Hôtel-Dieu de Tournus, Historical hospital and museum in Tournus, France

The Hôtel-Dieu de Tournus is a 17th-century hospital housed in a large stone building containing three substantial halls and two chapels. The structure now functions as a museum displaying rooms that show how medical care operated in earlier times.

The building was constructed in the 17th century to house and provide medical care to the poor. One of France's oldest pharmacies was established here around 1685, demonstrating how medical treatment evolved through the use of medicines.

The name reflects the traditional role of providing shelter and care to the poor and sick. Inside, you see old pharmacy containers, medicines, and tools from different centuries that show how people were treated in the past.

The hospital closed in 1982 and the museum reopened in the Hôtel-Dieu complex in 2002, spread over three levels. The second pharmacy, from the Maison de Charité, was moved here in 2011 and is shown with empty display cases. Look for the large sundial with Roman numerals on the left facade.

The 2nd-century eye-doctor's kit found in the Saône is not in the apothecary but in the Musée Greuze's archaeology collection, shown with damascened iron belt plates of the 6th and 7th centuries. The museum's finds come from over thirty years of digs by the Groupe de recherche archéologique du Tournugeois.