Around the Place des Terreaux

Quai de la Pêcherie
69001 Lyon

The charming fishery dock has welcomed the book market for over 20 years, where treasure hunters can find anything and everything, especially rare books. See "Events, Markets."

The painted walls

La Fresque des Lyonnais
At the corner of quai Saint Vincent and Rue de la Martinière, 69001 Lyon

This 800 m2 painted wall represents 30 famous figures of Lyon evoking history, humanism, technology and research: the Emperor Claudius, Pauline Jaricot, Abbé Pierre, Paul Bocuse, Saint Exupéry, Jacquard, Claude Bernard, the Lumière brothers, Ampère, Marcel Mérieux, ...

La Bibliothèque de la Cité
At the corner of the quai de la Pêcherie and Rue de la Platière, 69001 Lyon

Measuring 400 m2, the painting, the “Library of the City” illustrates almost 500 literary works. The authors from Lyon and the region are found and mixed in with the windows or on the shelves of the library. This mural reflects the literary heritage of the city : Bernard Pivot, Voltaire, Louise Labé, Frédéric Dard, Elsa Triolet, Louise Calaferte, Rabelais, Reverzy, Annie Salager ...

Place des Terreaux
69001 Lyon

In ancient times, the location of the current district was a muddy ditch, and the name stuck, with “terreau” meaning mud or earth fill. In the 14th century, the Terreaux district was already a small, fortified town. The square was built in 1625, and hosted public executions, as well as a pig market. At that time the area was popular, and daily life was punctuated by the markets. From the 18th century onward the district experienced many improvements and became the center of administrative and economic life. The old Saint Peter's Abbey, founded in the 7th century, was enlarged and became the Saint-Pierre Palace. The Museum of Fine Arts moved there in 1803. The Bartholdi fountain that sits in the center dates back to 1892.

Fontaine Bartholdi
Place des Terreaux, 69001 Lyon

In 1888, Bartholdi created the "Chariot of Freedom." This fountain was originally intended for the city of Bordeaux. But Bordeaux found it too expensive, and it was the city of Lyon who ended up buying it in 1889. It represents France on a chariot, pulled by four horses that represent the French rivers. Its creator, Frédéric Bartholdi, was also the creator of the Statue of Liberty in New York.

Hôtel de Ville
Place de la Comédie (entrance) and Place des Terreaux (facade), 69001 Lyon
Tours organized by the Tourist Office.

First built in the mid-17th century by Simon Maupin (architect of the city), the City Hall was destroyed by fire in 1674. It was rebuilt by Jules Hardouin Mansart (architect of the king) in 1703. Place des Terreaux became the administrative center of the city. Previously, the City Hall building occupied the current printing museum, Rue de la Poulaillerie. The building was damaged during the Revolution, when it served as the revolutionary tribunal. It was not until 1827 that the reconstruction of the facade was undertaken. The equestrian sculpture of Henri IV that dominates the facade dates from this period, and replaced the statue of Louis XIV that was destroyed during the Revolution. The building is organized around two courtyards, one of which is raised, and four angled pavilions with a belfry enclosing the courtyard. The interior is exceptionally ornate. These beautiful painted Baroque decorations are the work of Thomas Blanchet from 1655.

Musée des Beaux-Arts
20 Place des Terreaux, 69001 Lyon
Website - tel : 04 72 10 17 40.
Full price / reduced price: €8 / €4. Free for those under 18 years old. Free with the Lyon City Card.
Open daily except Thursday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On friday from 10:30 a.m.
Visit with Apps : "Musee des Beaux Arts de Lyon" available for free on App Store and Google Play.
Wheelchair accessible. Multi-media library. Tea room and restaurant.

Located in the former royal abbey of the 17th century, the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon is exceptional, the largest in France after the Louvre. Its major collections are divided into 70 rooms, over 7,000 m². It houses works of art from ancient Egyptian to modern art. It has one of the most important collections of European works of art, whether sculpture, painting, objets d'art ...

The museum includes, in particular, the department of Antiquity that retraces 3,000 years of history from the great civilizations of the Mediterranean, the department of art and sculptures that houses works from the Middle Ages to the Art Deco period (early 20th century), the médailler (medal display) that includes an impressive collection of over 50,000 coins and medals, as well as collections of European paintings from the 14th century to the present day.

For children, the museum features workshops, entertainment and cultural activities.

Opéra de Lyon
Place de la Comédie, 69001 Lyon
Website - tel : 04 69 85 54 54.
Open from Tuesday to Saturday: 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Guided tours on Saturday on request at Tourist Office.
Wheelchair accessible.

The first building was built in 1756 by Jacques Germain Soufflot, then called the Grand Theatre. Destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt in 1831 and took the name Opéra. But this was not the current National Opera, which was rebuilt in the walls of the first opera in 1993. Today the building retains only the four facades from the 19th century. The interior was completely redesigned to triple the surface area on several levels.
Eight Muses, daughters of Zeus, were installed on the facade in 1862.

Eglise Saint Nizier
Place Saint Nizier, 69002 Lyon
Website
Open daily excepted on Monday: Tuesday to Friday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ; Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Sunday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wheelchair accessible.

The Church of Saint Nizier was named after the bishop who was buried there in 579. Subsequently destroyed, it was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries in a Gothic style. The portal was built in the following century in a Renaissance style.
Must see : the crypt decorated with mosaics from the 19th century, the Chapel of Our Lady of Grace (statue of the Virgin and Coysevox Child), the Chapel of Saint François de Sales and the painting of the bishop Saint Nizier (1813).

Musée de l’Imprimerie et de la communication graphique
13 rue de la Poulaillerie, 69002 Lyon
Website - tel : 04 78 37 65 98.
Full price / reduced price: €6 / €4. Free for those under 18 years old.
During the temporary exhibition period, full price/ reduced price: €8/ €6.
Open Wednesday to Sunday: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and holidays.

It was the old Hôtel de la Couronne (15th century) that held the first City Hall before moving to the Place des Terreaux.

The Printing Museum helps visitors relive the history of books, printing and graphics technology since the time of Gutenberg. Its collections are some of the richest among European museums specialized in this field. It owes much to the print collections of Maurice Audin.

The museum is organized around four rooms devoted to the history of printed illustration. It also includes, in addition to printed materials, objects and vintage machinery.

Rue Mercière
69002 Lyon

The name of the street comes from the word merchant. This trading street already existed in the first millennium and was, during the Middle Ages, the main axis of communication of the Presqu’Ile (the peninsula). In the 16th century it was essentially a printing street. The magnificent Renaissance facades date back to this golden age. In the mid-20th century, the street was modified as part of an urban redevelopment. It became exclusively pedestrian in the 1980s and is now home to a friendly and festive atmosphere, numerous restaurants, including many typical  “bouchons” (local specialty restaurants).

Rue de la République
69001 and 69002 Lyon

The Rue de la République was created in 1868 to connect Place Bellecour to Place Louis Pradel and the City Hall. Along this journey of more than a kilometer were also created two squares: Place de la République and Place des Cordeliers. A major historical event happened in this street in 1894: the French President Sadi Carnot was assassinated there at Place des Cordeliers.
Visitors can admire the typical 19th century facades, in the style of Haussmann. The southern part of the street has been pedestrianized.