Major university cities and a renowned research network centre: welcome to Lyon and Saint-Etienne!

Lyon is the largest university city in France (after Paris) with 120,000 students, 13% of whom are foreign students.
The research sector is very active: 10,000 researchers and teacher-researchers work in 550 public and private laboratories. The centres of excellence are: fine and molecular chemistry, clinical research, human biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, pharmacology, biological and medical engineering, medical imagery, engineering science, materials science, mathematics and scientific calculus.
Saint-Etienne has all the modern features of a urban landscape: a tramway zips up and down the main street and provides a direct link from the town centre to the main train station, and there are numerous pedestrianised areas and cycle paths. Saint-Etienne is a leader in various fields: Mechanics (first region in France), Subcontracting, Surface Treatment (first region in France), Tight Textiles (international centre). It is also a centre for Medical Technologies Centre, Water, Optics & Vision.



Cities full history and culture

The historical site of Lyon is home to an exceptional architectural and urban heritage. For this reason, UNESCO classed it as a World Heritage site in 1998. Lyon has an Opera House and a National Symphony Orchestra, a National Centre for Contemporary Art, a renowned theatre for dance, the Lumière Cinema Institute in homage to the creators of the first film in the history of cinema (which was made in Lyon) and numerous sites for artistic creation. There is an exceptional variety on offer in all fields: film, theatre, music, dance, museums, themed cafes, public university lectures and much more. A series of major events punctuate the city’s cultural life: for example, the biennial dance festival, the biennial contemporary art festival, the Nuits de Fourvière (popular and classical concerts, plus theatre, in the Roman amphitheatre). In addition, every year, on 8th December, the city is illuminated for the Festival of Light.
Saint-Etienne is the 14th largest town in France with 180,000 inhabitants in a greater urban district of 540,000 inhabitants. Just 60 km away, Lyon is within easy reach, as is Grenoble some 150 km away, while Paris is only 2 hrs 40 mins away by train. Saint-Etienne has been elected “City of Art & History” thanks to its 19th and 20th Century architectural heritage. The heritage echoes the city’s economic past: ribbons, textiles, mining, arms manufacture.


A region that is open and dynamic

The Rhone-Alps Region is the second economic region in France and is one of the most important economic regions in Europe. It is home to as many people as Denmark or Finland. In terms of size, the region can be compared to the largest German regions. It shares a border with Switzerland and Italy. The Rhone-Alps Region has a remarkable, and protected, natural heritage thanks to the diversity of its climatic influences and the natural sites it contains: the Massif Central to the west, the Rhone valley in the centre and the Alps to the east. Natural parks cover 10% of the region.
Its vitality comes from a wide range of activities in sectors of health, biotechnology, chemistry, textiles, environment, IT, mechanics, food industry etc. The high technology sector is particularly dynamic, strengthened by research and higher education, as is tourism, both in the winter and in the summer.
The Rhone-Alps Region has adopted a highly active international policy and, for this reason, has developed numerous cooperation agreements with various regions across Europe and the rest of the world. It supports international investment in education establishments and student mobility.