Come explore the fascinating Musée Cinéma et Miniature in the heart of the Renaissance District. It offers ‘two museums in one’ to introduce visitors to the magic of special effects in films, and the poetic world of miniature artists.
The Musée Miniature et Cinéma presents two unusual and exciting artistic themes:
Special Effects in Films: A collection highlighting the surprising tricks and techniques used in films before the advent of purely digital filmmaking. The only collection of its kind in Europe, it showcases the extraordinary talent of these studio artists and masters of illusion.
The Art of Miniatures: A collection of miniature scenes created by Dan Ohlmann, accompanied by works from some 30 miniaturists from around the world, for a total of more than 120 ultra-realistic reproductions and astounding dioramas of our everyday spaces. The museum also features more than 1000 miniature objects, masterpieces of dexterity and skill that reflect an impressive variety of the world’s professions.
The Special Effects in Films Collection:
Come and explore Lyon’s own “little Hollywood”! Experience a cultural and educational tour illustrated by more than 450 rare and original objects that reveal the magic of cinema.
Film fanatics will enjoy discovering the original costume from ‘Batman Forever’, the terrifying Chucky doll from ‘Child’s Play’, the cute and cuddly Gizmo from ‘Gremlins’, the little monsters from ‘Men in Black’ and even a triceratops from ‘Jurassic Park’ But that’s just one small part of the collection, with hundreds of other surprises in store as you visit exhibition halls dedicated to costumes, film sets, masks and prostheses, animatronics, and special effect mock-ups, and explore the secret behind-the-scenes world of cinema’s greatest magicians.
Temporary exhibits
For over 20 years, we have been organising temporary exhibits in collaboration with film museums like the Cinémathèque Française in Paris and the Deutsche Kinemathek in Berlin; private collectors; directors like Wes Anderson, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Claude Barras, and more; and with a number of film studios such as New Deal Studios, Shepperton Studios in London, and the famous Amalgamated Dynamics Inc. in Los Angeles.
You can find all of our current and upcoming cinema exhibits in our ‘News’ section.
The Art of Miniatures Collection:
When artists combine their passion for sculpting tiny objects with incredible manual skill, they create a new all-encompassing passion: the Art of Miniatures!
Visit the Musée Miniature et Cinéma and explore the largest collection of miniatures in France. What is a miniaturist? An artist who, much like a photographer, seeks to faithfully reproduce a small-scale model of some part of the world with which they have made an emotional connection. A miniature scene is a veritable ‘3D painting’ in which a skilled miniature artist reconstructs all the atmosphere and the sense of human presence associated with the space they have chosen to model.
Of course, some of Dan Ohlmann’s miniature scenes, like the famous ‘Maxim’s-de-Paris Restaurant’, the Natural History Museum, or the ‘Bouchon Lyonnais’, required a full year of effort, patience and dexterity for their complex construction. But miniaturists are not driven by a desire for impressive performances. What really matters to them is using their sculpting, modelling and painting skills to successfully reproduce an uncannily lifelike image. These ‘world-shrinking’ artists take a certain mischievous pleasure in creating astonishing ‘visual mirages’ for their viewers.
Come and enjoy the Art of Miniatures, a rare experience found only in Lyon! More than 30 miniature artists will take you on a trip to another dimension!
Temporary exhibits on miniatures: For many years now, internationally renowned artists and miniaturists like Charles Matton, Alan Wolfson, Ronan Jim Sevellec, Julien Martinez, Béatrice Coron and others have been invited to the museum for outstanding temporary exhibits. Click on our ‘News’ section to learn about our current and upcoming exhibits.
Located in the centre of Lyon, the museum is easily accessible using TCL transport on buses, metros or even the funicular railway.
Lyon, a city of history and museums
At the heart of a region listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you’ll find one of Lyon’s most unusual museums: the Musée Miniature et Cinéma. This cultural museum is currently ranked 7th-best museum in France on the world’s largest travel site, TripAdvisor!
It seems appropriate that the city of Lyon, known as the “Birthplace of Cinema” thanks to the celebrated Lumière brothers, should play host to this unique museum — a perfect complement to the Institut Lumière, a must-see museum that honours the work of these two famous inventors.
The Musée Miniature et Cinéma is ideally located near Place Bellecour, the Croix-Rousse Plateau and the ‘traboule’ passageways that were once home to Lyon’s silk workshops. Close to the Place des Terreaux and Old Lyon, it’s an essential stop for any tour of the city.
And once you’ve finished exploring the museum, why not stop for a bite at one of the many traditional ‘bouchon’ restaurants that are the pride of Lyon?
The city of Lyon is rich in culture and home to a number of museums. Visit the Museum of Fine Arts to see works by great painters, then stop by the Museum of Contemporary Art near the Cité Internationale. History buffs will enjoy the Gallo-Roman Museum, and young kids will be amazed by the puppet show. Finally, more adventurous souls can take the tram or the Vaporetto to the junction of Lyon’s two rivers to visit the Musée des Confluences, the city’s newest museum.
