Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
peaceful break from city streets. The helpful museum map and free audioguide make tour-
ing it a pleasure. Plan your arrival carefully, as several key sections close for lunch. A bar/
café with calming terrace seating is on the first floor, next to the bookstore.
Cost and Hours:
€7, includes audioguide, Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00 except Fri, when
it opens at 10:30, closed Tue, pick up museum map when you enter, picnic-perfect court-
yard, 20 Place des Terreaux, Métro: Hôtel de Ville, tel. 04 72 10 17 40,
www.mba-lyon.fr
.
Visiting the Museum:
After passing the ticket taker, walk up a short flight of stairs
to the Chapel, a dreamy Orsay-like display of 19th -and 20th-century statues, including
works by Auguste Rodin and Bartholdi (closed between 12:00 and 14:00). The next flight
of steps leads to
Les Antiquités
(first floor on map), a fine collection of ancient (especially
Egyptian) art, medieval art, and Art Nouveau (furniture). This section closes from 12:30
to 13:15.
Thesecondfloorupdisplaysaprettyselectionofpaintingsfromthelastsixcenturies
(no famous works, but a good Impressionist collection). You'll see Renaissance and
Baroque paintings by Veronese, Cranach, Rubens, and Rembrandt, and “modern” works
by Monet, Matisse, Pissarro, Gaugin, and Picasso. The highlight is a series of Pre-
Raphaelite-type workscalled
LePoème del'Ame
(“The Poem ofthe Soul”), byLouis Jan-
mot. This cycle of 18 paintings and 16 charcoal drawings traces the story of the souls of a
boy and a girl as they journey through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. They
struggle with fears and secular temptations before gaining spiritual enlightenment on the
waytoheaven.Theboyloseshisfaithandenjoysashortbutdelicioushedonisticflingthat
leads to misery in hell. But a mother's prayers intercede, and he reunites with the girl to
enjoy heavenly redemption.
Thesemuseums,betweenPlaceBellecourandPerracheStation,filltwobuildings(sharing
a courtyard and connected with an interior hallway). The
Museum of Textiles
was foun-
ded in the mid-1800s to “maintain the commercial advantage of Lyon's silk manufactur-
ers by showing their discerning taste for the arrangements and color settings of original
motives.” It holds the world's most valuable collection of textiles, going back over 4,000
yearsandtouchingallcornersoftheworld.Thoughpackedwithfineexhibits,themuseum
offers spotty information in English (explanations are posted only occasionally, though
many objects are labeled in English). Serious fabrics fans can invest in the €19 book
(Col-
lection Guide)
for thorough explanations of the displays. The museum shows off some
breathtaking silk work—you'll see tunics, shawls, dresses, coats, capes, and more from
around the world and made from a variety of fabrics.
