Guide to Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes region comprises of the départements of:
Ain (01)
Ardcche (07)
Drôme (26)
Iscre (38)
Loire (42)
Rhône (69)
Savoie (73)
Haute-Savoie (74)

Ain (01)

Population: 471,000
Principal city: Bourg-en-Bresse
Tourist board

North-east of the city of Lyon, the Ain département lies between Burgundy and Beaujolais, the Jura mountains and Switzerland.

Ain consists of two different geographical zones: the mountainous regions to the north and east, and the plains and floodlands of the Dombes.

To the north-west is la Bresse: a mixture of woodland and green, fertile expanses. La Bresse is also renowned for its blue-legged chickens, the only ones to carry an appellation d'origine contrôlée.

La Bresse is sometimes said to be "blessed by the Gods" for its gastronomic delights, including Bresse chicken in cream sauce, vonnassienne crêpes, gateau de volaille … There are numerous restaurants housing some of the most noted chefs in France, Georges Blanc being perhaps the most famed.

The area is also rich with fine examples of architecture: especially Romanesque churches; farmhouses with clay walls, exposed beams and 'Saracen' chimneys; and the lavishly carved church of Brou in Bourg-en-Bresse.

To the south-west is France's principal fish farming region: the Dombes, with around 1,000 ponds and lakes. Fish farming has been the local industry since the 12th century. Today, over 1,000 tonnes of fish are caught each year, 60% of which are carp for the German market.

Thousands of migrating birds cross this region each year. Many species, however, make their permanent home here — herons, mallards, teals and coots to name but a few. All these and many more can be found at the bird park at Villars-les-Dombes. Nearby, Pérouges, a former weaving centre, is a perfectly restored and conserved medieval village, and is regularly used as a film set.

To the extreme south of the Jura mountains, le Bugey is a landscape of lakes, woodland and wild flowers. Winters are cold in the Bugey, making it a paradise for the cross-country skier. In summer it is ideal for those who enjoy hiking, mountain-biking and other outdoor activities.

To the north-east, the Pays de Gex offers excellent skiing and splendid views of the Alps.

Ardèche (07)

Population: 278,000
Principal city: Privas
Tourist board

The former province of Vivarais, this area's boundaries have remained unchanged in two millennia. The Haut-Vivarais is an area of high table-lands and valleys, with a mild climate. Its paper and textile-producing town of Annonay has the greatest population in the département.

Whilst the Haut-Vivarais's main agricultural concerns are cattle, cereal and fodder, the principal produce of the Ardèche is fruit: cherries, peaches, pears, apples, chestnuts, strawberries, raspberries and other soft fruit. There are 200 sq km of vineyards, and Ardèche is an important producer of goat's cheese.

The Moyen-Vivarais, around the préfecture Privas, has orchards and attractive market towns. With its vegetation, mild climate and limestone rocks, the Bas-Vivarais, at the most southern tip of the département, is distinctly Mediterranean in atmosphere.

Certainly the most familiar of regions in the Ardèche is the Cévennes, of which Stevenson wrote in his famous Travels with a Donkey: "High, rocky sapphire-blue mountains towering on the horizon … Sunbeams play over the rocky crags, shrubs and bushes fill the smallest breach." The Cévennes are an area of forested hills and steep valleys to the south of the Massif Central and west of the Rhône Valley. The Cévennes epitomise what is referred to as la France profonde: the low-populated rural areas, often with poor soil, which have suffered greatly from l'exode rurale. One of the surviving bastions of Protestantism, it still remembers the brutal wars against the camisards waged in the 18th century.

Vital within the framework of the Ardèche economy is the work of the hundreds of craftsmen and women who employ and train hundreds more: potters, painters, textile and woodworkers.

Isère (38)

Population: 1 million
Principal city: Grenoble
Tourist board

There is a palpable dynamism about Grenoble. In the last century it was an important research centre for the hydroelectric industry, and it had its urban téléphérique (cable car) as early as 1934. One more recent addition to the landscape is equally impressive: the vast circular synchrotron (particle accelerator), built at the confluence of the Isère and the Drac.

