Loire: Saint-Etienne's Industrial Reinvention
Loire is centred on Saint-Etienne, a city of about 175,000 that was one of France's industrial powerhouses. Arms manufacturing (the MAS factory), coal mining, ribbon-making, and later bicycle production (Saint-Etienne was the centre of French cycling manufacturing) built the city. The Manufacture d'Armes closed, the mines shut, but the city has been designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design.
The Pilat Regional Natural Park rises to over 1,400 metres between Saint-Etienne and the Rhone valley. Roanne, in the north, is known for the Troisgros restaurant, a three-Michelin-star institution. Montbrison, the historical capital, and Feurs are smaller towns in the Forez plain. The department has about 772,000 residents. The A72 motorway and regular trains connect Saint-Etienne to Lyon, thirty minutes away.
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Loire is centred on Saint-Etienne, a city of about 175,000 that was one of France's industrial powerhouses. Arms manufacturing (the MAS factory), coal mining, ribbon-making, and later bicycle production (Saint-Etienne was the centre of French cycling manufacturing) built the city. The Manufacture d'Armes closed, the mines shut, but the city has been designated a UNESCO Creative City of Design.
The Pilat Regional Natural Park rises to over 1,400 metres between Saint-Etienne and the Rhone valley. Roanne, in the north, is known for the Troisgros restaurant, a three-Michelin-star institution. Montbrison, the historical capital, and Feurs are smaller towns in the Forez plain. The department has about 772,000 residents. The A72 motorway and regular trains connect Saint-Etienne to Lyon, thirty minutes away.
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