Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895)

French title: La Sortie de l'usine Lumière à Lyon
aka Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory or Exiting the Factory

dir. Louis Lumière

It is often cited as the first real motion picture ever made, though some historians dispute it. The film exists in at least three separate versions, where the clothing style changes demonstrate the different seasons in which they were filmed. The first version lasted 45 seconds and was reportedly shot on March 19, 1895. It showed employees of the Lumière company—predominantly female workers—leaving the premises at 21–23 Rue Saint-Victor in the Monplaisir district of Lyon. This short motion picture was shown at a private screening in Paris on March 22, 1895. One of the versions was among the ten films shown at the Salon Indien of the Grand Café in Paris on December 28, 1895, the world's first commercial movie screening.

The Hangar of the First Film is the last remaining structure of the Lumière factories in Lyon. Chemin Saint-Victor has since been renamed Rue du Premier-Film (Street of the First Film).

Originally, the hangar belonged to a hat-making business acquired by the Lumière brothers in 1881. Then it was part of the original photographic plate factory of the Lumière brothers’ father, Antoine. Restored in 1998, the hangar is now protected by a modern structure designed by the architect Pierre Colboc. The building serves as the entrance hall for one of the cinemas at the Lumière Institute.

Located near the Villa Lumière, the building was first registered as a historical monument by an order dated May 18, 1992, and subsequently given full protected status by an order dated December 2, 1994, in conjunction with the "Centenary of Cinema" celebrations held in 1995.

The Villa Lumière is the former home of the Lumière family. It houses a museum honoring the achievements of Auguste and Louis Lumière, the creators of the Cinematograph, a revolutionary combination of camera, film processing, and projection system that paved the way for the first public screenings of motion pictures. The museum is operated by an organization called the Institut Lumière, which was co-founded in 1982 by the grandson of Louis Lumière.

The monument commemorating the Lumière brothers at the Cours Albert-Thomas in Lyon. The inscription says: "In this neighborhood, the Lumière brothers invented the Cinematograph."

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

dir. Philip Kaufman

Kaufman could not film in Czechoslovakia, which was still in the Soviet bloc where Milan Kundera's novel was banned. The movie was shot in France, mostly in Lyon that stood for much of Prague. For other sequences, the production designer Pierre Guffroy chose to build imposing sets at the Boulogne-Billancourt studios near Paris. The interior scenes were also shot there. The Geneva episodes were filmed on location in Switzerland.

Tomas (Daniel Day-Lewis) meets Tereza (Juliette Binoche) in a spa town – Thermes de Luxeuil-les-Bains, 3 Avenue des Thermes, Luxeuil-les-Bains, Haute-Saône, France.

Tomas' apartment – 1 Rue de la Loge, Lyon, France. The apartment is located at the foot of Montée du Change.

Tomas and Tereza are frightened by the arrival of Soviet tanks – Rue Juiverie, Lyon, France.

In the scenes depicting the Soviet occupation, archival footage is combined with new material shot in Lyon.
Tomas and Tereza see Sabina leaving in a car – Montée du Chemin-Neuf, Lyon, France.

Rue Tramassac at Rue de la Bombarde, Lyon, France.

Here's the real Prague footage of Kostel Matky Boží před Týnem (The Church of the Mother of God before Týn).

...and the Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Place Saint-Jean, Lyon, France.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière seen from Place Saint-Jean, Lyon, France.

Place Saint-Jean in front of the Cathedral, Lyon, France.

Place Saint-Paul with the Church of Saint-Paul, Lyon, France.

The Soviet troops are trashing Czechoslovak flags in a courtyard – L'École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort (EnvA), 7 quater Avenue du Général de Gaulle, Maisons-Alfort, Val-de-Marne, France. In 1905, Buffalo Bill stayed two months in Maisons-Alfort while his famous Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show performed in Paris.

Sabina is looking at the Monument National, Jardin Anglais, Geneva, Switzerland. Inaugurated in 1869, this monument symbolises the entry of Geneva into the Swiss Confederation on 12th September 1814. It was constructed to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this alliance, which was commemorated with celebrations in September 1864 and 1869.

Sabina (Lena Olin) meets Franz (Derek de Lint) – Promenade du Lac, Geneva, Switzerland.

Franz invites Sabina to a restaurant but then she abruptly leaves complaining about the music – Quai du Général-Guisan 34, Geneva, Switzerland. The restaurant used to be called Le Grand Quai, then Gusto but it's apparently closed now.

Sabina is standing at the Pont des Bergues, Geneva, Switzerland.

Tomas and Tereza arrive in Geneva – Place de Neuve, Geneva, Switzerland. The Grand Theatre de Geneve is seen in the background.

Tomas meets with Sabina – Hôtel de la Cigogne, Place de Longemalle 15-17, Geneva, Switzerland.

Tereza is feeling lost and alienated – Quai du Général-Guisan, Geneva, Switzerland.

Tereza is riding a train in Czechoslovakia – Gare de Senlis, Senlis, Oise, France.

Sabina on a merry-go-round – Place de la Madeleine, Geneva, Switzerland.

Tomas is feeding the swans – Quai des Bergues, Geneva, Switzerland.

Back in Prague, Tomas is driving to his apartment – Rue Juiverie looking at Rue de la Loge, Lyon, France.

An official's wife is going to her apartment where she will have a tryst with Tomas – Hôtel de Beauvais, 68 Rue François-Miron, Paris, France. The building has since been renovated and restored and houses the Administrative Court of Appeal of Paris.

Tereza visits an engineer (Stellan Skarsgård) who might have been an informant for the StB secret police – Cour des Voraces, Lyon, France. The courtyard, built around 1840, is famous for its monumental six-story façade staircase, also known as the free-flight staircase. This impressive staircase connects 9 Place Colbert to 14 Montée Saint-Sébastien or 29 Rue Imbert-Colomès, providing a fascinating passage through the levels of the courtyard. It is now listed as a historic monument, preserving its unique heritage and its importance in the history of the city.

Tomas sees Tereza from the bridge – Pont Marie, Paris, France. The sculptures were added to imitate a Prague bridge.

Tomas and Tereza settle in the Country - Magny-Saint-Médard and Bèze, Côte-d'Or, France.

The house where Sabina lives after having moved to the U.S. – 77 Olema Bolinas Road, Bolinas, California, U.S.A..