The Bell Cafe

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The Café de la Cloche, a well-known establishment among the inhabitants of Lyon, stands out for its location, its unique style and its singular atmosphere. It was founded in the 19th century opposite the former Charité hospital, which disappeared in the 1930s, on the site of a former grocery store. History reveals that during this period, women wishing to abandon their infants rang the bell from the hospital, receiving a crib through the door in response.

The distinctive appearance of the Café de la Cloche dates back to the 1930s, with an enigmatic fresco on the wall. Antoine Valls acquired the café in 1949 and over the years added unique details, such as red and white neon lettering and rosettes, a bar adapted to the original style and cut-out mirrors.

Unlike other bars in Lyon, La Cloche does not limit itself to a specific clientele. Its wooden banquettes welcome a diversity of people, from morning workers to students having lunch on marble tables, creating a lively and warm atmosphere. La Cloche is a gathering place, where everyone meets around a coffee or a cocktail, among stuccos and mirrors, contributing to its unique charm.

Come in for a coffee to enjoy the Fresco (see photo) by Vincent Callo which shows the scale of the former charity hospital (now gone)

As early as 1804, the administrators of the institution decided to install a tower in the thickness of the wall along the rue de la Charité. A wooden cylinder, convex on one side and concave on the other, like a serving hatch, easily rotating on its axis. The distraught mother could therefore discreetly place her newborn there, turning the object by pulling a nearby bell intended to alert the nun on duty, aptly called the tower sister, who would come to collect the child. It is said that she would then hasten to wave a white cloth at one of the windows on the first floor of the hospice… in order to alert the doctors, also on duty, who were happily seated at the Café de la Cloche, precisely.

Joseph François, Claude's great-grandfather, was born in this hospital in 1849.

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Pierre Bossan

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