If you want to spend a pleasant afternoon away from Lyon's City Centre and you'd describe yourself as 'an art person', La Demeure du Chaos is a sure to be the place for you. You can get there easily via public transport, using bus from Lyon City Centre. The museum is free and open during weekend afternoons.

This contemporary art museum contains over 2,500 works from many artists, including the owner himself, Thierry Ehrmann. Most of the artwork you see is based around the transformation of the 17th-century home into a replica (post-)war zone, which contrasts with the traditional peaceful village.

Ehrmann's collection points out modern worldwide controversies, threats and events - ranging from Trump, to Putin, to the war in Afghanistan. It highlights our addiction to social media, and technology in general, and creates a space for reflection on the modern world as we know it. You could easily spend the whole afternoon walking around and trying to find the meaning of life, and the works dotted around the museum will definitely help you with that.

As with all modern art, this exhibition has faced some criticism. The town mayor of Saint Romain-au-Mont-d'Or, where the museum is located, has branded the display as "humanly intolerable, ugly, dramatic, with its images of destruction. Whatever you think, for me it's not art, it's a provocation." It has been at the centre of several lawsuits, with a ruling from the highest French court demanding that Ehrmann restored the building to its pre-Abode of chaos state. Ehrmann controversially ignored this ruling, leading to a non-compliance fee of  €750 per day! However, in 2016 there was a new law on freedom of creation, architecture, and patrimony, and Ehrmann regards it as his own personal victory.

Whatever your stance on the modern world, this place which is at the centre of such grand debate is surely somewhere worth visiting if you have some spare time or a curious mind. Just be sure to give yourself time for some serious reflection!

La Demeure du Chaos

17 Rue de la République, 69270 Saint-Romain-au-Mont-d'Or