Musée des Confluences

Some interesting exhibits. For me, the permanent exhibits were more interesting than the temporary ones (forrest, love, geology, epidemics) although all were well presented. I liked that they had iyems that were specifically marked as able to be touched, for example a meteorite they think came from a star. There are two ticket machines in the foyer (on the left, not well signposted). You have to exit to the south past the giftshop, even though the public transport is to the north.

I recommend for tourist / visitors. The museum is really interesting with different focus on science, human history, biology.. I would suggest to visit it in two steps

I was more interested in looking at the building from the outside than the inside. At 9€ entry, I won’t complain.

They have a super small cafe, but no seats, which was a drag after walking over an hour to get there. (Just wanted to sit for a bit before exploring the building, so could not be bogged down by tired feet. But my fault, so not a big deal)

The exhibits had lots of things going on and had layouts that were a bit confusing when I wanted to leave.

None of the exhibits really wowed me, nor had very interactive pieces. Which is just a personal preference.

A lot of items only had French text, so lots to kind of just skip over. I spent maybe an hour there, but was bored by 20 minutes in.

I thought given the massive/intricate outside that the exhibits would be larger, but I always felt a bit cramped.

Ok museum with educational themes. As a tourist, I found some sections/articles without English translation which was a bit disappointing. The employees speak English very well and are very kind and helpful. Yet, there are a lot of kids at the museum which kinda make the atmosphere very noisy at points. Some galleries like the African section could have been more attractive. Some galleries also have a very long waiting queue. Try to get yourself to the fifth floor because you get a gorgeous view of the city. It’s a must-see, especially at sunset. Overall, I give this museum a 6.5/10.

Very rich experience.
You can spend an entire journey moving from one subject to another.

Decent and proper toilets.
On the GF level you find a small snack and a big restaurant on the outside near the water.
Great view from the highest level.

This was a highlight of my trip to Lyon. A very well done museum with several temporary and permanent exhibits. My favourite was the taxidermy/tree of life/exciting animal exhibit. Notable things include the skeleton of a mammoth, massive whale, dinosaur, pterodactyl’s, dodo bird and elk. The temporary exhibit of the photographer Marc Riboud was very interesting showing some very real moments throughout history. Worth noting to spend more time in the permanent exhibits than the temporary ones to make sure you have enough time to see the important things.

Visited in December 2023 There are temporary and permanent exhibitions. Some of the exhibits are interactive. I really liked "Africa, thousand lives of objects" (The life of 230 objects, from their design to their various uses) and "Secrets of there Earth" (Penetrate the depths of the Earth and discover the planet's mineral riches). In fact, to see all the exhibitions of the museum one should spend a day there.