AboutLyon and its region

Located at the confluence of rivers Rhône and Saône, middle way between Paris and Mediterranean sea, and only 100km from Geneva, Lyon is at the crossroads of all European routes.

Lyon is the administrative center of the région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes which gathers twelve departments (Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Haute-Loire, Puy de Dôme, Rhône, Savoie and Haute-Savoie). It is the second French region for extent, population, and economy. Its territory stretches from the mountains of Massif Central to the Swiss and Italian borders. It is a wonderful place for a lot of various activities and its skiable domain is renowned for its importance and its quality. It includes the highest point in Europe, the Mont-Blanc which is 4807 meters high. The great circular tunnel of the CERN LHC is partly located under Rhône-Alpes surface and IN2P3, the computer center of CERN, is located in Lyon.

Universities are located in Chambery, Grenoble, Lyon, and St-Etienne, but Lyon and Grenoble are two major places for French research. Grenoble hosts an important computer science research center of INRIA.

Lyon is also the place where Lumière brothers invented the Cinématographe. The Lumière institute is a genuine Living Museum of the Cinema with a double vocation of heritage conservation, and public-oriented activities.

The historic site of Lyon is inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List since 1998. Moreover is Lyon ideally located to take a world heritage tour in France.

Some interest points of region Rhône-Alpes:

Lyon a major town in France and Europe

Lyon, at the crossroads of Europe : The flight time from the most important European hubs, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Munich and Paris, is less than one hour, and the TGV (high speed train) places Lyon at a short travel time from major European towns: 1h55 from Paris, 1h40 from Marseille, 3h50 from Brussels, 5h from London.

Additionally, since WWW2012, Lyon international airport has grown and will continue to grow till 2019. A brand new terminal is in preparation allowing for more flights from more destinations. Very recently, Lyon International airport has been offering direct non-stop flights to Dubai. Emirates, who operate the flight are set to expand their presence at Lyon Airport in the years to come with possible links to cities in China and the middle east.

Tourism in France: