Hôpital Édouard-Herriot, Medical center in 3rd district, Lyon, France.

Hôpital Édouard-Herriot is a major university hospital in Lyon with several interconnected pavilions housing different medical departments. The complex combines modern clinical facilities with integrated gardens and abundant natural light across its buildings.

The hospital was built at the initiative of Lyon mayor Édouard Herriot, who in 1909 had the city buy the 15.5-hectare Grange-Blanche estate for one million francs. Architect Tony Garnier designed a pavilion layout, and construction ran from 1913 to its inauguration on 14 July 1933. The initial 32 pavilions held 1,544 beds; the 1935 opening of an anti-cancer centre raised capacity to 1,723 beds.

The hospital bears the name of Édouard Herriot, the mayor of Lyon who initiated its construction. A free thinker, he had no personal attraction to a chapel, yet he yielded to the administrators so that the nursing sisters could have a place of worship; the chapel was consecrated on 18 February 1934, with one of its bells sponsored by his wife, Blanche Herriot.

The site is quite large, so allow time to explore the different pavilions and follow directional signs when moving around. Paved walkways and green spaces make navigating the grounds straightforward.

The hospital's pavilions are linked by a network of underground corridors, one of its most original features, used to move meals, medicines, linen and mattresses between buildings. The general services wing along rue Trarieux included a laundry handling up to 20 tonnes of soiled linen per week.