Rue St Jean

These museums dedicated to the history of the city and to puppets (like the famous Guignol from Lyon). The building is a magnificent Renaissance palace that is worth a visit. A nice garden and cafe have also been created at the top of the building (free access). Unfortunately there is no view, however. Temporary exhibitions are shown. The puppet museum is mostly for kids and is skippable if you don't read French and don't have a fascination for either the local puppet tradition or seeing a small number of typical pieces from the most known and easily collected traditions (Turkey, Java, Japan, Siam). Wheelchair or pram access is possible to the historical museum through a labyrinthine series of lifts, though only to portions of the puppet museum.

The largest square in the area has two remarkable buildings. The Loge du Change, on the west side, was partially built by the great architect Soufflot. It is now a Protestant church known as Temple du Change. It can be visited on Saturdays. Religious services on Sundays, 10:30. Opposite is the Maison Thomassin, with its Gothic-style 14th-century façade. The Thomassins were a powerful merchant family in the Renaissance. Above the 2nd floor windows are the arms of the King of France, of the Dauphin (heir of the Kingdom) and of Duchess Anne of Brittany. Unfortunately, the courtyard is closed to the public.

Parallel to Rue St Jean, this street is much more quiet and just as beautiful. It also has a number of restaurants, more expensive than in rue St Jean but, on average, much more worth the money.

The historical court house, also named "the 24 columns", was built between 1835 and 1842 by architect Louis-Pierre Baltard. It is a fine example of French "neo-classical" architecture. It now hosts only the criminal court (Cour d'Assises) and the court of appeal. The other jurisdictions moved to a new building in Part-Dieu in 1995. The most famous trial held there was that of the former head of the Lyon Gestapo, Klaus Barbie, in 1987. The building is undergoing major refurbishment works.

Created by artist Dan Ohlmann, this private gallery shows about 120 miniature models of all kinds of scenes: houses, restaurants, workshops, schools, etc., from Lyon or elsewhere, historical or contemporary. The accuracy of the models is astonishing and some sections will be real fun for children. Movie sceneries, models, costumes, masks and props are also presented, including a wand from the Harry Potter films and the Alien Queen from Alien vs. Predator. The gallery is in a large 16th-century building called Maison des Avocats (Lawyers' house).

Next to St Jean cathedral (on the northern side), this small garden shows the remains of the religious buildings which occupied the site before the cathedral was erected. The oldest remains date back to the 4th century (baptistery of the former St Etienne church).