Skip to content
Geonivora
Region

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Located in France Coordinates: 45°28′55″ N 5°22′28″ E

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Xhark · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Population
8,163,884
8.2M
Elevation
532 m
above sea level
Local time
UTC+01:00
Europe/Paris · UTC+01:00
Places inside
187
listed under Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
When to go
June–September
See the climate
Airports
GNB Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport14 km
LYS Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport35 km

About Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a region. Location: France. Population: 8,163,884.

From Wikipedia

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (French pronunciation: [ovɛʁɲ ʁonalp] ; AURA) is a landlocked region in Southern France. It was created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into effect on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015. The region covers an area of 69,711 km2 (26,916 mi2), making it the third largest in metropolitan France; it had a population of 7,994,459 in 2018, second to Île-de-France.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Built
2016
Area
69,711 km²

Source: Wikidata

Travel notes for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

From Wikivoyage

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a large region in southeastern France. It is popular with all kinds of visitors, from mountaineers and winter sports enthusiasts, to gastronomes, wine buffs, and those looking for a city break. To the west, Auvergne is a mostly rural area of medium volcanic mountains (the Massif Central) and an abundance of interesting churches. Visitors to the Rhone Valley in the centre of the region can enjoy a temperate climate, rocky canyons, extensive vineyards and the urban area of Lyon, one of France's most important cities. In the east, the stunningly beautiful French Alps are havens for all manner of outdoor activities, not least skiing.

Understand+

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.

Tourist information:

Get in+

By plane:

Major airports:

Geneva International Airport (GVA IATA), though not in either Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes or even France (it is just over the border in Switzerland), Geneva has by far the widest range of international flights of any airport in the area, due to its important role in world diplomacy. The airport welcomes flights from pretty much everywhere in Europe and the Middle East, as well as transatlantic crossings from New York JFK, Newark and Washington Dulles and a solitary far-eastern link to Beijing Capital. Passengers on 'domestic' flights from France leave the airport on the French side, without ever having to officially enter Switzerland, while all other passengers must leave on the Swiss side. As Switzerland is a member of the Schengen agreement, this should pose no additional visa troubles.

Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS IATA), named for pioneering aviator and Lyon native Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, handles flights from all over Europe and North Africa. The only transatlantic flight is an Air Canada service from Montreal Trudeau.

Minor and seasonal airports:

Chambéry Airport (CMF IATA) operates in winter for the annual skiing season. It receives flights from plenty of European cities, including several competing services from Moscow Domodedovo. Outside of winter, don't expect to be able to fly there.

Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport (CFE IATA) serves a limited number of regular flights from around France (including Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly) and Europe (Amsterdam Schiphol, London Luton, London Stansted and Porto)

Grenoble Isère Airport (GNB IATA) is also pretty much entirely seasonal. During the winter ski months, there are direct services from many British and European airports, and even from as far afield as Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, while the rest of the year, only Ryanair offers regular flights from London Stansted.

By train:

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged

Places bordering Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Population of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes over time

Population of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes over time
2013 7,757,595
2014 7,820,966
2015 7,877,698
2017 7,948,287
2018 7,994,459
2019 8,042,936
2020 8,078,652
2021 8,114,361
2022 8,163,884
2023 8,205,557

Censuses and official estimates; source: Wikidata.

Climate of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Best months for sightseeing

Best months for sightseeing: June–September.

This month · November

A cold month

Day 9° · Night 2° · Rain 98 mm

Hottest month
July (day 26°)
Coldest month
January (night -2°)
Wettest month
September (110 mm)
Driest month
July (68 mm)

Bars: average monthly low and high temperature. Below: precipitation. Monthly averages for 1970–2000 at about 18 km resolution, adjusted for elevation. Highlighted months are mild and relatively dry. Source: WorldClim 2.1 (CC BY 4.0).

Show values as a table
Climate of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Month JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Average high (°C)5°7°11°14°19°22°26°25°21°15°9°6°
Average low (°C)-2°-1°1°4°8°11°13°13°10°6°2°-1°
Precipitation (mm)757283911049368711101099879

Other places to visit in this season: June July August September

How to get to Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

The nearest airport is Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport (GNB), 14 km to the south as the crow flies. For international flights: Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS) (35 km). The nearest large city is Grenoble, 43 km to the southeast.

Airports

  • Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport (GNB) Grenoble 14 kmsouth
  • Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS) Colombier-Saugnieu, Rhône 35 kmnorthwest
  • Chambéry Aix les Bains airport (CMF) Chambéry 43 kmnortheast

Nearby large cities

  • Grenoble Population: 158.6K 43 kmsoutheast
  • Villeurbanne Population: 131.4K 50 kmnorthwest
  • Lyon Population: 520.8K 51 kmnorthwest
  • Saint-Etienne Population: 176.3K 77 kmwest
  • Geneva Population: 201.7K 100 kmnortheast

Straight-line distances; road distances are longer. Airport data: OurAirports.

Places in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

187 places

Cities & villages35

Mountains & nature13

Lakes, rivers & coasts11

Heritage & sights1

Largest cities and towns

Nature and heritage in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Sources & licences

Data last updated: · 2 independent sources