Mâcon is a small city in the east of the centre of France, located in the province of Burgundy. The surrounding area is home to many wineries that make burgundy wine, or drive 20 mins south and visit the Beaujolais wineries.

Within the city, there are plenty of museums and historic buildings to capture your imagination. The main sights include the cathedral, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hôtel de Senecé.

The city is small, and therefore walking around is easy. There are a couple of bus routes for those who prefer this option, as parking in the city is often full.

Getting there

There are two train stations. Mâcon Loché TGV is about 10 km outside of town with lines to Marseille, Lyon and Paris. Mâcon Ville is in centre of town for local trains, to Lyon, Dijon, and Bourg-en-Bresse. There is a bus connecting the two stations.

By car, Paris and Marseille are both around 4 hours away, with Dijon and Lyon about and hours drive.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Mâcon was the administrative centre of a county which belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy. Due to it’s situation at the extremity of the bridge over the River Saône, leading to territory belonging to the Duchy of Savoy, the town controlled access to what is now the Lamartinien Valley.

In 1790, the matriarch of a prominent local family gave birth to a son who remains highly visible in his hometown, the Romantic poet and historian Alphonse de Lamartine. The Revolutionary government designated Mâcon as the capital (chef-lieu) of Saône-et-Loire, a newly created département within the radical reshuffle of national government.

During World War II, Mâcon was the first town in the unoccupied zone libre between Paris and Lyon. The town was liberated on 4 September by the troops who had landed in Provence.