Things to do in Lyon | 5 interdisciplinary events in 2025

By Jacob Robinson

Paris may be France’s most famous city, but the country has many other beautiful and vibrant cities to explore. One of these is Lyon – Paris’s charming little sister. Lyon, with the Rhône and Saône rivers winding through it, boasts cobbled streets and pastel-hued buildings. It would be hard to narrow down what has been announced for the 2025 cultural calendar in Lyon to just five events. But if you find yourself in the city or Rhône-Alpes region next year, here are five interdisciplinary things to do in Lyon in 2025.

Le temps d’un rêve

First up on our list of things to do in Lyon is the temporary exhibition Le temps d’un rêve, from the science and anthropology museum. Despite spending almost a third of our lives sleeping, the science and culture of dreaming has remained largely uninvestigated in contemporary Western society. The exhibition seeks to explore the meaning and history of dreaming, inviting visitors to reflect on the history of dreams from the classical antiquity onward, through a collection of nearly 200 objects and audiovisual works. Blending scientific, sociological, and cultural perspectives on the study of dreams, the exhibition invites visitors to consider how we can better understand this deeply personal and intimate experience.

Musée du confluences, 86 Quai Perrache, 69002 Lyon | October 18^th 2024 – August 24^th 2025

www.museedesconfluences.fr/fr/expositions/expositions-temporaires/le-temps-dun-reve

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Nuits Sonores

Continuing our list of things to do in Lyon: while the city is known for its historic sites like the opera house and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which features a collection spanning ancient to modern art, the city also embraces a forward-looking spirit. A prime example is Nuits Sonores, an electronic music festival held in May. The 2024 edition marked the festival’s third decade and introduced a new venue, Les Grandes Locos – a former SNCF technical centre from the 20th century. This site also currently hosts the 17th Biennale de Lyon, a contemporary art exhibition that occupies various locations throughout the city. Over the years, Nuits Sonores has brought celebrated acts like Jamie XX, Kraftwerk, The Chemical Brothers, and the Blessed Madonna to its stages.

Various venues | May 2025

www.nuits-sonores.com

Univers Programmés

Here is one of the most futuristic things to do in Lyon. In 1995, on the hundredth anniversary of the Lumière brothers establishing Lyon as the birthplace of cinema, the 3rd Biennale de Lyon – Installation, Cinema, Video, Computing – focused on the influence of emerging “new technologies” on the arts. Now, nearly three decades later, Univers Programmés revisits these very themes, pushing the exploration even further. It delves into how artistic practices have transformed amidst rapid technological advances, such as the rise of computing, internet networks, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and NFTs. Works from the macLYON collection will sit alongside loans from international museums, combining an extensive range of media and mediums. Curated by Matthieu Lelièvre, the exhibition will feature work from Marina Abramović, Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell amongst others.

Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, 81 Quai Charles de Gaulle, 69006 Lyon | March 7th – July 13th 2025

www.mac- lyon.com/fr/programmation/univers-programmes

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Inconditionelles

Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse, situated in one of Lyon’s most charming neighbourhoods, showcases a diverse range of emerging and established theatre talent, and Inconditionelles is a standout example. Directed by Dorothée Munyaneza, this production is the French adaptation of Kae Tempest’s 2015 play Hopelessly Devoted. The play tells the story of Chess and Serena, who fall in love while serving time in a women’s prison. When Serena is granted parole, the emotional impact on both women is profound. Munyaneza explains that the play’s relevance extends beyond its original British context, pointing to “the systemic violence of the prison industry, which exists in every nation and permeates society as a whole.” With its powerful soundscape, Inconditionelles blends music, dance and theatre, inviting the audience to deeply engage with the characters’ experiences. This production is part of a national French tour, with stops in Paris, Strasbourg, and other cities.

Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse, Pl. Joannes Ambre, 69004 Lyon | March 26th – 28th 2025

www.croix-rousse.com/au- programme/inconditionnelles/

Karavel Festival

Concluding our list of things to do in Lyon: the Karavel Festival, an annual dance event in Lyon since 2007, celebrates hip-hop culture with a focus on urban dance movement and innovation. This year, the festival featured over 50 dance companies and 350 artists across 65 performances in 40 venues around Lyon and nearby areas. While it emphasises dance as a primary medium, it touches on related disciplines like music, visual arts, and community engagement. The festival was founded by choreographer Mourad Merzouki who places his own work at the crossroads of multiple disciplines, aiming to explore hip-hop within the boundaries of circus, martial arts, visual arts, video, and live music. This year’s Karavel Festival opened with a performance by dance company Relevant, winners of the 2019 Hip Hop Games international trophy in Lille. The Hip Hop Games festival promotes similar experimental practices, encouraging interdisciplinary work and improvisation.

Various venues | Autumn 2025

https://karavel.karavelkalypso.com/