well worth a gander.