THEThe black coal dust has dissolved and the weapons are a distant memory. In their place they imposed themselves colours, creativity and contemporary art. In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, a heterogeneous territory almost as large as the Republic of Ireland, the city of Saint-Étienne has reinvented itself, transforming the “harshness” of its history into urban regeneration, the harbinger of a new vision.
The turning point of Saint-Étienne
From the past emerges the image of an important industrial city: coal mining since the 13th century and manufacturing of weapons since the 17th century complete with a royal decree of 1764 for the establishment of Manufacture d’armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS). These productions were joined by those of bicycles and trimmings, which resulted in a further increase in the economy. All activities whose peak occurred from the nineteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century. Then, the turning point.
The last mine closed in 1973 and when the MAS arms activity ceased in 2000, the locality has made its past living material for a new socio-cultural course. A challenge won: in 2010 it was recognized as “Creative City of Design” within the scope of Unesco Creative Cities Network. Fulcrum of the renewal, the Cité du Design (citedudesign.com). Born in the enormous industrial site of MAS, it is the stage of the International Design Biennial Saint-Étienne (next edition: spring 2027) and home to ESADSE, the high school of art and design.
The Blue Horses by artist Assan Smati in front of the Saint-Étienne-Châteaucreux train station. Photo by Massimo Ripani
The citadel, open all year round, allows visitors to “breathe” the glorious past transformed into lively contemporaneity through renovated nineteenth-century buildings, old warehouses converted into new spaces, or among the tropical plants of the Serre Médiathèque in the Platine, an emblematic building of regeneration, designed by the German architect-urban planner Finn Geipel. Furthermore, the Cité will be open until 27.02.2026 show “Bibliothérapies”, on reading as a healing practice.
An impressive museum dedicated to miners
Following the industrial past of the city, we visit the Musée de la Mine in the former Puits Couriot mining site closed in 1973, for an immersion – even underground – in the miserable life of the miners. It’s impressive the dressing room, known as the “hanging room”: to optimize the space, over a thousand work baskets (with helmet, boots and overalls, wooden slippers for the shower, soap, mirror and towel) were hung from the ceiling with a manual up-and-down chain system.
The greenhouse inside the Platine in the Cité del Design. Photo by Massimo Ripani
In the Musée d’Art et d’Industrieinstead, we retrace the history of the production of bicycles, trimmings and weapons in the city. Among the curiosities to see, the largest collection of textile ribbons in the world and the first French bike born in 1886, the Hirondelle (swallow). Equipped with the flic – the policemen – it owes its name to their black cape, which, rising with the wind, evoked the silhouette of the birds. Also not to be missed Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Mamc+with around 20,000 works, from Picasso to Warhol. Designed by architect Didier Guichard, it features black ceramic external facades in homage to Saint-Étienne’s mining past. The modern container is dedicated only to temporary exhibitions and reopens on November 8 with new exhibitions.
More commerce than heraldic coats of arms
Saint-Étienne is a city of substance rather than postcard; in fact, in the golden age the inhabitants were mainly rich traders. Social status was expressed by the availability of argent, money, and not by heraldic coats of arms. You can feel it in place de l’Hôtel de Villewhere the imposing Town Hall (1822) competes with the larger Colcombet building in front, built in 1840 by the family of the same name to show off their “material power”.
A room of the Mamc+ Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Photo by Massimo Ripani
In the center of Saint-Étienne, the squares have always been an attraction. Like Place Neuve, which once attracted pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago; today, together with the adjacent rue des Martyrs de Vingré (the most characteristic) it is among the residents’ favorites for enjoying an aperitif; or place Boivin, dominated by the Demeure Chamoncel formed by two splendid joined residences from the 15th and 16th centuries. If you love Street Artinstead, we go to Mausa H07 in Saint Chamond, 13 kilometers from Saint-Étienne. Opening on May 24, 2025 in a former military tank components steelworks from 1899, it displays works by international artists on the walls and on old caravans.
Work by artist Sipros Sipros at Mausa H07, Museum of Urban Arts in Saint Chamond. Photo by Massimo Ripani
And then there is the visionary Le Corbusier, whose 60th anniversary of death this year marks. About ten kilometers from Saint-Étienne, in Firminy, there is a concentration of architecture by the Franco-Swiss artist, unique in Europe. In the fifties, the architect he was called by the mayor to design the new Firminy-Vert district according to his unmistakable style. Thus the Maison de la Culture was born, a multifunctional cultural centre; the Stadium, on the idea of sport as a social infrastructure; the Unité d’Habitation, an innovative tower block with 414 apartments, one of which can only be seen with a guided tour (sitelecorbusier.com); and the iconic Church of Saint-Pierre with a pyramid-truncated cone shape, completed in 2006 by José Oubrerie.
