The Grand Café des Négociants can host a board meeting, a training day, a small conference or a cocktail for up to 90 guests standing, or 60 in theater style. Events take place in its business center, 210 m² of rooms and offices on the first floor of the brasserie. The café stands at 1 Place Francisque Régaud, in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon.
Seminars and company events
The business center rents its rooms by the hour, the half day or the full day, for conferences, meetings, seminars and cocktails. All rooms have daylight and air conditioning, with Wi-Fi, a video projector or a television, and a paperboard. Evening and weekend bookings are possible.
A typical day uses the Salle des Lumières for the plenary, with one of the smaller salons as a breakout or a quiet room for a board session. Coffee breaks and breakfast can be served in the rooms, and lunch is taken in the brasserie downstairs, with a choice of two- or three-course formulas. The team advises on the right package for each group.
The address suits business visitors: the Palais de la Bourse and the Chamber of Commerce are a short walk away, in the business district of the Presqu'île.
Rooms and capacities
The business center has six spaces:
The Salle des Lumières (50 m²) takes 60 in theater style, 22 in a U shape, 20 in classroom, 28 around a boardroom table and 90 for a cocktail. The Salle de la Bourse (28 m²) takes 26 in theater style, 14 in a U, 12 in classroom, 16 boardroom and 30 for a cocktail. The Salon Opéra (20 m²) seats 12 boardroom style. The Salon Tête d'Or (16 m²) takes 15 in theater style, 8 in a U or classroom, 10 boardroom and 15 for a cocktail. The Salon des Beaux Arts (13 m²) seats 8 boardroom style. The Bureau Célestins (12 m²) is an office with two to four workstations.
Catering
The brasserie is open seven days a week from 7 am, with non-stop restaurant service from noon. Seminar groups can order a coffee break or a breakfast with juice and pastries, and take a set lunch in the dining room. For groups of 15 or more, the restaurant offers group menus and drinks packages, by reservation only. The kitchen serves Lyon brasserie cooking, and the house also runs a bar, a tea room and an ice cream counter.
History and setting
The Grand Café des Négociants opened in 1864. It keeps its Second Empire decor: molded and painted ceilings, heavy drapes and many mirrors, in deep red and mahogany tones. The brasserie was once a meeting place for diamond dealers, silk merchants and livestock traders, who are said to have used the mirrors of the main room to pass signals discreetly. It has remained a meeting point for politicians, business people, traders and artists.
The café sits on the Presqu'île, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lyon, between Place Bellecour and the Hôtel de Ville. The Théâtre des Célestins and the Opéra are close by, and the terrace faces the square.
Getting there
The nearest metro stop is Cordeliers, and buses C3, 27 and 51 stop nearby. Drivers can use the Grolée, Cordeliers and Central Park car parks.