From the heights of Les Écrins to the valley of the Isère, the geography of this département is famously grandiose. Isère was the home of the author Stendhal, and he was always ready with a good word for his native land: "If one did yield to the enticement of this beauty spot, one would write endlessly."

Walking the rugged plateau of the Vercors, or the sharp peaks of Les Écrins in the south of the département is a popular summertime activity, but tourism really kicks off in winter, at ski resorts such as L'Alpe-d'Huez. The skiing here is excellent, and its 16-km piste from the Sarennes glacier claims to be the longest run in Europe.

Many other sports are practised in Isère's great outdoors; among the newest and most exhilarating is canyoning, a mixture of swimming, caving, scrambling and abseiling down waterfalls. Another vivid event happens annually 25 kilometres north-east of Grenoble: the largest event in the paragliding calendar. The Icarus Cup is particularly renowned for its masquerade flights: costumes range from cartoon themes and giant pink kangaroos to naked paragliders!

Before France was split into départements, the area was known as the Dauphiné, and this is the home of the gratin dauphinois, the cream and potato dish. There are several lesser-known but remarkable regional specialities, including caraway seed sausages and sausages baked in ash. The recipe to the 'elixir of long life', Chartreuse, is still a closely guarded secret known only to three lay brothers from the monastery of la Grande Chartreuse. The green digestif is made from aromatic plants macerated in alcohol. The monks have observed their vows of silence for nine centuries, according to the wishes of Saint Bruno, and are certainly not telling their recipe.

Loire (42)

Population: 750,000
Principal city: St-Étienne
Tourist board

The département of Loire, between the Auvergne and Lyon, is not very well known to foreigners, but it includes the magnificent scenery of the route des balcons and culinary treats to suit all pockets. It has something of a split personality: the countryside ranges from the mountainous to flat plains. Because it is not the obvious choice for tourism, its attractions are never too busy in summer. And yet is has a reputation for having far more than its fair share of top-class restaurants, centred particularly around the northern town of Roanne. Moreover, the area has traditionally been known for its mines, its foundries and its ordnance factories, but the overall character of the Loire département is overwhelmingly a peaceful, rural one.

St-Étienne is often shunned by tourists because of its traditionally heavy industrial vocation — one official guidebook even went so far as to admit it didn't have a past "that would make it blush"! But slowly, the coal-fed industrial age drew to a close, which meant the town at last had the opportunity to plant flowers and beautify and restore its buildings, without fear that everything would be blackened within weeks. The town is today known for its museum of modern art, but it is still an important economic centre in spheres such as technological research and engineering. In fact, you name it — it is still produced there to this day: stainless steel and blades of all sorts, guns, cycles, shoelaces, paper, ribbon, glass and optics, clothes and cars. Eight out of ten pétanque players use boules made in the Loire.

And all this within easy reach of the countryside. Half of the Pilat national park is forested, and it includes many sites of geological or architectural interest: for instance, the château de Rochetaillé and the picturesque village of Malleval. Overlooking the plain of the Forez, the genteel small town of St-Galmier is the source for the natural spring water Badoit. There is a casino here, and also at the spa town of Montrond-les-Bains.

St-Victoire-sur-Loire is a medieval village standing by the lac de Grangent, formed by the damming of the River Loire. The resort is especially popular with watersports enthusiasts. Amongst its jewels are the château de la Bastie-d'Urfé, home of the author of the first French epic novel, Honorée d'Urfé, and the château de la Roche, owing to the damming of the Loire at Villerest, has been left marooned in the middle of a lake. Fundraising events enabled the conservationists to protect the château from being damaged by the water, and the result is that it appears to be floating.

