Where cinema began
The Lumière brothers of Lyon patented the Cinématographe on 13 February 1895. On 22 March 1895 Louis showed the film “Sortie d’usine” to a small audience in Paris, and the first commercial screening followed on 28 December 1895.
Science profile
On this site we follow cancer research and the evaluation of evidence (IARC), alongside the city’s science museum and the invention of cinema. The institutions are described on Institutes & Facilities.
On the Atlas
Lyon is a stop on the Concept Cities route of the TheScience.fm Atlas, which links cities tied to ideas about how science is judged, funded and measured.
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Large research machines for particles, photons and plasma.
Stops: Grenoble.science → Geneva.science → Lausanne.science → Villigen.science → Frascati.science
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Space agencies, mission centres and the people who build spacecraft.
Stops: Pasadena.science → Noordwijk.science → Bonn.science → Frascati.science
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Concept Cities via Lyon
Cities tied to ideas about how science is judged, funded and measured. Frascati gave its name to the rules for counting R&D.
Stops: Sevres.science → Lyon.science → Bonn.science → Bologna.science → Frascati.science
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How Switzerland organises research, from CERN's host city to its federal institutes.
Stops: Geneva.science → Lausanne.science → Villigen.science → Zuerich.science
| Hub | Anchor institutions | Routes |
|---|---|---|
| Bologna.science | Bologna Process · ECMWF data centre | Concept Cities |
| Bonn.science | DFG · DAAD · Humboldt Foundation · German Space Agency at DLR | Space, Concept Cities |
| Frascati.science | INFN-LNF · ESA ESRIN · ENEA | Big Machines, Space, Concept Cities |
| Geneva.science | CERN | Big Machines, Swiss Model |
| Grenoble.science | ESRF · ILL | Big Machines |
| Lausanne.science | EPFL Swiss Plasma Center | Big Machines, Swiss Model |
| Lyon.science | IARC, the WHO cancer research agency | Concept Cities |
| Noordwijk.science | ESA ESTEC | Space |
| Pasadena.science | Caltech · NASA JPL | Space |
| Sevres.science | BIPM · SI and metrology | Concept Cities |
| Villigen.science | Paul Scherrer Institute | Big Machines, Swiss Model |
| Zuerich.science | ETH Zurich | Swiss Model |
| science.Taipei | Academia Sinica | — |
Sources
Sources checked on: 1 November 2026