Canuts House

The Maison des Canuts

The Lyon audio-guided tour presents you with the Maison des Canuts, a museum dedicated to the fascinating history of the Lyon silk industry, on the plateau of the Croix-Rousse.

The memory of the Lyon silk industry

The Maison des Canuts is a museum devoted to the history of silk in Lyon. One discovers there different weaving looms, including the famous Jacquard loom, the first programmable mechanical system, through weaving demonstrations that bring back to life the work of the canuts, those weaver workers settled in the Croix-Rousse. The building was formerly the seat of the Union of weavers and similar trades; rehabilitated, it opened to the public in 1970 with three exhibition rooms and a workshop, to plunge the visitor into one of the most important chapters of the history of Lyon.

What there is to see

The Maison des Canuts offers a lively immersion in the history of Lyon silk, with its weaving looms and its demonstrations, including the Jacquard loom. It is the ideal place to understand the know-how of the canuts and the role of silk in the rise of Lyon. An instructive visit in the heart of the Croix-Rousse.

Practical information

The Maison des Canuts is on the plateau of the Croix-Rousse, in Lyon. It can be visited according to hours to be checked on site; the weaving demonstrations and access to the rooms are generally subject to a charge.

What is the Jacquard loom?

The first programmable mechanical system, presented at the Maison des Canuts, which revolutionised the weaving of silk.

Who were the canuts?

Silk weaver workers settled in the Croix-Rousse, major figures of the working-class history of Lyon.