Where to Stay in Saint-Étienne, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

What is Saint-Étienne known for?

The Saint-Étienne Mine Museum keeps the pits that made it a mining town, and the Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Saint-Étienne holds the ribbons, arms, and cycles of its trades. A loom left its mark. The Monument Jacquard honours the weaving that ran the ribbon works, while the Musée des Verts and the great Grand'Église round out a city of industry and football.

What are the main landmarks in Saint-Étienne?

Saint-Étienne keeps its landmarks in its industry and its faith. The Saint-Étienne Mine Museum holds the old pits, and the Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Saint-Étienne gathers the ribbons, arms, and cycles beside the Monument Jacquard. Churches mark the centre too.

The Grand'Église and Saint-Étienne Cathedral rise over the old town, while La Rotonde carries the design trade and the Musée des Verts keeps the football story.

What is the history of Saint-Étienne?

Saint-Étienne grew from a small parish into one of France's great industrial towns. Coal lay beneath its ground. The pits that the Saint-Étienne Mine Museum preserves drew workers to the valley, and around the coal grew the trades of ribbon-weaving, arms, and cycles that the Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Saint-Étienne gathers.

A loom transformed the ribbons. The Monument Jacquard marks the weaving that made the city a ribbon capital, and the mills and workshops spread along the streets while the Grand'Église and the older Église Saint-Ennemond held the parish faith. The town rose with its industry.

Saint-Étienne Cathedral and the Abbey of Valbenoîte anchored the growing city, and the collections of the Musée d'Art et d'Industrie de Saint-Étienne recorded a working past. Design followed the making. From that trade the city carried its craft into a later age, a story told at La Rotonde and remembered across the old industrial streets.

Where is Saint-Étienne?

Saint-Étienne lies in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, spread along a valley on the edge of the old coal basin. The city runs in a long line, with the Grand'Église and Saint-Étienne Cathedral in the centre and the old pits of the Saint-Étienne Mine Museum on the slopes above. Green hills close the valley around.

The Abbey of Valbenoîte stands toward the upper end, and the industrial quarters spread down the long axis of the town.

What is the climate of Saint-Étienne?

Saint-Étienne has a temperate climate cooled by the hills that ring its valley. Warm summers settle over the long town while the higher slopes hold cooler air, and winter brings frost and grey days to the old coal basin. Rain follows the seasons.

The green rises above the Saint-Étienne Mine Museum turn wet in the shorter days, and snow can dust the ridges around the valley.

How do you get to Saint-Étienne?

Saint-Étienne sits on the rail and road routes that cross Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Trains reach the city along the valley line, and a tram runs the length of the long central axis past the Grand'Église. The old town is walkable.

Motorways meet close by, and the roads climb out of the valley over the surrounding hills.