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Musee De La Lunette: French Eyewear Museum

Musee De La Lunette: French Eyewear Museum

What could be more natural than to have a Glasses Museum in the French capital of eyewear? And of course, such a museum must also meet current visitor expectations-visitors who are both increasingly attracted by industrial heritage and increasingly discerning.
In order to respond more appropriately to these demands, Morez town council decided that the historic Glasses Museum deserved a face lift.
The new Glasses Museum, which preserves the living memory of the progress of eyewear from its inception, is the first museum in Franche to have been awarded "Musee de France"accreditation. It stores and exhibits collections of machines and instruments to aid eyesight (glasses, opera glasses, binoculars, and so on) made in Morez, as well as the prestigious ESSILOR Pierre Marly Collection, comprising glasses, nose spectacles, pince-nez and astronomical telescopes, along with other optical system accessories.
The modern, interactive and fun design of the permanent exhibition (800 sq. m on two floors) offers several approaches to the world of optics: local history, the history of techniques, scientific history, ethnology and decorative arts. In addition, each year a scientific and cultural project based on the central theme of glasses forms the basis of educational initiatives and a programe of temporary exhibitions (100m2), with a succession of themes relating to sight and the eye, optical phenomena, light and colour.
The Glasses Museum is housed in a thoroughly contemporary facility opposite the 19th century Town Hall. Its curtain walls open out onto indoor spaces designed to accommodate the public (hall, ticket office, shop, lifts) and offer views of the town and surrounding forests.
The permanent exhibition is housed in the roof of the building, designed to form a showcase enabling close-up visits.