The city of Lyon purchased part of the hotel in 1902, eventually (1921) turning their portion into the history museum. It’s mission was to trace the cultural history of the city from the Middle-Ages up through the 19th century by means of its 80,000 piece collection in 30 rooms. Today, the building is considered to be Lyon’s largest Renaissance structure.
Founded in another portion of the hotel in 1950, the “World of Marionettes Museum “ was inspired by the popularity of the original Guignol puppet, which was created in 1808. According to the museum’s own documents, its exhibits change every couple of years, expanding our perspective of puppets from being merely playthings, to their important role in social and political changes around the world. This truly provided us with further knowledge about puppetry and marionettes from what we learned in the Guignol Little Puppet Museum around the corner.