Musée Hospitalier

About the museum

The Hôtel-Dieu of Charlieu originally stood within the grounds of the town’s Benedictine abbey, where it took in the poor and pilgrims in the Middle Ages. In the 17th century it moved to the Grand-Rue, where nuns of the Order of Saint Martha looked after the sick. The hospital closed in 1981.

The Musée Hospitalier was created in 1995 in this 18th-century building. The visit presents reconstructed rooms from the late 19th century to the 1950s: the large ward with its rows of beds, the treatment rooms, the operating room and the linen room. The apothecary, listed as a historic monument, retains its 18th-century wooden panelling, herb drawers and a fine set of faience jars.

A medicinal plant garden has recently been laid out; it contains the plants once used in the apothecary. The chapel, whose gilded wooden altarpiece is listed as a historic monument, recalls the religious dimension of hospitals of the past and can be seen from the museum.

Highlights

• Ward, treatment rooms, operating room and linen room reconstructed
• Apothecary listed as a historic monument, with 18th-century faience jars
• Chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu and its listed gilded wooden altarpiece
• Medicinal plant garden

Permanent exhibition

• Parcours permanent du Musée Hospitalier – Reconstructed hospital rooms from the late 19th century to the 1950s, a listed apothecary and a medicinal plant garden.

Founded

1995

Admission & discounts

Free entry for children under 12, members of the Amis des Arts and Amis des Musées, ICOM card holders and the press. Payment by bank card, cash or ANCV Chèques-vacances; cheques are no longer accepted. The Pass’Région and Pass Culture are accepted.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The route is entirely on the first floor, with no stairs. Only the garden on the street side has a few steps. The temporary exhibition is on the second floor, with no elevator. The toilets are outside the building on the first floor. Chairs are placed along the route.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Workshops for children and families, a reduced-price family package and a shop with games for young and old.

Getting there & parking

Entry is through the garden, reached from Boulevard Leclerc or Rue Vitaut. People with reduced mobility can have a vehicle brought close to the entrance if they notify the team in advance. For school groups, bus stops on Boulevard des Capucins allow pupils to be dropped off.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop, freely accessible during opening hours, even without an entrance ticket. Garden in front of the museums for a break.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit