Hotels near Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon

Occupying a former 17th-century Benedictine convent on Place des Terreaux, the Musée des Beaux-Arts is one of the largest fine-art museums in France, second in scale only to the Louvre. Its 70 galleries hold works spanning 5,000 years, from Egyptian antiquities and Greek pottery through medieval sculpture to a strong Impressionist and 20th-century collection including Monet, Degas, Manet, Gauguin and Picasso. The Old Master rooms upstairs contain Rubens, Rembrandt, Zurbarán and Poussin, and the sculpture court in the former cloister is free to enter. General admission is EUR 8 for adults, with free entry on the first Sunday of each month; temporary exhibitions cost extra (typically EUR 12). Opening hours are 10:00 to 18:00 Wednesday through Monday, closed Tuesdays. Metro Line A stops at Hôtel de Ville - Louis Pradel directly outside.

Pro Tip: The museum is genuinely enormous - budget three hours minimum to see the highlights, or pick two floors and skip the rest. The Impressionist rooms on the first floor and the Egyptian antiquities in the basement are the two most visitor-worthy sections if you're short on time. The convent gardens are a peaceful lunch spot and free to sit in even without a museum ticket.