Musée des Confluences: Entry Ticket

Located south of Lyon, the spectacular structure of the Musée des Confluences is not only the merging point of the Rhône and Saône, but also of art and science.

Inside, you can immerse your curiosity in the mysteries of human culture and natural science, with exhibitions that encourage dialogue between the disciplines of palaeontology, mineralogy, zoology, ethnography, archaeology, and science and technology.

Egyptian mummies, a 155 million year old dinosaur skeleton, fossils, and a replica of Sputnik 2 are just some of the wonders you can expect to see inside.

While the interior holds an incredible collection, the building is also a feat of art unto itself. Designed by the firm Coop Himmelb(l)au, the Musée des Confluences’ architecture suggests a place of discovery, wonder, and knowledge sharing dedicated to all audiences.

Visitors can wander through a unique museum that facilitates dialogue between scientific disciplines to provide a more complete view of the world.

The Musée des Confluences prides itself on being the confluence of knowledge, thanks to its multi-disciplinary approach in curating its exhibitions. It's a museum that tells the story of mankind, and its four permanent exhibits help unravel this tale.

The first is Origins, the Stories of the World, which explores the emergence of life through fossils and exhibits that trace various cultural understandings of the origin of life. It asks the question that we all, as conscious beings, share: where did the world come from, and what is our place in it?

Species, the Web of Life sheds a light on Earth's boundless biodiversity through fascinating zoological exhibits. It challenges us to think about where we fit in the great mesh of living things. The exhibition trail is cleverly structured by this mesh, made up of 27 kilometers of string.

Societies, the Theater of Men unravels the vast tapestry of human anthropology, and is a chronological exploration of our cultural evolution over the vast geography of Earth. Captivating multimedia installations bring disparate pasts and distant parts of the world to life.

The final exhibition is Eternities, Visions of the Afterlife. Regardless of culture, creed or religion, death shatters us all equally. This exhibit explores cultural attitudes and rituals surrounding death, and sees them as a means of making acceptable the sudden separation of the living and the dead. See collections from native American animism to ancient Egyptian mummification, and find out how we're constantly pushing the clock back on death.

Apart from these four permanent collections, Musée des Confluences also has captivating temporary exhibits. Get lost exploring this extraordinary museum, which facilitates research and opens up the world around us.