67 Sights in Lyon, France (with Map and Images)
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Explore interesting sights in Lyon, France. Click on a marker on the map to view details about it. Underneath is an overview of the sights with images. A total of 67 sights are available in Lyon, France.
Sightseeing Tours in Lyon1. Lugdunum Musée et Théâtres Romains
Lugdunum, formerly known as the Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon-Fourvière, is a museum of Gallo-Roman civilisation in Lyon. Previously presented at the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon and the Antiquarium, the municipal Gallo-Roman collection was transferred to a new building designed by Bernard Zehrfuss and opened in 1975, near the city's Roman theatre and odeon, on a hill known as Fourvière, located in the heart of the Roman city. Internally, it is formed of a concrete spiral ramp descending and branching out into the display rooms. It is managed and operated by the Metropolis of Lyon jointly with the archaeological museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal. As well as displaying its own permanent collections of Roman, Celtic and pre-Roman material, a plan-relief of the ancient town and scale models of its major monuments such as the theatre and the Odeon, it also regularly hosts temporary exhibitions. On November 8, 2017, the museum was renamed Lugdunum.
2. Villa Gillet
Villa Gillet is located in Lyon, in the Parc de la Cerisaie. It is a European and international house of contemporary writing. It gives voice to writers, thinkers and artists. It is a cultural institution that is interested in all forms of culture: literature, human, political and social sciences, history, contemporary arts, etc. It brings together artists, writers, novelists and researchers from around the world to nourish a public reflection on the issues of our time during conferences, debates, round tables, and readings. The City of Lyon, the Métropole de Lyon, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, the National Book Centre and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region contribute in part to its operation. From 1989 until 2019 it was directed by Guy Walter, also Director of Subsistences.
3. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 17th and 18th centuries. It was restored between 1988, and 1998, remaining open to visitors throughout this time despite the ongoing restoration works. Its collections range from ancient Egyptian antiquities to the Modern art period, making the museum one of the most important in Europe. It also hosts important exhibitions of art, for example the exhibitions of works by Georges Braque and Henri Laurens in the second half of 2005, and another on the work of Théodore Géricault from April to July 2006. It is one of the largest art museums in France.
4. Chapelle de l'hôpital Édouard-Herriot
The chapel of the Édouard-Herriot Hospital in Lyon is located in the hospital complex built in the Grange Blanche district by the Lyon architect Tony Garnier from 1920. The initial project of this hospital, inaugurated by the President of the Republic Albert Lebrun in 1934, did not provide for a chapel. Following the demolition of the Hôpital de la Charité and by decision of the municipal council and Mayor Édouard Herriot, the sisters of the Hôpital de la Charité and those of the Hôtel-Dieu came to occupy these new premises as soon as they were completed. Tony Garnier entrusted the realization of the religious building to one of his students, Louis Thomas, who had joined his workshop in 1924.
5. Eugène Pons
Eugène Pons, born May 15, 1886 in Saint-Étienne and died in deportation on February 24, 1945 in the Neuengamme concentration camp, was a Catholic figure from Lyon, a printer and a French resistance fighter specializing in the printing of clandestine newspapers. From 1940 to 1944, he was responsible for printing newspapers of the Resistance, in particular Témoignage chrétien, Combat, La Marseillaise and Franc-tireur. He was also responsible for the 25,000 copies of Le Faux Nouvelliste on December 31, 1943. Taking the defense of one of the employees of his printing house, he was arrested in May 1944, then deported to Neuengamme where he died of exhaustion in 1945.
6. Historic Site of Lyon
The Vieux Lyon is the largest Renaissance district of Lyon. In 1964, Vieux-Lyon, the city's oldest district, became the first site in France to be protected under the Malraux law to protect France's cultural sites. Covering an area of 424 hectares between the Fourvière hill and the river Saône, it is one of Europe’s most extensive Renaissance neighborhoods. There are three distinct sections: Saint Jean, Saint Paul and Saint Georges. In 1998, Vieux Lyon was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other districts in Lyon because of its historical importance and architecture.
7. Manécanterie
The Manécanterie is an ancient monument situated in Lyon in Saint Jean district, in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon. It is placed side by side to the south southwest of the cathedral Saint Jean and is a part of the former convent of the cathedral. This small Romanesque building served first as dining hall to the canons of Saint Jean, before becoming a parish choir school, namely a school for the singing of the clergy. In 1998, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other notable buildings in historic Lyon as a testimony to Lyon's long history and unique architecture.
