The museum
The Soieries Brochier Museum is the perfect starting point for a Lyon visit combining heritage and history.
130 years of history
It is our privilege and pleasure to invite you to discover the 130-year history of a great Lyonnais family that found its vocation in the silk industry in 1890: four generations, nine Brochier family members and several hundred thousand metres of silk, woven and printed for the greatest names of the century in haute couture and art.
The silk manufacturer working with artists
Works on silk fabrics by the great artists Miró, Calder and Cocteau, to name but a few, bear witness to the strong links between artists and the Brochier family.
Silks for haute couture
Discover dresses by Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Nicolas Faffiotte created with Soieries Brochier fabrics. Lamé du Poète, Taffetas Libellule, Mousseline Madona, Satin Duchesse are just some of the names of the exceptional fabrics that have inspired the great couturiers, starting with Paul Poiret working with the painter and textile designer Raoul Dufy.
Weaving for cutting-edge technology
Find out how a taste for innovation has made it possible to adapt the Jacquard loom to create technical fabrics for such projects as Concorde, the Canopy Raft, and the balloon aerobots used in the Venus Vega programme. Find out, too, how silk thread is now being woven with optical fibres to create the fabrics of tomorrow.
Welcome to the Musée Soieries Brochier
Practical information
The museum is open every day from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 7pm, and on Sunday from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm.
Adults €8 / 14-25 years €6 / Free for under-14s
The ONLYLYON card can be used to visit the museum
Contact details
Musée Soieries Brochier
Grand Hôtel-Dieu
18 quai Jules Courmont - Lyon 2ème
Map
Public transportation:
Metro line A and Line D | Bellecour station
Bus 27, A32, A71 | Pont Guillotière RD station
Bus C9, C12, C20, C20E, 40, 51 | Bellecour Le Viste station
Plan a journey
BOOK YOUR GUIDED TOUR
The museum guided tour
Duration : 1h
Adults 12 € / 14-25 years 8 €
Subject to reservation
Location : Musée Soieries Brochier
Find out more about our the museum guided tour
In the heart of the city of Lyon, within the prestigious walls of the Grand Hotel Dieu, the new Musée des Soieries Brochier is now open.
We invite you to explore 130 years in the history of a prominent Lyon family that set out in the silk industry in 1890: 4 generations, 9 Brochiers and hundreds of thousands of metres of silk, woven and printed for the greatest names in haute couture and the arts have been involved over a period of more than a hundred years.
Come and admire dresses by Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent and Nicolas Fafiotte, created with fabrics from the Brochier silk house.
And discover textile designs by such 20th century masters as Miró, Calder and Cocteau that reflect the Brochier family’s close involvement with artists.
Discover also how a thirst for innovation made it possible to adapt the Jacquard loom for the production of technical fabrics for Concord nose cones, rainforest canopy rafts, and the Venus balloon probes. And learn how silk thread is now woven with optical fibres to produce the fabrics of the future.
The Musée Soieries Brochier is the ideal starting point for a visit to Lyon that combines heritage with history. The museum shop is open to the public and offers a wide range of hand-painted, 100% silk and velvet squares made in Lyon in the silk weaving mills and printing workshops of Brochier Soieries.
The museum is part of our Silk Trail, which offers visitors the opportunity to visit our silk printing workshop on the Place des Terreaux and then to inspect a mini silkworm farm on the Rue du Boeuf in the Mediaeval and Renaissance quarter of the town (St Jean).
The workshop guided tour
Duration : 1h
Group fares
Subject to reservation
Location : Brochier Soieries workshop
Find out more about the workshop guided tour
The Brochier Soieries workshop invites you to discover its traditional skills: frame printing “à la lyonnaise”, hand-painted silk velvet panne and block printing.
Our silk printing workshop is the last workshop in France still in operation to perpetuate by hand this traditional process, invented in Lyon in 1920 and long used by manufacturers to produce prints on fabric. With 3,000 frames, some dating back to 1950, we produce a wide variety of graphics, combining tradition and modernity.
During your visit, our printers will share the secrets of Lyon’s expertise, so highly prized by the great couturiers of the 20th century.
You’ll discover the techniques of frame printing “à la lyonnaise” and block printing: qualities of silk fabrics, installation of silk rolls on long printing tables, cooking of colors, smoothness of colored pastes, printing, drying and fixing. Upstairs, you’ll be invited to a demonstration of hand-painting on velvet panne, a renowned specialty of Lyon!
TAKE PART IN A WORKSHOP
Weaving workshop
Duration: 2h
Subject to reservation
1 to 3 people
Adults €80 / Children €30
Venue: Musée Soieries Brochier
Includes free admission to the Musée Soieries Brochier!
Find out more about the Weaving workshop
Weaving is at the heart of our expertise, as the Jacquard loom in the middle of our museum demonstrates.
After a presentation of weaving on this hundred-year-old loom, we’ll introduce you to the secrets of weaving silk tweed (Chanel’s signature fabric) using small wooden looms.
After the session, be sure to visit the museum, where you will discover the story of four generations of the Brochier family through the history of silk in Lyon – a history that now includes you!
Introduction to painting on silk
Duration of the introductory lesson: 2h
Subject to reservation
1 to 4 people
120 € / per person
Venue: Brochier Soieries workshop
Find out more about the Painting on silk introductory lesson
Our designer’s introduction to silk painting is a unique creative experience.
Over the course of two hours, you will discover silk painting techniques and create your own personalised silk square.
Anna will guide you through the creative process, providing you with inspiring textile designs, tools and materials. Seated in front of the long hand-painting tables on which the silk rolls are stretched, you’ll spend 2 hours discovering the secrets of a Lyonnais skill that was highly prized by the great couturiers of the 20th century.
This introductory course is available for groups of two or more, and can be adapted to your level, whether you are a beginner or an experienced painter. It’s the ideal opportunity to share a timeless moment with friends or family (children aged 8 and over).
Once the session is over and you have your silk square in your pocket, be sure to visit the Musée Soieries Brochier, where you can discover the history of the close links, spanning four generations, between the Brochier family and the great artists and couturiers of the last century. Especially now that you’re part of the story, too!