Villefranche-sur-Saône

Founded in the twelfth century as a tax-exempt town, which gave it its name, Villefranche-sur-Saône grew along a straight rue Nationale more than three kilometres long, lined with jettied houses and Renaissance mansions that bear witness to the town's former cloth-trade prosperity. The collegiate church of Notre-Dame-des-Marais, whose Flamboyant façade contrasts with the sobriety of the rest of the building, marks the historic heart of this sub-prefecture nicknamed "la Calade" by its residents. Undisputed capital of the Beaujolais vineyards that spread over the surrounding slopes, the town celebrates the release of Beaujolais nouveau every year with particular fervour, while its market, one of the busiest in the Lyon area, enlivens the town centre every Saturday.

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