Lumière Terreaux, Movie theater in the 1st arrondissement, Lyon, France
Lumière Terreaux is a movie theater in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, situated in the Presqu'île neighborhood. It has four screening rooms of varying sizes set within a building whose vaulted cellars date back to the 17th century, where old stone walls meet modern sound and projection systems.
The cinema grew out of a movement from the late 1960s that wanted to make author-driven and independent films accessible to a wide public, and it operated for many years under the name CNP Terreaux. In 2015, the Institut Lumière took over the venue, renovated it, and gave it its current name.
Lumière Terreaux regularly screens films in their original language with subtitles, drawing an audience that enjoys international and non-mainstream cinema. One long-running tradition is a midnight screening of a French comedy that has been held for over 30 years and has become a gathering point for regulars.
The theater sits in the Presqu'île, the peninsula district between the Rhône and the Saône rivers, and is easy to reach on foot from the city center. An elevator and platforms are available for wheelchair users, and the program can be checked online in advance to plan your visit.
Some of the screening rooms are set inside medieval vaulted cellars typical of the neighborhood, which gives watching a film there an unusual setting you would not expect from the outside. The theater takes its name from the Lumière brothers, who organized the first public film screenings in Lyon, and whose legacy the Institut Lumière continues to keep alive in the city.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
