Palais du Commerce is the symbol of industry in Lyon. At the time of the Second Empire, in the late second half of the nineteenth century, Claude Vaïsse, prefect of the city, launched a program of urban transformation to ensure the city a prosperous future. The Palais, whose construction was planned to begin in 1853, housed under one roof several organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Court of Commerce, the Labour Court, stockbrokers, silk merchants and other traders, a museum of art and industry and other public and private commercial institutions, such as the Crédit Lyonnais (until 1934) and other shops.
The building has three floors. Its wide entrance, known as the Corbeille, is a jewel of Lyon’s architectural heritage. The paintings on the ceilings are one of the most famous and extraordinary decorative works of the city. The Palais was classified as a historical monument in 1994.
