Palais de la Bourse de Lyon

The Palais de la Bourse features a heavy stone facade decorated with statues representing Lyon’s commerce and industry. Napoleon the Third officially inaugurated this building in eighteen sixty-two to provide a home for the city’s stock exchange and Chamber of Commerce. During a turbulent labor uprising in nineteen thirty-four, workers stormed the interior and occupied the grand hall to protest against wage cuts. The ornate clock tower and the echoes of those floor debates remain at the heart of the city’s business district.