Alsace | Aquitaine | Auvergne | Brittany | Burgundy | Centre Champagne-Ardenne | Corsica | Franche-Comté | Ile de France (Greater Paris) | Languedoc-Roussillon | Limousin | Lorraine | Midi-Pyrénées Picardie & Nord-Pas de-Calais | Normandy | Pays-de-la-Loire Poitou-Charente | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Rhône-Alpes Roll over map with mouse to locate region Departements: Ain (01), Ardèche (07), Drôme (26), Isère (38), Loire (42), Rhône (69), Savoie (73) and Haute-Savoie (74) Main centres: Lyon, Sainte Etienne, Grenoble, Valence, Chambery Web resources Rhône-Alpes Region Official Tourism Site Ardeche Departement Official Tourism Site Drôme Departement Official Tourism Site Isère Departement Official Tourism Site Savoie and Haute Savoie Departements Official Tourism Site Lyon Official Tourism Site Lyon Climate & Weather Forecast

Rhône-Alpes is the 2nd largest administrative region in France in terms of area and population. It covers a large swathe of the Rhône Valley, most of the French Alpes (bordering on Switzerland and Italy) and reaches south into what was once considered Provence. At its heart is France’s third largest city, Lyon which sits astride the Rhône. The region is an important region for France, generating a great deal of wealth through tourism, technology, wine making and agriculture. The Rhône valley is one of the busiest transport corridors in Europe as it links Paris and Northern Europe with the Mediterranean via autoroute, high speed rail and river traffic. Lyon also has a busy international airport. The other main cities in the Rhône-Alpes region are Grenoble, Saint Etienne, Valence, Annecy and Chambéry. Like several other regions Rhône-Alpes, is a fairly recently designated area and cuts across old boundaries. The departments of Savoie, Haute-Savoie were annexed from the House of Savoy (located in modern day Italy) in 1860 and to this day there is still a strong connection between Chambéry and Turin. Geneva, just inside the Swiss border also exerts a strong economic influence on this eastern corner of the region. Rhône-Alpes contains the famous wine areas of Cotes du Rhone to the south and Beaujolais to the north of Lyon. France’s highest mountain Mont Blanc is also within the region.

Lyon | Rhone | Rhône-Alpes | 69000
Lyon is France’s second largest city (just under 2 million in the greater metropolitan area) located 460km south of Paris on the Rhone River. It is one of France’s oldest cities having been established as a Roman colony in 43BC. It was a major centre for resistance in the Second World War and there is a Resistance Museum in the city. Lyon is well regarded in France for its cuisine and is a good base for exploring the Alps and the wine regions of Burgundy, Beaujolais and Cotes du Rhone. The city has many elegant historic buildings and its situation on the banks of the Rhone is very attractive. Lyon is a transportation hub, being on is on the main TGV line and Autoroute corridors as well as being a river port for barges and cruise ships going to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast. Lyon Airport is busy with short and long haul international flights and is easy to reach from the UK.

Chambéry | Savoie | Rhône-Alpes | 73000
Chambéry located at the foot of the French Alps is a gateway to 110 ski resorts including some of the best in Courchevel, Val d’Isere and Tignes. The region is prosperous due to tourism and also for the fact that many high tech multinationals are chosing to locate their European operations there. Chambéry is very well served by flights from the UK.

Grenoble | Isere | Rhône-Alpes | 38000
Grenoble is known as the ‘Capital of the Alps’ being the largest city in the French Alps and surrounded by more than 20 ski stations. Located in the Isere River Valley it is about an hour from Lyon. One of the most visited sites in Grenoble is ‘La Bastille’, a series of fortifications built into the surrounding mountains which are accessible via an impressive cable car.

Saint-Étienne | Loire | Rhone Alpes | 42000
Saint-Étienne is a city located on the Massif Central (Auvergne Region). It lies on the route between Lyon and Toulouse and was once an important industrial centre notably for arms manufacture owing to the coal and iron ore found in the area.

Valence | Drôme | Rhône-Alpes | 26000
Valence is an important city in the southern part of the Rhone-Alpes region of southeastern France. Established as a Roman colony named Valentia Julia, Valence shares an ancient pedigree with other cities and towns of the south. Valence however is also looking towards the future attracting several French high tech electronics and avionics companies. Valence is close to the famous wine region of Cotes du Rhone and like most good wine regions has excellent gastronomic experiences too.

Getting there
By road with Viamichelin.com routeplanner
By air via Lyon, Chambery, Grenoble, St Etienne
By rail from Paris