8. Parc de la Tête d'Or
The Parc de la Tête-d'Or is a public urban park located in Lyon, one of the largest in France. Designed by brothers Denis and Eugène Bühler, the park was opened in 1857 when the work was not completed. It is exactly contemporary with New York's Central Park, created the same year. The park was enriched with many buildings such as the large greenhouses in 1865, the velodrome, the guards' chalet and the park chalet in 1894, the fence in 1896, the collection greenhouses in 1899, the war memorial on Île aux Cygnes between 1914 and 1930 and the new rose garden between 1961 and 1964.
9. Édouard Herriot
Édouard Marie Herriot was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the first Cartel des Gauches. Under the Fourth Republic, he served as President of the National Assembly until 1954. An historian by occupation, Herriot was elected to the Académie Française's eighth seat in 1946. He served as Mayor of Lyon for more than 45 years, from 1905 until his death, except for a brief period from 1940 to 1945, when he was exiled to Germany for opposing the Vichy regime.
10. Jardin du Palais Saint-Pierre
The garden of the Palais Saint-Pierre is a municipal garden in Lyon, located within the walls of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. It is part of a rectangle bounded by the arcades of the former cloister of the Benedictine abbey. Of regular style, it consists of lawn beds in half-moons or rectangular, punctuated by vegetation and different sculptures. It is located right in the city center on the peninsula. Like the Museum of Fine Arts, the garden is open every day, except Tuesdays and holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
11. Parc Henry-Chabert
Parc Henry-Chabert, previously Parc de Gerland and also called Parc du Confluent, is a large greenspace in Lyon situated on a former industrial site in the south of the city near the confluence of the Rhône and the Saone. Construction began in 1996, and the park was developed over an area of 80 hectares. The initial two phases of construction concluded in 2000 and 2006, and were carried out by landscape architect Michel Corajoud. The project was managed by Grand Lyon. The park was renamed to Parc Henry-Chabert on 19 December 2020.
12. Fontaine des Jacobins
The Place des Jacobins is a square located in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. It was created in 1556 and a fountain was added in 1856. The square belongs to the zone classified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. According to Jean Pelletier, this square is one of the most famous in Lyon, because of its location in the center of the 2nd arrondissement and its heavy traffic, as 12 streets lead here. The square, particularly its architecture and its features, has changed its appearance many times throughout years.
13. Hôtel d'Estaing
The Maison du Chamarier, also known as Hôtel d'Estaing, is a house at 37 rue Saint-Jean in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon, at the corner of Rue de la Bombarde. It was built in 1498 but the ancient ruins are from the thirteenth century. From Latin cameriarus, the word "Chamarier" means the superintendent of the finances of the bishop of the Lyon Cathedral. He also owns the keys to the gates of the enclosure canonical. From the fifteenth century, he gathered the taxes collected during the fairs.
14. Aux enfants du Rhône défenseurs de la Patrie
To the children of the Rhône defenders of the Fatherland commonly known as the Monument des enfants du Rhône is a monument to the dead dedicated to the soldiers of Lyon who died during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. It is located Place du Général-Leclerc at the entrance of the Parc de la Tête d'Or named "Porte des Enfants du Rhône" in Lyon in France. The sculpture was made by sculptor Étienne Pagny and was inaugurated on October 30, 1887.
15. Musée Africain
The African Museum of Lyon is the oldest museum in France dedicated to Africa, and one of the oldest museums in Lyon. The collections specialise in West African objects. From 2012 to 2017, the museum was managed by a secular association, the Association du Musée Africain de Lyon. It closed on November 27, 2017. The space left free has been dedicated to the Carrefour des Cultures Africaines, which allows access to the library to be maintained.
16. Château de La Motte
Château de La Motte is a French castle that is also known as The castle of La Motte or just La Mothe. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, on the left bank of the Rhône. It stands near the junction of two ancient roads of eastern and southern Lyon, on the border between the Dauphiné and Lyonnais. It occupies a small hill created in Gallo-Roman times for flood protection and because of good visibility.
17. Basilique Saint-Martin d'Ainay
The Basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay is a Romanesque church in Ainay in the Presqu'île district in the historic centre of Lyon, France. A quintessential example of Romanesque architecture, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other notable buildings in the centre of Lyon as a testimony to Lyon's long history as an important European town and unique blend of architectural styles.
18. Odéon
The Odeon of Lyon is a small ancient Roman theatre near the summit of the Fourvière hill in Lyon, France. It forms a pair with the Ancient Theatre of Fourvière, one of only two such pairs in Gaul. Along with other buildings in Lyon, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998, protecting Lyon's long history as a powerful city and its unique architecture.
