Discover Rhone – Alpes!

Discover Rhone – Alpes! The Most Interesting Facts About Rhone – Alpes That Will Help You To Discover it better….

It has been over 1 year and a half that I have been living (and exploring!) France and Rhone Alpes especially! Starting with Lyon which is my place to be, I love to take part in activities around the city as well as go for trips to discover the French region more and more. So slowly I have been learning more about Rhone Alpes region of France…my new home and now  I would love to share my observations and knowledge with you.

Let me present you Rhone Alpes in an easy and compact way! Yes, I do love my bullet points! But can you resist them? They will keep it all ‘short and sweet’ & ‘well organized and interesting’. As I found out the Rhone – Alpes region is pretty  big, comprehensive and also too fascinating to be presented simply. So this is a reason I decided to choose Not All But The Most Interesting Facts About Rhone – Alpes That Will Help You To Discover it better….

Rhone – Alpes Region of France:

• is one of the largest established regions in France (it is almost exactly the size of Denmark!)
• has 6.2 million inhabitants (even more than Denmark: 5.5 million)

• represents eight departments:
  • the Rhône department (69) with f Lyon,
  • the Ain (01) with the Bresse plain and the southern part of the Jura;
  • the Haute Savoie (74)
  • Savoie (73)
  • the Loire (42)
  • the Isère (38)
  • the Ardèche, (07)
  • the Drôme (26)

• became Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne with new bigger cities: Lyon, Grenoble and St. Etienne (2016)

• has a Capital of Gastronomy: Lyon and Capital of Design (St.Etienne)
• is the biggest ski area in the world (has more than 180 ski resorts. 6,000km of slopes)

• has two National Parks and six Regional Parks (covers over  600,000 ha of Natural Parks)   

  

• is France’s number 1 thermal resort (has 16 thermal stations and receive 100,000 visitors each year)

• has Europe’s highest peak: Mont Blanc 4,808 meters
• has over 60 golf courses       

• is French main gastronomic region with the Pope of Cuisine – Paul Bocuse and  5 top-rated three-star Michelin chefs                        
• has a mixed economy:
  • Lyon – petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries
  • Grenoble –  high-tech city (based on startups & international firms)
  • St. Etienne – industrial city (based on coal and steel)
  • The northern part  –  agricultural &  tourism

• is producer of green and yellow chartreuse liqueur (town of Voiron, in Isère)

• makes the Evian and Badoit mineral waters(the Haute-Savoie and Loire departments)

• has four wine-growing regions: the Beaujolais in the north, the Côteaux du Lyonnais around Lyon, the Côtes du Rhône in the south, and Savoy in the east.

BONUS 1: The best places to visit in the Rhone Alpes are: Vienne; Ambronay; Domaine de Lacroix-Laval; Chazelles-sur-Lyon; Couvent de la Tourette; Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez – “Plus Beaux Villages”; Maison d’Ampère (Electricity Museum); Château de Rochetaillée-sur-Saone ; The Grottes de Cerdon (Caves of Cerdon); Château Grillet ; Parc de Oeaisox; Perouge; The Postman Cheval Ideal Palace POSTMAN, Beaujolais; Espace Zoologique de Saint Martin La Plaine, Mont Blanc, Lac du Bourget ; Aix-les-Bains; The Alps; Domaine de Vizille – Chateau, Côtes du Rhône” vineyards ;

BONUS 2: The top cities to visit in Rhone Alpes are: Bourg en Bresse; Lyon;  Evian, Thonon; Chamonix; Mer de glace; Annecy; Le Vercors; Vienne; Grenoble; Vizille Do Tournon; Vallon-Pont-d’Arc; Montélimar; Albertville ; Chambéry, Saint-Etienne; Samoëns

Did you learn something new today? I hope you enjoyed discovering Rhone – Alpes Region of France with me. I am fascinated by France and my new home Lyon & Rhone- Alpes so I shall carry on exploring it further. If you have any other facts about it please do share with me. I am always happy to hear from you via email (aga@shopaholicfromhome.com), in the comment section or on the FB Fan Page…you can find me easily. See you soon!