Guide to Art and Historic Sites in Lyon

At the onset, Place des Terreaux is a famous Lyonnais landmark that deserves a visit among the best things to do in Lyon. It may serve as a beautifully built square to walk away the hours or a perfect starting point to explore the presqu’ile and the city hall area. It is located at 69001, Lyon, France. It is a large square in Lyon with the Lyon City hall on the east side. It has a 19^th-century fountain which has a statue of four horses pulling the chariot, which symbolizes rivers galloping seawards. It is made up of 21 tonnes of lead. It was designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the 'father' of the Statue of Liberty. This fountain was initially located on the west side of the square, which was moved in the 1990s to the north side when the square was renovated by the architect Christian Drevet and artist Daniel Bure. During the visit, one can explore murals paintings, street art, traboules, and even meet the lively local craftsmen to gain knowledge about their history, their business, expertise, and delicacies of Lyon, such as praline brioche, Artisanal beer, Lyonnais chocolate, and wine.

Another worthy thing to do in Lyon is to visit the Lyon Old Town located at 69005, Lyon, France. It is also known as the Vieux Lyon and is a maze of narrow streets and the largest Renaissance district in Lyon. It is located across the Saone River from the Presqu'ile district and the thriving center. It is a place where suppliers from all over Europe perched to trade their goods. The city has retained the traces of the periods that have marked its history. It is a mysterious district where exists the hidden passages “Traboules’ which are corridors through buildings and courtyards are taken one from one street to another without even leaving the building. Even though the building here appears simple from outside, and the visitors are surprised when they move into the closed doors. One of the most famous Traboules in this region is a marvelous pink tower ‘Tour Rose.’ One can take a walk at the base of the tower. One can also found the Museum of Miniatures and Cinema in this region.

The visit to the Museum of Gallo-Roman Civilization is another thing to do in Lyon, which one should not miss while in Lyon. It is located on 17 rue Cléberg, 69005, Lyon, France. It is situated on the right of the Rhone river around 30 Km from the south of Lyon. The Museum is operation for all the days from 10 am to 6 pm except on Mondays, 1^st January 1^st May 1^st November and 25^th December. The museum charge a full rate of 6€ for adults while for students, family with more than 3 children and group of ten or fewer people, there is a reduced charge of 3€. The museum offers free admission for educational groups, disabled visitors accompanied with 2 helpers, visitors under the age of 18, and the unemployed individuals. To encourage visitors, the museum's administration allows free admission on first Sunday of every month (except during events). These audio tours are available in French, English, German, Spanish, and Italian. Besides, a special audio tour for children in French (from 7 years old).

The Lyon Museum of Fine Arts is in Place des Terreaux, the heart of the city center at 20, place des Terreaux 69001, Lyon, France. It is the largest French museum outside Paris with regards to the extent of collections and the significance of the legacy received during its revolution. The museum offers its visitors an exceptional tour of 5000 years of art history. It is also the house for more than 50,000 coins, medals, and seals to house the general history of coins and medals. The most astonishing anthologies of the 20^th Century also get its place in the Museum of Fine Arts.

Furthermore, the Graphic Arts cabinet here houses more than 8000 drawings and prints from the French, Italian, and Nordic schools from the 16^th to the 20^th Century. As the museum has a team of twelve museum educators to assist workshops, schools, and specialized tours, an average of 330,000 visitors visits each year to this museum. The Museum operations daily except Tuesdays and bank holidays, from 10 am to 6 pm. For Friday the timings are from 10.30 am to 6 pm. It has become the must thing to do in Lyon.

The Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon (Museum of Contemporary Art Lyon) is in Cité Internationale, 81 Quai Charles de Gaulle, 69006 Lyon. This museum gives a platform to both national and international artists with all forms of modern art covering sound, choreography, painting, videos, and performance. During the museums' opening hours, the artwork displayed in the lobby can be explored free of cost. The museum is open from Wednesday to Friday, from 11 am to 6 pm and from Saturday to Sunday, from 11 am to 7 am. It is advisable to check the working hours before planning a visit as the museum closes between each temporary exhibition to prepare for the next event. The museum remains closed every Monday, 1^st January 1^st May and the 25^th December. The full admission ticket costs €17 and €16 with and without a guided tour, respectively. There is a concession of €9 for general public who is under 26, job seekers, large family cards, teachers, disabled people’s companions, cultural professionals and late opening days after 6 pm. Disabled visitors can use the same and have free access. One must list visiting this museum in the itinerary of things to do in Lyon.

The Institut Lumiere is on the 25 rue du Premier - Film BP 8051, 69352, Lyon, France. For those who love cinema, this is the right place while in Lyon. The Musee Luminere was designed in 2002 and has three floors and twenty-one rooms to pay tribute to Louis and Auguste for their finest works in the elegant setting of the family home, memorable staircase, and the winter garden roof. There is a room dedicated to the most adventures of Gabriel Veyre. The museum is operational from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 am to 6.30 pm. It remains closed on 1^st January 1^st May and 25^th December. The normal full fare to visit this place is €7. However, individuals under 18 or above 60, job seekers, disabled, along with their companions and students and school teachers, can admit at a reduced rate of €6. The admission charges for the subscribers and people from the work council are €5, and for groups above 7 is €5.50. There are no admission charges for children under 7, Lyon city Card, Club Lumere, and press cardholders.

