Place Antonin-Poncet, Pedestrian zone and fountain in the 2nd arrondissement, Lyon, France
Place Antonin-Poncet is a pedestrian square with a fountain in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, situated between Place Bellecour and the shopping street Rue de la République. The square is paved, lined with benches and trees, and centered on a fountain with water jets that are lit up at night.
The site was home to the Hôpital de la Charité, a hospital founded in the 16th century, which was torn down in the 1930s while the bell tower was kept due to its popularity. The square was renamed in 1913 to honor Antonin Poncet, a Lyon surgeon known for advancing safer surgical methods in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The bell tower of the old hospital, saved when the rest of the building was torn down in the 1930s, still stands next to the square and is clearly visible today. Right beside it, a memorial to the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide draws annual commemoration ceremonies every April.
The square sits right next to Place Bellecour, which is served by metro lines A and D, making it easy to reach on foot from there. The square is accessible for people with reduced mobility, including through a glazed elevator connecting to the underground parking below.
Inside the nearby Hôtel des Postes, an Art Deco building from the 1930s, there is a long mural painted in 1937 showing Lyon's role in worldwide communications and transport. It is one of the largest works of its kind in the city, yet most visitors passing through the square never step inside to see it.
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