Birthplace Of Cinema

The Lumière brothers developed modern film in Lyon. Prior to them, viewers had to use personal viewing devices to see brief, looped movies. However, the Lumière brothers' invention of a camera that could also be used as a projector in the 1890s attracted huge crowds to theaters and changed the cinematic experience into a communal one. A museum devoted to the early days of filmmaking may be found at the Lumière Institute, along with daily movie showings and the annual Lumière Film Festival. Even today, you can stand where the Lumière brothers shot the iconic scene from Leaving the Lumière Factory, which many film historians believe to be the first actual motion picture, in 1895.

Today, a trip to Lyon would be incomplete if it did not include a stop at the Institut Lumière, which is housed inside the former Lumière family home. The Institute's 21 rooms house a collection of early film reels, camera prototypes, and a replica of Louis Lumière's Photorama, which allows visitors to observe images projected in all directions at a height of more than six meters. The Lumière brothers and other well-known figures who were born in Lyon, such as Renaissance poet Louise Labé and chef Paul Bocuse, are among those shown in the Mur des Lyonnais, located on Rue de la Martinière.