Guignol and puppets

It is a real metamorphosis, but the charm remains intact. In the Guadagni house, Florentines so rich, that in Lyon, one said "rich like Gadagne" as elsewhere one would say Croesus. In the 16^th century they financed the expeditions which discovered the site of New York and lent some money to the king.

In other times, ours, they would have been able to help to finance the restoration of their magnificent Renaissance house, in the heart of Vieux Lyon. Some thirty million euros have been required and everyone has participated: the state, the region, the department, the city... and who knows who else.

But the result is worth it. Forty rooms, twice the surface (6 000m² all the same) welcome the public. Free audioguides in several languages are systematically proposed.

Passing through about thirty rooms and at the bend of spiral staircases which are like architectural jewels, one will discover the capital of silk and it's first weaving looms, before coming across Jacquard which marked a milestone.

There you will also learn why the ceiling of the rooms were so high, it was to allow the famous looms to enter. The bourgeois, afterward made it a sign of wealth without knowing the origin. Lyon marches with its Phrygian caps, playing cards for which the city was a specialist and even the blade of the guillotine of the Place des Terreaux.

Puppets of the world are grouped together in nine rooms. So that one can admire all of them, the hangings of these surprising dolls which come from France, Europe, Asia and from Africa will be renewed every other year.

Slide Show: Gadagne Museum in Lyon