Photo: Strapontin, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The city hall, built in the 17th century, has a very beautiful façade on Place des Terreaux. The most notable feature of this façade is the sculpture representing King Henri IV on horseback (in the middle of the upper part). Unfortunately, it is impossible to visit the building except during the "Heritage days" (Journées du patrimoine) in mid-September.
The Hôtel de Ville is the city hall of Lyon, France, and one of the largest historic buildings in the city. The building is located between the Place des Terreaux and the Place de la Comédie, in front of the Opéra Nouvel. It was designated a monument historique by the French government in 1886.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
This large square was completely redesigned in the 1990s by the artist Daniel Buren. On the East side stands the City Hall. On the North side, you will find the fountain sculpted by Bartholdi, the 'father' of the Statue of Liberty; this fountain was moved from the West side when the square was renovated. It now faces Palais St Pierre, which hosts the Museum of Fine Arts.
Opéra Nouvel
Opposite the City Hall stands the opera house. The 1826 theatre built by Chenavard and Pollet was completely redesigned by Jean Nouvel who kept only the façades and the foyer on the first floor. The building was reopened in 1993. The history of these works was epic: a lot of technical problems occurred and the final cost of the project was six times the initial estimate. Today, the glass top has become a classical landmark of the city but the interior design is criticised, for both aesthetic and functional reasons.
Museum of Fine Arts
Printing museum
An excellent collection of some facets of printing. The collection features some particularly early works and a reasonable amount of supporting material. Unfortunately, the collection is quite biased towards local Lyonnaise history and thus coverage of printing as an art remains regrettably rather spotty overall. Minimal coverage of photographic processes, weak coverage of typography, zero technical information about later post-physical developments such as postscript and TeX, etc. There is no disabled or child-friendly access (no lifts, and no strollers allowed for fire safety reasons). Budget about an hour and a half if you are in to this sort of thing, 45 minutes otherwise.