the museum of miniatures and cinema in lyon
Would you believe these are miniature scenes?
How realistic, right? Well, there are over 100 of these scenes on display at the Musée Miniature et Cinéma* in Lyon, France.
There are a few exhibit rooms dedicated to displaying all these different miniature (to-scale) scenes crafted by miniaturists. When we say miniature, we mean that these were behind viewing windows (for most) of no bigger than 30 cm. The detail in each scene is simply astounding and how life-like they are had us fascinated for ages!
But before you can even lay your eyes on all these delicate and artistic scenes, for all those movie buffs out there, there is a film exhibition, that you should get through, focusing on special effect techniques with original film props. With over 300 for you to explore, you will be occupied for hours. Props, costumes and artefacts from movies including Planet of the Apes, X-Men, Star Wars, Gremlins and Harry Potter are exhibited.
And if you ever saw the movie, Perfume, then you might recognise these scenes.
Some of the articles on display are not for the faint-hearted or youngsters, but if movies with blood, gore and aliens is your thing, then you shall be thoroughly entertained.
Our verdict
It’s a different type of “sight-seeing” especially when we needed a break from the history/art museums, castles and churches. We really enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind spending a bit more time in there. It’s a good place for the whole family, but be aware that the exhibits are on different floors that require using steps.
* Entrance is 9€ for adults (other prices available on their website) or free with the Lyon City Pass.
Hope you all have a great rest of the week!
More posts to follow about Lyon and other parts of our Europe adventures as we still
have so much more to share but for the next 6 weeks or so, our focus will be on the
Camino!
wise monkeys abroad 
February 7, 2015 at 8:19 am
[…] For more scale miniatures scenes, see our post on the Museum of Miniatures and Cinema. […]
January 6, 2015 at 11:45 am
[…] fascinated for hours. We have written only about a couple of the places we visited in Lyon; the Museum of Miniatures and Cinema and the street murals. There is so much there to see and still more we are yet to share about our […]
November 5, 2014 at 2:13 pm
[…] for three days. There is so much to do (free and not) and plenty of little surprises, like the Miniatures and Cinema Museum that we stumbled across, we really enjoyed […]
September 8, 2014 at 6:09 pm
I’ve been there two years ago. This museum is simply amazing!
September 8, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Thanks for reading – it is very cool 🙂
September 6, 2014 at 9:51 pm
Ah! I could not tell they were miniatures…what amazingly skilfully done work! 🙂
http://www.sid-thewanderer.com
September 7, 2014 at 6:50 am
Isn’t it just?! Thanks for visiting 🙂
September 4, 2014 at 8:07 pm
The detail in these scenes is amazing! Miniaturists must have very nimble fingers and 20/20 vision!
On another note – best wishes for the Camino – your counter in the side bar says only three hours to go! How exciting!! I’m very much looking forward to reading all about it.
September 5, 2014 at 5:48 am
How talented are these miniaturists, right?! We were simply gobsmacked 🙂
Thank you ever so much for your Camino well wishes! We start tomorrow and it’s a tough first so better hit the hay 🙂
September 4, 2014 at 6:25 am
The detail in those tiny scenes is amazing. I bet you would see something new every time you looked.
September 4, 2014 at 3:36 pm
Yep! You definitely would! They were so life-life 🙂
September 4, 2014 at 2:21 am
Very interesting! I’ve seen these miniatures before but not a whole museum dedicated to it! Sometimes, it’s good to visit something different for a change…:)
September 4, 2014 at 3:10 am
So true!! It is nice to get a break from the “typical” and expected! This was a very cool little spot to visit 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
September 3, 2014 at 10:39 pm
That is reaaally cute!! I love miniatures 😀 I’ve been to Lyon before but didnt know this museum existed! Now I know 🙂
September 3, 2014 at 11:01 pm
Allane, it was adorable!! Next time you are in Lyon, you can visit it 🙂 It’s a nice change up from some of the other “usual” must-sees!
Hope you are well!
September 4, 2014 at 12:11 am
I will 😀 yes everything is fine around here!! Are you guys back home already? I also hope all is fine with you both 😀
September 4, 2014 at 12:14 am
No, we are in Bayonne, South of France! We don’t get home until late October! We start our Camino Walk on Friday! 800 km to Santiago de Compostela in Spain 🙂
September 9, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Ohhh woooww amazing!!! 😀 I will stay tuned for more posts. I will also be traveling this month so forgive me if I dont follow everything… I will try to catch up 😀
September 3, 2014 at 7:52 pm
This looks really interesting. In Hamburg they have this miniature wonderland which is also nice to visit http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/
September 3, 2014 at 10:21 pm
Wow – so cool 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Add it to our list for when we get to Hamburg one day!
September 3, 2014 at 1:12 pm
As I always travel with my eight year-old daughter. She would love this amazing place!!! Thanks for sharing! If I ever go to Lyon I won’t miss it!
September 3, 2014 at 3:40 pm
She would love it! We saw a lot of young girls gazing into the windows and really appreciating and observing all the details. It’s like doll houses but to an even smaller scale 🙂
Glad we were able to share something you would like to see!
September 3, 2014 at 1:01 pm
What a treat! Are there any miniature displays similar to this in the United States?
September 3, 2014 at 3:38 pm
That is a great question but we are not sure if any exist in the USA. We haven’t visited anything such as this anywhere else in the world – but that’s not to say it is’t a hidden gem in another country. Lyon is the birthplace of cinematography so there were several museums dedicated to cinema.
September 3, 2014 at 10:51 am
My goodness, you could get lost for days and days in that museum. Those miniatures are amazing!
September 3, 2014 at 3:34 pm
Oh Shelley, we wouldn’t have left if we didn’t already have a boat trip booked (and because it would be closing) 😉
September 3, 2014 at 6:14 am
These are amazing and right up my alley. I love miniature stuff and films.
September 3, 2014 at 6:16 am
Well, you know exactly where to go when you are in Lyon 🙂 We found this museum a real treat!
September 3, 2014 at 5:54 am
30 cm !? Wow, someone would have to have really small and agile fingers to do some of that work.
Interesting!
Frank (bbqboy)
September 3, 2014 at 5:58 am
Tell us about it! These artists are so skilful and no doubt with agile and probably pretty steady hands! We were so fascinated looking at the intricacies and detailed aspects of the scenes. Incredible!! 🙂
Thanks for reading Frank! Hope you are well!
September 3, 2014 at 5:45 am
Very nice! Thanks for sharing 🙂
September 3, 2014 at 5:46 am
Thank you!! If you ever get to Lyon, it’s worth a visit with the family 🙂
September 3, 2014 at 5:48 am
Noted! 😉