Rhône (69)

Population: 1.5 million
Principal city: Lyon
Tourist board

Lyon is capital of the Rhône-Alpes region, which is about as large as neighbouring Switzerland. It is also the capital of French haute cuisine, and its restaurants deserve to be sought out, from the typical Lyonnais bouchon to establishments of the highest order. A large number of them are still fitted out in turn-of-the-century decor, and the tradition for relaxed, lengthy meals imbues the diner with a definite sense of well-being. Be warned that the town's speciality food is in fact a plate of pig's ears and trotters!

Lyon owes its importance to a number of factors. It was capital of Roman Gaul, became an important financial and trade centre between France and Italy during the Middle Ages, and then an important silk-weaving centre. The architecture of the Croix Rousse district — tall buildings interconnected by passageways — is a direct consequence of this industry: they were used as high-density factories by family units working together, and the passageways were used to take the cloth through the city to the marketplace without it getting spoiled by the weather. There is a working museum dedicated to the silk weaving industry in the Croix-Rousse district.

The sleepy medieval village of Oingt springs to life once a year when it hosts the Festival International de Musique Mécanique. Music-hall songs and colourful costumes set against the golden stone of the village make this a festival to remember. Another curiosity is the Fête des Conscrits, a Beaujolais festival that dates back to the 1850s when conscription was something of a lottery. Today it is a good excuse for dressing up and having a good time.

Grand Guignol Puppet shows in France have not really changed down the years. The original characters of Guignol and Polichinelle, created nearly two hundred years ago, still feature in most shows. Lyon, birthplace of Guignol, has a museum to puppets, and another to miniatures of all sorts. There is also a printing museum containing numerous historic woodcuts and presses. Another interesting visit is to the museum dedicated to the Lumière brothers, the inventors of cinématography. Look out also for the Fourvière basilica, overlooking the town on the west bank of the Saône (once vilified as a monstrosity, now much loved by the Lyonnais), and the numerous trompe l'oeil paintings on the sides of buildings throughout the town.

A tour in the Pays des Pierres Dorées and the hills to the north-west of Lyon is a must; Vaux-en-Beaujolais was the setting for the farcical story of Clochemerle and its urinoir. At Marcy stands a telegraph relay dating from 1799 and restored between 1981 and 1985. Also worth a visit is the musée de l'Électricité, which explores the life of the scientist André-Marie Ampère in his family home. All manner of electical devices are on display there, including many pieces dating from Ampère's days.

If the wines of Beaujolais are known as Burgundies, most of the wine-producing villages whose names are universally known, including Villié-Morgon, Fleurie and Juliénas, lie in the Rhône département. Of particular interest is the Hameau du Vin, in Romanèche-Thorins, right on the border of the two regions, which was set up by the wine entrepreneur extraordinaire Georges Duboeuf, who made the concept of Beaujolais Nouveau what it is today. Whilst your chances of seeing Duboeuf himself are slim — he is a busy man — this exhibition at least allows the Beaujolais faithful to come away with a lasting memory of the region.

Savoie (73)

Population: 343,000
Principal city: Chambéry
Tourist board

Chambéry, capital of Savoie, was for centuries the seat of an independent sovereign state (it was merged with France only in 1860) and is rich in art and history. Worth seeing are the château of the dukes of Savoie, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's house at Les Charmettes, and the largest carillon in Europe (70 bells), at the Sainte Chapelle.

The modern administrative département of Savoie takes its name from the homeland of one of Europe's oldest ruling houses. Over a period of eight centuries, the rulers of Savoie built up an independent state comprising land on both the French and Italian sides of the Alps, from the Rhône Valley to the Po basin.

Whilst the skiing industry has proved the fame and fortune of this area in the 20th century, there has not always been enough work for the population, and Savoyards often had to seek a living elsewhere. Light industry is, however, now well established in the area, and employs 50% of the industrial workforce.