19. Parc Sergent Blandan
Parc Sergent Blandan, also shortened to Parc Blandan, is an urban park in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon in Lyon, France, adjacent to Cimetière de la Guillotière Ancien. With an area of 17 hectares, the park opened to the public on 13 September 2013 at the location of Caserne sergent Blandan, a military barracks previously known as "Fort Lamothe".
20. Halle Tony Garnier
The Halle Tony Garnier is an arena and concert hall in Lyon, France. It was designed by Tony Garnier in 1905. Originally a slaughterhouse, the building was renovated in 1987 and opened as a concert hall in 1988. With a standing capacity of nearly 17,000, it is the third biggest venue in France after the Accor Arena and Paris La Défense Arena.
21. Parc Jacob Kaplan
Parc Jacob-Kaplan or Parc de la Buire is a 5,000 m2 park in Lyon, located in the Buire district of the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon. It is named after Jacob Kaplan, resistance fighter and then Chief Rabbi of France from 1955 to 1980. The park is significantly marked by hydraulic facilities and an artificial moat for rainwater infiltration.
22. Jardin des Chartreux
The Jardin des Chartreux is a Lyon park of about one hectare. Located in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon on the slopes of Croix-Rousse, it is crossed by the passage Gonin, pedestrian path, which connects the Cours Général-Giraud, which the garden runs along between the rue de la Muette and the place Rouville, to the quai Saint-Vincent.
23. Colline de Fourvière
Fourvière is a district of Lyon, France, a hill immediately west of the old part of the town, rising from the river Saône. It is the site of the original Roman settlement of Lugdunum in 43 BC. The district contains many religious buildings including convents, monasteries and chapels. It is known in Lyon as "the hill that prays".
24. Opéra de Lyon
The Opéra Nouvel in Lyon, France, is the home of the Opéra National de Lyon. The original opera house was re-designed by the distinguished French architect, Jean Nouvel between 1985 and 1993 in association with the agency of scenography dUCKS scéno and the acoustician Peutz. Serge Dorny was appointed general director in 2003.
25. Palais archiépiscopal
The archiepiscopal palace of Lyon, or Palais Saint-Jean, is a building of medieval origin located in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon. Home of the bishops and archbishops of Lyon for many centuries, it has undergone many developments. Confiscated during the Revolution, it was used from 1974 to store the municipal archives of Lyon.
26. Église Saint-Just
The church of Saint-Just or Saint-Just of the Maccabees church, is a church in Lyon, France. It is located at 41 rue des Farges, in Lyon and until 2014, the church hosted the "French-speaking Orthodox parish of the Holy Encounter", a parish of the Orthodox Byzantine rite dependent on the patriarchate of Constantinople.
27. Cour des Voraces
The Cour des Voraces, also called Maison de la République, is a courtyard building in the Pentes quarter, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, famous for its enormous six-floor stairway. It is an impressive traboule, a covered passage with entrances on Place Colbert, Montée Saint-Sébastien and Rue Imbert-Colomès.
28. Église Sainte-Croix de Lyon
The Church of the Holy Cross in Lyon is a Catholic religious building destroyed in the 19th century. It is the northernmost church of Lyon's Anglican Church, including St Jean's Cathedral and the ancient Church of St Stephen, and the remains of its foundations can be seen in the adjacent archaeological park.
29. Basilique Saint-Bonaventure
The Église Saint-Bonaventure is one of the churches of the quarter Presqu'île, located on the Place des Cordeliers, in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. This is the only medieval building not demolished after the creation of the rue Impériale, under the Second Empire by the prefect Claude-Marius Vaïsse.
30. Hôtel de Sarron
The Hôtel de Sarron is a building listed as a historical monument by decree of 19 November 1991, located in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. It housed the offices of Mathieu Paquet's printing and bookshop, which became those of the Presse lyonnaise du Sud-Est, which prints the daily L'Express de Lyon.
31. Démocrite méditant sur le siège de l'âme
Democritus meditating on the seat of the soul is a statue by Léon-Alexandre Delhomme (1841–1895), exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1868. It shows the Greek philosopher Democritus, his eyes fixed on a skull he holds in his hands. It is now exhibited in the garden of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon.
Wikipedia: Democritus meditating on the seat of the soul (EN)
32. Jardin Rosa Mir
The Jardin Rosa Mir is a garden located in the center of La Croix-Rousse quarter in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, and created by Jules Senis. It is housed in a courtyard of the building at No. 83 Grande Rue de la Croix-Rousse. It can be accessed through a path located at No. 87 in the same street.
