Rhone: Lyon's Gastronomy and Beaujolais Wine Country
Rhone, since 2015 split from the Metropole de Lyon for administrative purposes, contains Lyon's surrounding communes and countryside but no longer includes Lyon itself for departmental governance. Lyon, however, remains the cultural and economic centre. It is France's third-largest city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its Renaissance old town (Vieux Lyon), and widely regarded as the gastronomic capital of France. Paul Bocuse operated from Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or for decades.
The Beaujolais wine region fills the northern part of the department, producing both the mass-market Beaujolais Nouveau and serious cru wines from villages like Fleurie, Morgon, and Moulin-a-Vent. Villefranche-sur-Saone is the main town in the Beaujolais. The department's population (excluding Lyon Metropole) is around 440,000, but the broader Lyon metropolitan area exceeds 1.7 million. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries (Sanofi, bioMerieux), textiles, and tech (Lyon is a growing hub) anchor the economy.
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Rhone, since 2015 split from the Metropole de Lyon for administrative purposes, contains Lyon's surrounding communes and countryside but no longer includes Lyon itself for departmental governance. Lyon, however, remains the cultural and economic centre. It is France's third-largest city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its Renaissance old town (Vieux Lyon), and widely regarded as the gastronomic capital of France. Paul Bocuse operated from Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or for decades.
The Beaujolais wine region fills the northern part of the department, producing both the mass-market Beaujolais Nouveau and serious cru wines from villages like Fleurie, Morgon, and Moulin-a-Vent. Villefranche-sur-Saone is the main town in the Beaujolais. The department's population (excluding Lyon Metropole) is around 440,000, but the broader Lyon metropolitan area exceeds 1.7 million. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries (Sanofi, bioMerieux), textiles, and tech (Lyon is a growing hub) anchor the economy.
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