Apartment of the ‘Unité d’Habitation de Firminy-Vert, project by Le Corbusier. Photo by Massimo Ripani
Lyon, ancient heart and museums designed by star architects
From Saint-Étienne other pleasant discoveries await the traveller: Malleval, a medieval village with a handful of stone houses nestled in a valley surrounded by hills planted with vineyards, or the silent hamlet of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez gathered around the Charterhouse of 1280. But above all it can be reached Lyon (60 km away) which alone is worth the trip.
Charterhouse of Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez. Photo by Massimo Ripani
Located at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers, it is as attractive as a capital but at the same time has the short pace of a neighborhoodwith the main areas adjacent to each other, where orientation is intuitive between the two rivers. On one side the Saone forms the backdrop to Old Lyon, on the other the Rhone forms the banks of the new cityin the middle stretches the Presqu’île, the peninsula, the “Lyon Manhattan” but without skyscrapers.
In this middle ground, surrounded by Renaissance and Baroque houses, the squares are scenography of marble and jets, such as place des Terreaux, or open-air “stages” such as place Bellecour, among the largest in Europe, while along the banks of quai Saint-Antoine and quai de la Pêcherie daily life unfolds between the food market and the antique book market.
Following the thread of renewal and art, Lyon is no exception. The largest urban regeneration intervention is at the Grand Hôtel-Dieu: a hospital from 1184 until 2010, since 2018 it has been reborn as a multifunctional hub with shops, cultural spaces, restaurants and the luxurious InterContinental Hotel. The complex has maintained its splendid eighteenth-century monumental layout.
Reaching the tip of the Presqu’île, the Musée des Confluencesinstead, is an architectural icon in steel and glass, with immersive exhibitions spanning natural sciences, anthropology and history of cultures. Not to be missed. So is the macLYON, Museum of Contemporary Art designed by Renzo Piano. Developed over three floors, it only displays temporary exhibitions. In front of the museum, the 19th-century Parc de la Tête d’Or extends across 117 hectares, which is in Lyon like Central Park in New York, complete with a pond.
The interior of the Musée des Confluences, in Lyon. Photo by Massimo Ripani
The scenery changes again in Vieux Lyon, which, nestled in a seductive network of pedestrian streets, boasts the most iconic churches of the city: the Saint-Jean Cathedral and the Basilica of Notre-Dame of Fourvière with an eclectic “Roman-Byzantine-Gothic” style, which stands out on the hill of the same name which can be reached by the funicular called ficelle, spago by the Lyonnais. In addition to the monuments, Lyon is considered a gourmet city and the ancient heart holds the highest presence of restaurants in France. After all, here, chef Paul Bocuse, son of this land, left his mark on the cuisine. Of renewal.
The Saint-Jean Cathedral in the heart of the old quarter of Lyon. Photo by Massimo Ripani
Where to sleep
Bayard Bellecour
23 place Bellecour, Lyon. Hotel with a retro atmosphere in a 1571 building overlooking the largest square in the city. Located in the Presqu’île, it offers 26 rooms with antique furniture, but above all a superb breakfast with freshly prepared pastries. Double room in b&b from €170. hotelbayard.fr
Where to eat
Le Bistrot de la Galerie
10 rue des Aciéries, Saint-Étienne. Informal atmosphere, good local cuisine and a cellar with 300 labels. Open only for lunch, it is located inside the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Mamc+. bistrotdelagalerie.com
Grive Épicier Bistrotier
1 rue du Viel Renversé, Lyon. Small restaurant overlooking the Saone river, with a large outdoor area in good weather. It offers Lyonnais cuisine with Asian and South American fusion touches. griveepicierbistrotier.com
The heart of the old city in Lyon is full of charming restaurants. (Getty Images)
What to buy
Chocolat Weiss
8 rue Général Foy, Saint-Étienne. Ancient chocolate shop founded in 1882 by the Alsatian Eugène Weiss. The maîtres chocolatiers still offer chocolate in numerous variations today. Outside the city we visit the factory: “Weiss Laboratories”, equipped with refreshment facilities. chocolat-weiss.fr
INFO
saintetienne.com; onlylyon.com; auvergnerhonealpes-tourisme.com