Stage 10Mâcon / Bellegarde-sur-Valserine

Mâcon

Situated between Beaune and Lyon, Mâcon has all the charm and authenticity of Southern Burgundy.  Today a prefecture of Sâone-et-Loire it is a city with a merchant tradition which was founded in the first century BC by the Celts and that has inherited a great heritage from its rich past. Over the Sâone looms the famous Roche de Solutré, the typical wine grower’s villages and many castles still mark the passage of the poet Alphonse de Lamartine, a child of the region. We cannot even think about Burgundy, land of good living, without mentioning the gastronomy. Alongside local food specialties are the Mâconnais wines of high renown.  With 50 million bottles a year, it is not by chance that Mâcon welcomes le Concours des Grands Vins de France every year.  To taste Mâcon is also to enjoy a town that has nearly 600 hectares of green spaces and holds many events to light up the town throughout the year.   In 2011 it was elected the Sports Town of Burgundy, in part due to the 85 sporting facilities in the town which promote the joy of sport.