You are in Southern Burgundy and to set the scene, a few figures are enough. Saône-et-Loire has about 250 Romanesque churches and chapels, 190 castles, from the feudal fortress to the gentleman's residence and the Renaissance castle, of which about thirty are open to visitors, 100 museums, 7 caves and archaeological sites, not to mention a remarkable industrial heritage. Not to be missed: Paray-le-Monial and its Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the castle of Cormatin, that of Sully and that of Brancion, the abbey of Cluny and that of Tournus. Saône-et-Loire is also Chalon-sur-Saône and Mâcon, two beautiful cities along the Rhône, gastronomic tables and excellent wines, but also a territory of know-how. Go on the road of factories and factory stores, heritage companies, sock factories, chocolate or cigar factories, earthenware factories or perfumeries.
Come and hike on the mariners' path, in the bocage, the vineyard or in the undergrowth, come and sail on the Saône, the Seille or the canal from Roanne to Digoin, come with your family to visit the theme parks and take advantage of the activities dedicated to children. To continue with the numbers, this country has thirty appellations of wine AOC and other AOP, Bresse poultry, goat cheese from the Mâconnais and Charolais, Charolles beef, Bresse churn butter, Bresse cream. So many good things! Finally, this department is home to the Solutré rock, a great site in France, a prehistoric, landscape and wine-growing site in the Macônais region that attracts many visitors.
In Saône-et-Loire, there is nothing fixed in the landscape or the climate: the weather changes quickly and the lights are varied, the atmospheres too, sometimes it is the fog that blurs the outlines, sometimes it is the sun that makes the blond stones of the houses and the rock of the hillsides glow. But of course, it is in summer that the sun shines the most. And it is in summer that the high tourist season takes place. Autumn is also very busy, especially in the vineyards. On Pentecost Sunday, the friends of François Mitterrand perpetuate the pilgrimage on the rock of Solutré. For the great street theater festival of Chalon-sur-Saône, Chalon dans la rue, it is in July that you should come to Saône-et-Loire.
Saône-et-Loire has a temperate climate with a slight continental trend. The climate is temperate overall, with a continental influence in the northern parts, while the south, with the Rhone corridor, benefits from the Mediterranean influence. The weather is changeable: dry and hot in Bresse, mild in the Mâconnais mountains and the Côte Chalonnaise, foggy in the valleys, 180 days of rain or snow per year and torrential showers in the Morvan.
