Conventions, seminars, gala dinners and weddings of up to 450 guests can be organized at the InterContinental Lyon - Hotel Dieu, a 144-room hotel in the 18th-century Hôtel-Dieu on the bank of the Rhône in Lyon. Its convention center, L'Académie, offers 1,500 square meters of space in 12 rooms on four levels.
Seminars and company events
The hotel presents L'Académie as one of the largest conference centers in Lyon. Its rooms can be combined or separated to match a program, from a board meeting to a convention with breakout sessions, and they receive natural light. The hotel also hosts trade shows and offers a green event package for organizers who track the footprint of their meetings. The sales team handles requests from Monday to Friday.
Weddings and receptions
Private events include weddings, family ceremonies, prestige receptions, birthdays and gala dinners. Wedding receptions use rooms with French-style beamed ceilings and 17th-century stone walls, beside the historic courtyards and with views of the Grand Dôme. Capacity runs up to 450 guests depending on the layout, from an intimate dinner to a large reception.
Rooms and capacities
Named rooms include the Salon de L'Académie, the Salon Soufflot, set for banquets, classroom, U-shape or cocktails, and the Salle du Conseil for boards and classroom sessions. The Salon du Cloître looks onto the Grand Dôme and a century-old magnolia. The Espace du Petit Dôme overlooks the Cité de la Gastronomie. Other rooms are the Salle des Vieux Livres, the Salon de l'Apothicaire, the Salon Childebert, the Salon Ultrogothe and the Salon Rabelais. Capacities for each room are given in a separate brochure from the sales team.
Accommodation
The hotel has 144 rooms and suites designed by Jean-Philippe Nuel, with views of the Rhône, the Fourvière basilica or the historic courtyards. A large group can therefore stay in the same building as the conference.
Catering
Event menus are written by executive chef Mathieu Charrois and cover welcome cocktails, plated dinners, buffets and gala dinners, with pastries by Vincent Thomassin. The hotel restaurant, Epona, cooks regional produce between the Grand Dôme and the Petit Dôme. Le Dôme bar, under a 32-meter dome, serves drinks and light meals, and a Sunday brunch is held there.
History and setting
The Hôtel-Dieu descends from a hospital founded beside the Rhône bridge in 1184. François Rabelais was named its chief physician in 1532. The present building was raised between 1741 and 1761 to plans by Jacques-Germain Soufflot. In the 19th century it became a known surgical center, where Étienne Destot made the first radiograph. Its dome burned on September 4, 1944, and was rebuilt later. The hospital closed in 2009, works began in 2015, and the hotel opened in June 2019.
Getting there
The hotel is at 20 quai Jules Courmont, 69002 Lyon, on the Presqu'île facing the Rhône. Lyon Part-Dieu station, with direct TGV trains from Paris, lies on the other side of the river.
