Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

• 🌍 Lyon — capital of the region and one of France's largest cities
• 🌍 Annecy — charming old town and stunning lake, with a wealth of canals
• 🌍 Aurillac — the end of August brings the annual street theatre festival
• 🌍 Chambéry — once the capital of the Duchy of Savoie, and the birthplace of the Rights of Man
• 🌍 Chamonix — the heart of Alpine France; the natural base for exploring Mont Blanc
• 🌍 Clermont-Ferrand — a city of modern industry ringed by extinct volcanoes
• 🌍 Grenoble — large academic centre surrounded by mountains
• 🌍 Saint-Étienne — perhaps best known to football fans, this is a topographically interesting city
• 🌍 Samoëns — a charming and typical example of a French mountain village

• 🌍 Le Grand Massif - one of France's top skiing areas at a relatively low altitude.
• 🌍 Mont Blanc - at 4,810 m, is the highest summit in the European Union.
• 🌍 Portes du Soleil - international skiing destination on the Franco-Swiss border.
• 🌍 Puy-de-Dôme - stunning rock pinnacle topped with antennae, often hidden in clouds. Look out for eagles.
• 🌍 Vanoise - a massif on the French-Italian border with large ski resorts.
• 🌍 Vercors - a prealpine massif with diverse landscapes and some wilderness areas away from the pistes.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has a huge diversity of landscapes due to its climactic and topographic variation. The topography of the region consists of two areas of high elevation, divided by the Rhône Valley, which runs north-south. The western mountains are part of the Massif Central. It is an area of high hills and plateaux, mostly made of old, acidic metamorphic rock. There are several recently extinct (geologically-speaking) volcanoes in this range. East of the Rhône Valley are the Alps. These tall, young mountains are themselves very diverse, and should be divided into at least two groups. A central part of the region is occupied by a north-south line of well-defined mountainous massifs: from north to south, Bornes, Bauges, Chartreuse, Vercors and Baronies. These mountains are mainly made of limestone and are becoming a karst landscape. Another, less prominent valley divides this central area from the eastern part of the region, the Alps proper, which contains some of Europe's highest mountains, most notably Mont Blanc. These mountains are made of acidic rocks such as granite.

The diverse climate of the region is due to a blending of four weather influences: Mediterranean in the south, Alpine in the east, Continental in the north, and Atlantic in the west. The region is well-known overseas for its agriculture, and particularly its wine industry. Lyon is considered the culinary capital of France, if not of all Europe, and there are many dishes of great renown from all around the region; see the Eat and Drink sections for more information on this.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was created in 2016 with the merger of the old regions of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes, as part of the national territorial reform. Unlike elsewhere in France, local politicians were unable to agree on a brand new name for the larger region (other exciting proposals included "Auvergne-Alpes" and "Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne"), so the provisory alphabetic amalgamation of the old names stuck.

French is the first language of nearly everyone living in the region, and locals will appreciate all efforts at speaking French even if your proficiency is not great. Like elsewhere in France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has its own regional languages which still cling on despite an almost complete lack of support from the government. Native to the Alpine region and northern Rhone valley, Arpitan (or Franco-Provençal) is a close relative of French, but the two are not mutually-intelligible. In the Auvergne and more southerly parts of the region, Occitan is spoken, as it is across the rest of southern France. Here, the local dialect of Occitan is called Auvergnat.

Visitors with limited or no grasp of French should be able to cope in large towns and cities and in the ski resorts, which are all popular with international tourists. As well as English, locals and tourist professionals may be conversant in German and Italian. Like elsewhere in the country, if you venture off the tourist trail into more rural parts, you may find it more difficult finding people who speak your language.

Mountains! There are literally hundreds to explore, across two primary ranges:

• In the west, the Massif Central is a medium-height range with lush green slopes and extinct volcanoes to explore. In fact, the Auvergne is the largest volcanic region in Europe, though the volcanoes themselves are all dormant or extinct. The Puy-de-Dôme is the most well-known of these. You can also visit an interactive volcanic theme park, Vulcania.
• In the east, the majestic Alps tower white and grey into the sky, culminating in Mont Blanc. The highest point in western Europe, the 'White Mountain' can be easily viewed from the mountain town of Chamonix. In the summer months, the slopes of the Alps are places to linger among sweet-smelling grass and wildflowers, listening to the tinkle of cow and goat bells and perhaps enjoying a picnic of local produce.

The region is liberally sprinkled with fascinating Romanesque churches, often dating to before 1000 AD. Visit, and you will quite likely hear some beautiful music, and definitely see a lot of gorgeous stained glass, set in stone dripping with history. Many parish churches have their pillars painted the way they were when they were built.

In the summer, the region is well known for paragliding, hiking, climbing and canoeing. Particularly attractive are the areas around the Ardèche, Mont-Blanc, Vanoise and Vercors.

