Lyon’s museums, from the Romans to the Lumière brothers
Lyon has enough to fill a rainy weekend. Several, in fact. Roman antiquities on the hill, cinema in Monplaisir, Guignol the puppet in Vieux Lyon: here are the museums to take everyone to, from the children to the grandparents.
Musée des Confluences
The great cloud of glass and steel set down at the tip of the peninsula, where the Rhône and the Saône meet. Four permanent galleries cover the origins of the world, living species, human societies and the afterlife, from fossils to Egyptian mummies. Children love it. Allow half a day. The T1 tram stops outside.
86 quai Perrache, 69002 Lyon
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Housed in a former 17th-century abbey on the Place des Terreaux, this is one of the largest fine art museums in France. Egyptian antiquities, European painting, sculpture, decorative arts, medals: allow a good two hours, and you still won’t see everything. Between rooms, the cloister garden offers a quiet break, a few steps from the Bartholdi fountain.
20 place des Terreaux, 69001 Lyon
Coming up here: Lyon dans la Résistance (11 November to 31 December), Mazurka éternelle et ateliers mazuka le sam 14 novembre à Lyon (Saturday 14 Nov, 1 pm to 7 pm)
Lugdunum, museum and Roman theatres
On Fourvière hill, the museum burrows into the slope right beside the Roman theatres. It follows life in Lugdunum, capital of the Gauls: mosaics, sculpture, jewellery, coins and the Claudian Tablet, a speech by the Emperor Claudius engraved in bronze. An hour and a half, then a wander across the tiers of the great theatre. Take the funicular to Minimes.
17 rue Cléberg, 69005 Lyon
Musée Lumière
In Monplaisir, in the villa where the Lumière family lived, a stone’s throw from the shed where the first film was shot. You’ll see the Cinématographe and its ancestors, the first colour photographs, the Photorama and the two brothers’ films projected on screen. An hour and a half is enough. Ideal with teenagers curious to know where their screens came from. Metro D, Monplaisir-Lumière.
25 rue du Premier-Film, 69008 Lyon
Coming up here: Marché Biologique place Ambroise Courtois (11 November to 31 December), Marché alimentaire Ambroise Courtois (12 November to 31 December), Marché de Produits Manufacturés Ambroise Courtois (12 November to 31 December)
Musées Gadagne
Two museums in a grand Renaissance mansion in Vieux Lyon. The Lyon history museum tells the city’s story from the Romans to the present day. The puppetry museum gives pride of place to Guignol, born and bred in Lyon, and to his cousins from around the world. Allow two hours for both, and save a little energy for the lanes outside.
1 place du Petit Collège, 69005 Lyon
Coming up here: Les pieds dans l'eau - Vivre avec le Rhône et la Saône (16 November to 31 December), Portraits de Lyon - Se repérer dans la ville (16 November to 31 December)
Musée Cinéma et Miniature
In a Renaissance building on the Rue Saint-Jean, more than a thousand items from film shoots: costumes, props, animatronics and animation puppets from films such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. On the top floor, miniature sets at 1:12 scale, precise enough to make you go cross-eyed. Perfect with children or film fans. Allow two hours.
60 rue Saint-Jean, 69005 Lyon
Coming up here: Le Vieux-Lyon en 1 heure (11 November to 31 December), Rencontrez C3PO au Musée Cinéma & Miniature ! (Saturday 21 Nov, 10 am to 6 pm)
Centre d’histoire de la résistance et de la déportation
The CHRD occupies the former Gestapo headquarters in Lyon, where Klaus Barbie operated. Its permanent exhibition shows how Lyon lived through the Second World War, day by day: life under the Occupation, the Resistance, the persecution of the Jews, deportation. A powerful visit, best from age 12. Allow an hour and a half.
14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon
Updated 10 November 2026.