Current Events
Great local entertainment suggested by our Concierge.
Please use this guide to plan your stay and, of course, feel free to contact our Concierge for any additional information. These events are regularly updated so please remember to check before your departure for any new suggestions.

Armenian Treasures

Musée des Tissus and Musée de Fourvière
22nd March to 15th July 2007

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The Musée des Tissus (Textile & Decorative Arts Museum)and the Musée de Fourvière (Fourviere Sacred Art Museum)are collaborating to present two complementary exhibitions devoted to Armenian religious art. This event has been organised as part of this year’s celebration of Armenia in France.

Core to several events organised in Lyon along the theme of ‘Arménie mon amie’ (Armenia my friend), this collaboration reveals a wide range of Persian, Ottoman and Indian influences and is a reflection of intense, but relatively unknown, artistic activity. The Musée des Tissus will display a selection of choir hangings from the historical Museum of Yerevan and the treasured Katholikos seat, from Ejmiatsin. The Musée de Fourvière will house an arrangement of 70 church ornaments (vestments, gold and silver) from the same institutions.

Discover the great cultural and spiritual wealth of a people who live on the borders of Asia, Europe and Russia, and have succeeded in retaining their Christian faith and art over many centuries whilst absorbing several cultural influences.

Nuits Sonores - Panorama of Electronic Music
Several locations within Lyon
15th to 20th May 2007

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The 5th Nuits Sonores Festival will take place at around 50 different locations in Lyon, including Les Subsistances, the Light Institute, the Citroën Garage, ELAC’s Gardens, the Georges Bazin Park, Trinity’s Chapel, Terreaux’s Gallery and the Duchère Swimming-pool, plus many more concert halls, clubs, bars, galleries, cinemas and museums. An additional warm-up (pre-festival) session commences on Monday 10th May.

This year’s festival will see several changes to the annual event in the introduction of various new features such as outdoor performances amidst Lyon’s streets and squares. It will, however, continue its tradition of great music, pursuing urban exploration and maintaining its priorities for a fantastic line-up and superb entertainment.

Top DJs provide the perfect atmosphere in which to lose oneself in the music, and highlights for 2007 include Violent Femmes, The Raincoats and Chicks on Speed.

Lyon Pride
June 2007 tbc

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The streets of Lyon fill with people, music and banners for the annual gay and lesbian Pride march in June. The parade departs from Place Jules Ferry (closest tube station: Brotteaux on Line B) at 2pm. Making its way through Lyon, the parade brings the city to life and ends the day with a spectacular party in the evening.

Similar to the Prides in New York, London and Berlin everyone is welcome to join the parade. Major politically active groups are represented on the march, aiming to promote acceptance and tolerance, adding to the fun and entertainment to be had during the entire day.

Nuits de Fourvière Festival
Fourvière Amphitheatres
8th June to 4th August 2007

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This annual, summer event features an eclectic programme of dance, music and theatre. The two Roman amphitheatres of Fourvière, perched on the hill above the modern city of Lyon, were built in Roman times by Augustus and Hadrian and are used by the Nuits de Fourvière Festival as the venue for a variety of musical and performing arts productions.

Since the first Nuits de Fourvière Festival, ten years ago, the event has grown enormously, to take place over two months, rather than the initial five day period.

Highlights for 2007 include performances by dancers Sylvie Guillem & Akram Khan in a show called ‘Monstres Sacrés’ (Sacred Monsters) and the Mozart Requiem by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. World music enthusiasts can enjoy a Gipsy Night by Tony Gatlif and concerts by Bernice Johnson Reagon & The Sacred Sound Ensemble. Faiz Ali Faiz and his band, will present works from their project: Gospels, Spirituals & Hymns / Qawwali, ‘the meet between sacred Afro-american hymns and Qawwali, a language created by some missionaries to talk to the homeless’. Flying the flag for modern and folk music are Patti Smith, Joan Baez, Lou Reed, Anthony & the Johnsons, Renaud, Damien Saez, Laurent Voulzy and Keren Ann, Sanseverino, Arno, and Brigitte Fontaine.