33. Centauresse et Faune
The Centauresse et le faune or Centauresse et Faune is a sculpture by Augustin Courtet installed in the garden of the Palais Saint-Pierre in 1849 before being transferred to the Parc de la Tête d'or near the Porte des Enfants du Rhône. The statue was cast by the Parisian founder Édouard Quesnel.
34. Le Gros Caillou
The Gros Caillou is one of the symbols of the Croix-Rousse district of Lyon, France. Erected as a stele, this massive gray-white rock very hard of 24 t, is a quartzite whose mineralogical composition shows that it was transported from the Alps to Lyon by glaciers: this is called an erratic block.
35. Église Saint-Augustin
The Saint-Augustin church, a building dedicated to Catholic worship, is located in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, at the intersection of Denfert Rochereau and Jacquard streets. It is the most recent parish sanctuary in the borough, with the exception of St. Elizabeth's Church.
36. Maison des Canuts
The Maison des Canuts is a museum in Lyon, France. Emblematic of the Croix-Rousse district, it presents collections relating to canuts, silk workers from this district of Lyon, in particular functional looms, as well as elements related to the history of silk and its industry.
37. Basilique funéraire Saint-Laurent de Choulans
Saint-Laurent-de-Choulans is an archaeological site located in Lyon at the foot of the entrance to the Fourvière tunnel, and dated to the Merovingian period. This site includes the remains of a church surrounded by a fenced Christian necropolis, with an area of 0.5 to 1 ha.
Wikipedia: Basilique funéraire Saint-Laurent de Choulans (FR)
38. Église Notre-Dame Saint-Louis
Notre-Dame Saint-Louis is a church dedicated to Catholic worship, located in the Guillotière district, in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, of which it is the oldest parish sanctuary. It is located at the intersection of rue de la Madeleine and Grande rue de la Guillotière.
39. Prison Montluc
Fort Montluc, also known as Fort de Villeurbanne, is a fort located in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon. The fort was built in 1831 as part of the Ceintures de Lyon, which were a series of fortifications surrounding Lyon. It is currently used as a metropolitan police station.
40. Théâtre de la Croix Rousse
The Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse is a theatre located in the 4th arrondissement of Lyon, on the Place Joannès-Ambre and built from the late 1920s. The designer of the place is Michel Roux-Spitz. In 1980, the architect Georges Bacconnier led a restoration of the interiors.
41. Monument à la gloire du service de santé militaire
The monument to the glory of the military health service of Grange Blanche is a monument located in the 8th arrondissement of Lyon which commemorates the action of the soldiers doctors from the School of Health of the armies during the conflicts of the twentieth century.
Wikipedia: Monument à la gloire du service de santé militaire de Grange Blanche (FR)
42. Chapelle Sainte-Croix de Lyon
St. Croix's Chapel or Notre Dame Missionary Chapel is a Byzantine building located in the sixth district of Lyon. It was built in memory of the victims of the 1793 siege of Lyon and belongs to the Brotteaux Religious Monument Committee, an association formed in 1901.
43. Statue de Monsieur Ampère
The Monument to Ampère is a statue erected Place Ampère in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon in France. Installed in 1888, it represents the scholar André-Marie Ampère seated. Its sculptor is Charles Textor, its architect Joseph Dubuisson and the founder is Thiébaut.
44. Sculpture
Sculpture sometimes nicknamed The Five Steel Menhirs, is a steel sculpture by Philolaos composed of five elements similar to menhirs. It has been installed since 1968 in the garden of the Les Érables building in La Duchère, on the Boulevard de La Duchère side (OSM).
45. Basilique de Fourvière
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière is a minor basilica in Lyon, France. It was built with private funds between 1872 and 1896 in a dominant position overlooking the city. The site it occupies was once the Roman forum of Trajan, the forum vetus, thus its name.
Wikipedia: Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière (EN), Website
46. Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules
The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls of Lugdunum (Lyon) was part of the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum. In 1961, it was classified as a monument historique.
47. Bourse du Travail
The Bourse du Travail is a 1,950-capacity theatre located in Lyon, France. Built in 1929, it was designated a monument historique in 1989. Some of the artists that performed at the venue include Asia, Mötley Crüe, Blue Öyster Cult, Iggy Pop and Metallica.
48. Musée d'histoire de la médecine et de la pharmacie de Lyon
The Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy of Lyon is a museum of the history of medicine and pharmacy created in 1914 by Alexandre Lacassagne and located in Lyon, in the building of the Faculty of Medicine of the University Claude-Bernard Lyon 1.