Savoie appeals to people who like outdoor pursuits and clean air. The Tarentaise, where the River Isère rises in the resort of Val d'Isère, is one of the most renowned valleys in the French Alps. It is particularly beautiful both in winter and summmer, and a wide variety of sports are practised here, including rafting, canoeing and hiking. The Isère continues past Albertville, which was founded in 1836 and which hosted the 1992 Olympic Games. Tignes is now famous for its ski-resort, but less well known is the story of the original village, which is now submerged under the waters of the Isère barrage.

Val Thorens is the highest village in Europe, situated as it is at the head of the famous 'Trois Vallées'. There are 500 km of pistes ski-runs and for more experienced skiers there are off-piste routes too. The resort of Flumet is quieter than most French skiing resorts, with an emphasis on the traditional way of life rather than après-ski. A new attraction is dog-sledding, an exhilarating way of taking in the scenery.

Aix-les-Bains, the world-famous spa and tourist resort standing on Lake Bourget, lives up to its beau monde reputation with a race course, a casino, and an open-air theatre. The waters were appreciated even in ancient times, and the town's archaeological museum explains the Roman baths. Some of the finest work by the French poet Lamartine can be found in his poem "The Lake", which is a homage to the superb local countryside.

Between Savoie and Isère is the regional natural park of the massif de la Chartreuse, which straddles the département's border with the Dauphiné region. One of the most remarkable sites in the area is the cirque de St-Même, a vertiginious horseshoe-shaped formation of limestone from which a river gushes out in a series of impressive waterfalls. The area is most famous for its monastery, and for the liqueur which is still made in the town of Voiron.

Specialities of the area include salted and smoked meats (hams and dry sausages), the traditional winter food of farming communities. Drawn from Alpine flowers and forst pines, the honey of the Savoie is noted for its delicate scent. Despite the apparent harsh climate, Savoie is a wine-producing département: most vineyards are in the Combe de Savoie and Chautagne areas, at the end of Lake Bourget. The white wines are dry and fruity or semi-sparkling: Abymes, Apremont and Chignin. The reds include Gamay de Savoir, Gamay de Chautagne and Mondeuse. The famous cheeses of the region include Tomme, Gruyère des Bauges, vacherin and chevrotin.

Thanks to the popularity of skiing, most people are familiar with the region's cheese specialities, fondue and raclette, the latter being served especially with jacket potatoes.

Haute-Savoie (74)

Population: 568,000
Principal city: Annecy
Tourist board

Haute-Savoie is well known for being home to the highest mountain in Europe, le mont Blanc, but it's also where you'll find the deepest known pothole in the world, the gouffre de Jean-Bernard. Along with its sister département of Savoie, it is also the home of the most famous ski resorts in France, including Chamonix, Les Gets, La Clusaz, Flaine, Samoëns, Morzine-Avoriaz and Megève.

The département's delightful lakeside capital Annecy is known as the Pearl of the Alps. It is full of narrow flower-decked streets and canals, and has been the backdrop for numerous feature films.

Situated on the edge of Lake Geneva, in the medieval village of Yvoire, the Jardin des cinq sens is a recreation of a medieval garden with each part dedicated to one of the five senses. The garden is the creation of the present count and countess of Yvoire. Nearby Évian's prosperity dates from the beginning of the 20th century when, the source Cachat and its beneficial properties became known to a wider audience. The casino and the Royal Club are two of the most prestigious establishments in the town. The Domaine du Royal Club is not only a luxurious hotel, it also has in its grounds an 18-hole golf course set in 50 hectares and a world-class concert hall. The views from this hillside idyll are magnificent, with the lake below and snow-capped mountains behind.

Samoëns, once home to stonecutters and masons, is the only French ski-resort to be classified as a historic monument. A complete contrast to the modern purpose-built resorts, Samoëns offers character along with a variety of pistes. Specialities of the area include salted and smoked meats (hams and dry sausages), the traditional winter food of farming communities. Thanks to the popularity of skiing, most people are familiar with the region's cheese specialities, fondue and raclette, the latter being served especially with jacket potatoes.