Lyon’s Museum of Cinema and Miniatures

The Musée Cinéma et Miniature in Lyon has  mind boggling miniatures, models from movie-land and a whole set from the movie ‘Parfum’.   The attention to detail is one thing, but the absolute accuracy in the recreations of mini-interiors almost makes you want to shrink and get in there amongst it.   Oh and another thing – it is in Vieux Lyon, so while you are there you can wander around the cobbled lanes to track down some Traboules.

My niece studied Film & Television at University and is starting to forge a career in the industry. She visited me in France earlier in the year and we did a stopover in Lyon. I live nearby but havn’t spent much time there for one reason or another – actually one reason, I work away.

On my list for the Lyon visit was to stay in the Croix Rousse, because I’ve heard so much about it; to see the Roman ruins and to eat at good restaurants. She wanted to shop and visit the Musée Cinéma et Miniature.

We managed it all, except the Musée Cinéma et Miniature. We stood outside, and there was only one hour to go before closing time. Visitors are allowed a glimpse of the miniatures in the approach to the ticket desk, and we were sorely tempted to splash some cash on the ticket. We decided against but I put it on my ‘to do’ list and went back recently.

It is a five minute walk from the Vieux-Lyon Metro station and is spread across five floors.

There are the movie props.  When I say that I meant they have the boots from the movie ‘Face Off’ !! There’s a scene in the movie where Nicholas Cage is in a futuristic prison and gets trapped by having his boots magnetised which then sticks him to the floor, or is it John Travolta?   Also, my friend worked on the set of the Narnia Chronicles and told a story about how the person who was supposed to be the Minotaur didn’t come to work one day and he had to step in.  In Lyon they have the Minotaur’s head !! There is a model of Capitol Hill that is blown up in Independence Day. I love movies, so as you can tell I was quite pleased by all this.

There’s an alien section, a horror section and a weapons section. These are reasonably realistic and children are discouraged from going.

The Miniatures are worlds within worlds.  Like the shoeboxes that we make as children, a hole in one end to look through and a mini panorama inside.  Except these ones are much, much better.

There is grocers shop, a full ball room with tables and chairs, a basement tableaux, and my favourite – a Turkish salon.

So much detail is in each box.   There wasn’t a lot of information about the people who make them, or their purpose.   Are they simply works of art?   The website does have some information about the master miniaturist and Museum curator Dan Ohlmann, noting that they are the result of over 20 years of passionate creation in his workshop.   For sure I will re-visit and find out more. 

While you are in Vieux-Lyon, of course you should also visit the ‘Traboules’, the passages that assisted the weavers and the other people working in the textile industry in times past. But that’s another subject …

This page is linked to the #AllAboutFrance linkup, run by my good friend Phoebe at LouMessugo.   To go back to the page, link here.