Wikipedia: Musée d'histoire de la médecine et de la pharmacie de Lyon (FR)
49. Église de l'Annonciation
The Church of the Annunciation is a Greek Orthodox church located in Lyon rue d'Athènes in the seventh arrondissement. It depends on the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of France. It is dedicated to the Annunciation.
50. Musée d'Art Contemporain
The Musée d'art contemporain de Lyon is a museum devoted to contemporary art, located in the 6th arrondissement of Lyon, in the Cité Internationale, next to the cinema, in front of the Parc de la Tête d'Or. It had over 42,000 visitors in 2007.
51. Hôtel Bullioud
The Hotel Bullioud, is a mansion of the rue Juiverie in Lyon. He is known for Philibert Delorme's gallery built following his trip to Italy (1536). Its décor is the first experience in France of a new architectural style, the Renaissance style.
52. Portail du Château de la Tourette
The Château de la Tourette was a pleasure residence located in the district of La Croix-Rousse in Lyon. It was completely destroyed with the exception of the main gate, classified as a historical monument by decree of 22 January 1910.
53. Château de la Jayère
The Château de la Jayère is a former country house located in the 9th arrondissement of Lyon, in the metropolis of Lyon. On the hillside, below the district of La Duchère, it dominates the plain of Saône and the district of Vaise.
54. Église arménienne Saint-Jacques
The Armenian Church of Saint-Jacques de Lyon or Sourp Hagop Church is a religious building of the Armenian Apostolic Church located in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, at 40 rue d'Arménie. The church is dedicated to James of Nisibis.
55. Mémorial National de la Prison de Montluc
Montluc prison is a former prison located on rue Jeanne Hachette in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, France. It was known for being an internment, torture and killing place by the Gestapo during the occupation of France by the Nazis.
56. Catastrophe de Fourvière
The Fourvière disaster was a tragic event in the city of Lyon that took place on the night of 12 to 13 November 1930. A section of the hill of Fourvière collapsed causing the destruction of buildings and the death of many people.
57. Mausolée romain du Sévir Turpio
The tomb of Turpio is a Roman tomb part of a set of ten funerary monuments discovered on the outskirts of Lyon in 1885, during clearing work in the Saint-Just district. This set is to be linked to the ancient necropolises of Trion.
58. Espace culturel du christianisme à Lyon
The Espace Culturel du Christianisme à Lyon (ECCLY), or Musée de l'Antiquaille, is an interpretation centre for the history of Christianity located on the Fourvière hill in Lyon, France, at 49 montée Saint-Barthélemy.
Wikipedia: Espace culturel du christianisme à Lyon (FR), Website
59. Le Patineur
The Skater, or The Man of the Future or the Man of Freedom, is a sculpture by French artist César Baldaccini made in 1989. It has been installed since 1992 on Place Tolozan, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, in France.
60. La fresque des Lyonnais
The Fresque des Lyonnais is a mural of 800 m2 of surface, located in Lyon, France. It represents twenty-four historical figures from Lyon and six contemporary figures. It was produced in 1994-1995 by CitéCréation.
61. Site archéologique de Saint-Just Les Minimes
The Basilica of Saint-Just also known as Saint-Just basilica or the Maccabees Basilica was one of the oldest and most powerful churches in the city of Lyon until it was destroyed during the French Wars of Religion.
62. Fontaine Bartholdi
The Fontaine Bartholdi is a fountain sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and realised in 1889 by Gaget & Gautier. It was erected at the Place des Terreaux, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, in September 1892.
63. Église Notre-Dame-Saint-Vincent
The Église Notre Dame Saint-Vincent is a Roman Catholic church located in Lyon, on the banks of the Saône, quai Saint-Vincent, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon. In 1984, it was classified as monument historique.
64. Parc de la Cerisaie
The parc de la Cerisaie is an urban park in the Croix-Rousse 4th arrondissement of Lyon, France. It is partially situated on a slope, leading from the plateau of the Croix-Rousse down towards the river Saône.
65. Église Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation
The Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Annonciation is a church assigned to Catholic worship located Place de Paris, opposite the Gare de Vaise, in the 9th arrondissement of Lyon, of which it is a "real visual signal".
66. Église Saint-Irénée
The Saint Irenaeus Church, Lyon, located on the heights of Lyon in the neighborhood of St. Irenaeus, is one of the oldest churches in France. It is named for Irenaeus first Bishop of Lyon and Primate of Gaul.
67. Galeries souterraines de la balme Saint-Clair
The fish bones, also underground galleries of the Balme Saint-Clair or sometimes network of the Fantasques, is the name given to a network of ancient galleries located under the Croix-Rousse plateau in Lyon.
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