Lyon Attractions

Venue: Mus&eacutee des Beaux-Arts    When: Daily; not Tue

Affectionately known as the "Little Louvre", the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon has a spectacular collection including over 1800 paintings, 16 rooms dedicated to objects and sculptures from Ancient History to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as the only Islamic art collection in France outside Paris.

Housed in a former Benedictine convent, L'Abbaye des Dames de St Pierre, the origins of the museum date back to the 18th century. The convent was requisitioned by the State during the 1789 revolution and converted into a museum five years later. Today, the collection is housed in 70 diverse rooms grouped around the central cloisters.

The Antiquity section steps back to the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece and the Roman Empire, encompassing a comprehensive range of artefacts. Other specialist rooms include an ensemble of enamel work from Limoges, Hispano-Mooresque pottery, and, from the other side of the world, a rare collection of Japanese tea ceremony stoneware.

The paintings, however, dominate. The collection covers European painting from the 14th to the mid-20th centuries. Almost all outstanding schools and influential periods are covered: from the 14th-century Venetians, 17th-century Flemish and Dutch painters - such as Rubens and Rembrandt - to an impressive early modern retrospective including Manet, Monet, Braque, Picasso and Bacon. An absolute must-see.