The Henri-Malartre Automobile Museum

The Henri-Malarte Automobile Museum is housed in a fifteenth-century chateau of the counts of Lyon. In 1932, Henri Malartre bought and restored a Rochet-Schneider of 1898, the first in his collection of vehicles that are now on display in the museum, which he opened to the public in 1960. The collection includes cars, racing-cars, motorcycles and public transport vehicles. Highlights include the iconic Ford Model T, the Renault AG taxi (known as the ‘Taxi de la Marne’ after hundreds were used by the French army to transport men in the First World War), an armoured Mercedes-Benz 700k (one of forty-four cars manufactured to protect Nazi leaders from attack) and the Gordini GP of 1952, used in numerous Grand Prix races. The museum also shows many vehicles manufactured in the Lyon region from the early days of motor production, such as the Luc Court of 1901, the 1898 Rochet-Schneider and a Viratelle motorcycle of 1919. A workshop on site maintains and restores the vehicles, most of which are in working order.