Église de la Charité de Lyon, Church tower and remnant of a former hospital complex in Lyon, France

The église de la Charité de Lyon is the only standing part of a former hospital complex on Place Antonin Poncet in central Lyon, France. Its pale stone facade has a triangular pediment topped by a stone cross, with a large circular window below and a half-round relief of a winged figure above the round-arched doorway. Behind the left side rises a tower, octagonal above a square base, with arched louvered openings, a clock face and a dark domed roof.

The hospital of the Charité was built in the early 1600s on the Presqu'ile, after the city purchased land with royal permission. The buildings were largely complete by 1633 and served for centuries before the whole complex was torn down in 1934.

The name Charité refers to the hospital founded here in the early 1600s, whose buildings stood until their demolition in 1934. The surviving tower on Place Antonin Poncet now carries radio equipment, and a plaque at its base explains the site's former role to passersby.

The tower stands on Place Antonin Poncet, a short walk south of Place Bellecour in the Presqu'île. It is a free-standing structure viewable from the surrounding square at any hour; the plaque at its base is the only interpretive element on site.

The tower's clock, fitted in 1853, still works today, which is a curious detail for a structure whose surrounding buildings were torn down nearly a century ago. The tower was saved from demolition in 1935 largely thanks to the efforts of local residents who campaigned for its protection.