The Henri Malartre Cars Museum is on 645 Rue du Musée, 69270 Rochetaillée-Sur-Saône, France. It was created by Henri Malartre in 1959 and was considered among Lyon Museums in 1972. It is situated 11 km north of Lyon and houses the collection of cars, old motorcycles, cycles, and Henri Malartre’s Lyon public transport. The museum is spread over 2500-meter square and housed in a castle belonging to the former Counts of Lyon. The museum hosts 150 cars, dated from 1890 to 1986. There are 20 unique models. The first floor has 40 motorbikes dated from 1903 to 1955, and the second floor gives space to 31 bicycles representing the period from 1818 to 1960. The museum has a public transport hall dedicated to trams, trains, the “Ficelle” funicular from Fourviere. At the museum, one can drive vintage cars for 1 hour in the park. It must be noted that cars and trucks are not allowed to access the rue du Musee by the village of Rochetaillee-Sur-Saone.

The Musee Gadagyne is located at 1 place du petit College, 69005, Lyon, France. It is in the center of the old Lyon and is a World Heritage site with two major museums, which are the International Puppet Museum and the Lyon History Museum. This museum symbolizes the building of renaissance architecture. The museum consists of the courtyards, interior pathways, spiral staircase, and hanging gardens. The museum is operational from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm. The museum is closed on 1^st January, Easter Sunday, 1^st May, 14^th July and 25^th December. It should be noted that a single ticket is enough to visit both the museums. The list of things to do in Lyon is incomplete in the absence of the Musee Gadagne.

The Musee des Tissus et des Arts Decoratifs must go among the things to do in Lyon. It was established in 1864 on the 34 rue de la Charite, 69002, Lyon, France. It covers two 18 century hotels in Lyon. It symbolizes the museum of the textile and the museum of decorative art under a single roof. As the name suggests, it is largest house of the International textile collection with almost 2500000 units expanding 4000 years. The most popular collection here is Lyon’s silk industry.

On the other hand, the Musee des Art decorative is known for its wide selection of sculpture, painting, drawings, furniture, majolica, etc. A single ticket of 10 € gives access to both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The ticket tour starts on Sunday and Tuesday at 3.30 pm, and respectively it costs 8.5 € and 12.5 €.

The Musee des Miniatures et Decors du Cinema is IN 60 Rue Saint-Jean, 69005 Lyon. The museum focus on the future and the major goal of this museum to welcome the visitors and made them fall in love with movies, cinemas, and theatre. People have enjoyed play-acting here for centuries. Here, one can observe numerous magical effects, illusions for the film work, which happens in studios. One can easily reach this place by opting for car and metros. The place opens every day with easy and suitable parking facilities for tourists. Entry fees are free for children under age of 5. The place offers mainly two main things first, and the foremost is special effects in films and second is the art of Miniatures. When one plans things to do in Lyon, the famous place to visit this cinema is at the top of the list.

Fourviere is in Place de Fourviere, 69005 Lyon. This is a famous district in Lyon, and this is a hill rising from the river Saone. Here, once can see numerous concerts and operas throughout the summer. The place is open for all seven days of the week. It supports the oldest and active funicular railway lines popularly known as the Catholic Basilica of Fourviere. The place contains many religious buildings, convents, monasteries, and chapels. Fourviere is popularly known as “the hill that prays.” When people plan their itinerary and list out things to do in Lyon, Faurviere is the most attractive place to see concerts.

Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere is in 8 Place de Fourviere, 69005 Lyon. This place is very popular and is famous for its pilgrimage. There has been a shrine at this place which is dedicated to “Our Lady” since 1170. Chapel and prayers are the most common things to do in Lyon, which are being organized in this place, which tourists admire a lot. One can view the golden statue of the Virgin Mary sculpted by Joseph-Hugues Fabisch in this palace. The children’s choir of Saint Mark is the official choir of Basilica. The tower has housed the antennas of Radio Furviere, the predecessor of Radios Chretiennes francophones.

Place Bellecour is popularly known as the red square of Lyon and is in Place Bellecour, 69002 Lyon, which is very easy to locate. The place is open for tourists for all the seven days of the week. There are numerous events organized in Place Bellecour, which attracts tourists; these are an ice rink and Ferris wheel installation in winters, book fairs, student or trade union demonstrations, Petanque competition on weekends, roller ride on Friday nights. This place is a large square in the center of Lyon, France, and Ainay district. This place has the largest pedestrian square in Europe. There are many activities and things to do in Lyon, especially in winter.

Lyon Cathedral museum is in Place Saint-Jean, 69005 Lyon. It is a famous cathedral church. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The gallery here contains the front elevation of the Cathedral, its interiors, exteriors, which are overlooked by the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere. Burials here are Cardinal Foulon and Cardinal Gerlier. In this church, every year in December there is an annual festival of lights which is the biggest attraction for the tourists and the most important thing to do in Lyon. One must consult the details for opening and closing time on the website before planning the visit. Opening timings are generally from 8:00 am till 7:45 pm from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays, the church closes till 7:00 pm.

There are so many incredible things to do in Lyon and memorize in these museums, so be sure to plan plenty of time for your visit to this stunning destination. You will quickly realize why Lyon has become one of the attractive tourist places on this planet Earth. It’s a wonderful chance to learn about history, experience the best places evolved in Lyon. This is a must-visit place for a memorable experience. One must plan numerous activities and things to do in Lyon which can be done when one plans to visit Lyon, i.e., the dream destination of many tourists.