Hidden in a Renaissance building in Vieux Lyon, the Musée Miniature et Cinéma is one of the most surprising museums in Lyon. On one side, it houses an extraordinary collection of film props from major productions — costumes, monsters, props from science fiction films — presented in professional display cases. On the other, it shows the work of artist Dan Ohlmann, who creates hyper-realistic miniature dioramas at 1/12 scale, complete with working light sources, aged surfaces, and trompe-l'oeil details that make them look like photographs of full-scale scenes.
The two halves of the museum reflect Lyon's deep connection to cinema — the city is, after all, where the moving image was invented. Allow two hours. The building itself (a 16th-century hôtel particulier with a preserved spiral staircase) is worth seeing regardless of the collection.