See also: French cuisine

Lyon is known as the capital of French gastronomy, and since France has a highly credible claim at possessing the greatest national cuisine in the world, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is undoubtedly one of the best places for a bite to eat. The regional cuisine is heavily influenced by the mountains, both in the types of product historically available and the need to provide comfort and warmth through the winter. Expect plenty of smoked meats, sausages and of course cheeses. Some of the most well-known regional dishes include:

• Fondue - A steaming vat of melted cheese (traditionally gruyère) that diners consume by dipping small chunks of bread or croutons using an extremely long fork. Fondue, which literally means molten in French, is the classic après-ski supper, and a national dish of Switzerland. It has, however, become seasonally popular all over France and many restaurants around the country use their own local cheeses in place of gruyère. Simply divine.
• Gratin dauphinois or pommes de terre à la dauphinoise - Thinly-sliced potato roundels slowcooked in a casserole pot in the oven with milk or cream and garlic. A similar dish, gratin savoyard is made in the Savoie with onions and cheese instead of cream.
• Pizza à la savoyarde - While pizza is undoubtedly an Italian creation, a recipe which is popular throughout France is made with reblochon and crème fraîche as a base topping (i.e. instead of the customary tomato sauce and mozzarella), garnished with lardons, potatoes, onions and an egg.
• Potée auvergnate - Cabbage stew, Massif Central style. Made with ham hock, sausages, lard, carrots and the ever-present potatoes. Try it, love it.
• Raclette - Cheese melted by an open fire or on a special electric table-top grill; the melted part is then scraped onto your plate, and served with small firm potatoes, gherkins, pickled onions and charcuteries. A real treat even by local standards, and often reserved for special occasions such as Christmas.
• Ravioles - More commonly known in English as ravioli, French ravioles are smaller than those you may be used to, and stuffed with emmental or comté cheese. They serve as the base ingredient for many a tasty dish, including gratins and salads.
• Tartiflette - Another potato gratin, oven baked with lardons, onions and melted reblochon.
• Truffade - A sort of gratin-cum-pancake made with sliced potatoes, melted salers cheese and sometimes served with Auvergnat ham. Using similar ingredients but prepared differently is aligot, which uses creamy garlic mashed potato rather than roundels, and thus is closer to a purée. This often acts as an accompaniment to local sausages - French bangers and mash!

Yes, nearly everything is made with melted cheese, potatoes and onions! The key to French cuisine lies in a small number of high quality locally-sourced ingredients cooked in extraordinary ways, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes fits neatly into this groove, presenting fabulously simple cooking beloved by many a traveller. Unusually for France, most of the signature dishes are (or can be, with minimal modification) vegetarian friendly, but vegans and those intolerant to gluten or lactose will probably be disappointed with the preponderance of dairy.

The regional wine scene is dominated by the Rhone Valley (Côtes du Rhône). Wines of this appellation generally use Grenache grapes for reds and rosés, and Grenache blanc for whites. More premium varieties have a legally-required higher Grenache content, because the French government has its priorities sorted. The superior versions are called Côtes du Rhône Villages, while the very best are known as Crus, which use the name of their home village rather than the Rhone label. Rhone bottles are known for their longer than average necks, meaning nerdy oenophiles can pick out such a wine without even reading the label.

Other important appellations of the region are Beaujolais (see infobox), Côtes d'Auvergne, Côte roannaise and vin de Savoie. With the exception of Beaujolais, you will most likely only find the best of these in their home areas, as production isn't as extensive as with the better known French labels.

The Isère is known for its extremely strong (40-55% alcohol content) herbal liqueurs collectively known as Chartreuse. The most common variety is a kind of pea green colour, and is made with no fewer than 130 species of plant. As with many of Belgium's finest beers, Chartreuse production is in the hands of local monks! How the hours of prayer and contemplation must fly.

The health-conscious, teetotal or hungover may prefer to sample some of the region's excellent mineral water. Volvic is bottled at source in the volcanic massif of Puy-de-Dôme, while Évian comes from the town of the same name on the south shore of Lake Geneva.

The accommodation base in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is extensive and varied. Every town has at least one hotel, while large cities such as Lyon and resorts such as Chamonix have dozens. The self-catering (gîte) options are abundant as well, from cozy cottages and urban apartments to luxury chalets. The French are keen campers, and so most villages in even vaguely touristy areas have campsites with hookup points for caravans and campervans. Much more information can be found on individual destination articles.

This is a relatively low crime area, one notable issue being occasional theft of expensive ski gear during the winter sports season. The usual precautions should be taken when venturing into the mountains, and avalanches are a recurring and well-publicised threat to safety in the Alps. All the volcanoes in the region are dormant or extinct, but should one decide to wake up, you will have plenty of warning.