Its eight departments (Loire, Rhône, Ain, Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Isère, Ardèche and Drôme), its surface area and its population (10% of the total population of France) make it the second biggest region in France. It also contains, in the shape of Lyon, the second biggest city (with 1.3 million inhabitants) and two other big cities, Grenoble (405,000 people) and Saint-Etienne (315,000).

Evian town hall and former spa centre (Haute-Savoie, Rhône-Alpes region)

Lyon was a silk capital in the 16th century, and nowadays it is the hub of a large synthetic fabrics industry, the base for many banking headquarters and the setting for an exciting cultural scene (with museums, operas and so on). Lyon is now a regional metropolis with a European outlook.

Beaufort (Savoie, Rhône-Alpes region)

Grenoble has a special advantage with tourists, due to the presence of the mountains of the Dauphiné. It is an important university town, with many research centres and laboratories.

Lyon-Perrache station (Rhône-Alpes region)

After the regions of the Midi, Rhône-Alpes is the one which most attracts the French. Many tourists visit the centre, east and south of the region and it has a strong economy in the north. It has a large chemicals industry, produces aluminium and manufactures nuclear fuels and transport equipment.