Maison d’Expositions de l’Araire

Acquired in 1982 with the support of the Rhône General Council and the Rhône-Alpes Regional Council, the ARAIRE Exhibition Centre welcomed its first visitors in 1983 with an exhibition on rural architecture in the Monts du Lyonnais. Nine years later, the exhibition room dedicated to Lyon’s Roman aqueducts and the screening room were inaugurated. Finally, in 1995, the last two rooms were restored and opened to the public.

Nestled in the heart of the Monts du Lyonnais, on the outskirts of the village of Yzeron, at the north-eastern tip of the rocky spur overlooking the Yzeron valley, the ARAIRE Exhibition Centre enjoys a privileged location.

Setting off from the village square, you reach the Exhibition Centre in a few hundred metres via the Route de la Cascade. Before you, at number 23, stands a large building, extended to the right by a high stone wall, interrupted by a gate featuring a Lyon-style cornice. The gate opens onto a terraced courtyard planted with two century-old trees, a lime tree and a chestnut tree.

From the terrace, the view is magnificent. The Yzeron valley appears peaceful and verdant. To the left of the terrace, the house stands with its imposing and magnificent façade of exposed stone, punctuated by numerous openings characteristic of the regional architecture.