The Charolais-Brionnais region (french: Pays Charolais-Brionnais) is located in the southwest of the

French department In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-s ...

of the

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

. Created in 2004, the region comprises a population of 90,000 inhabitants across 129 municipalities.

Geography

The Charolais-Brionnais region is home to the renowned

Charolais cattle The Charolais () or Charolaise () is a French breed of taurine beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the Charolais area surrounding Charolles, in the Saône-et-Loire department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern F ...

and is an applicant for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

status as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

to preserve, consolidate and transmit this resource. The

Loire River The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...

, flanked by its adjoining canals, flows on the western edge of Charolais-Brionnais. The

EuroVelo ''EuroVelo'' is a network of currently 17 long-distance cycling routes criss-crossing Europe, in various stages of completion. When completed, the EuroVelo network's total length will almost be . more than were in place. EuroVelo is a project of ...

long-distance cycling route Long-distance cycling routes are designated cycling routes in various countries around the world for bicycle tourism. These routes include anything from longer rail trails, to national cycling route networks like the Dutch LF-routes,the French V ...

EV6, also named the Rivers Route, leaves the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

Digoin Digoin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. The junction of the '' Canal du Centre'' and the '' Canal latéral à la Loire'' is near Digoin. Geography The river Bourbinc ...

for the Canal du Centre, where it starts its way through the Charolais.https://en.eurovelo.com/ev6/from-nevers-to-basel The Charolais-Brionnais was awarded with two food certifications of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

(protected designation of origin; french: Appellation d'origine protégée) for AOP Charolles Beef and AOP Charolais Goat Cheese. File:Fromage charolais.jpg, Charolais goat cheese File:Bourgogne-charolais-cattle.jpg,

Noteworthy landmarks and towns

Paray-le-Monial Paray-le-Monial is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Paray-le-Monial part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. It is nicknamed the "city of the Sacred Heart ...

, nicknamed the city of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

Charolles Charolles (; Burgundian: ''Tsarolles'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Charolles part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. Geography Charolles is located ...

, nicknamed the Venice of the Charolais *

Bourbon-Lancy Bourbon-Lancy is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a rural town on the river Loire with a walled medieval area on the dominant hill. It has an authentic medieval belfr ...

, a spa town with a 2,000-year history *

La Clayette La Clayette () is a commune in the east-central French department of Saône-et-Loire. Geography La Clayette is situated in the southernmost part of Burgundy, north of the historical province of Beaujolais. It belongs to an area designated sinc ...

and its 14th- and 19th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Semur-en-Brionnais Semur-en-Brionnais () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Sights * The oldest castle in Burgundy, Château Saint Hugues, dating from 9th century. * The collegiale Saint Hi ...

and its 9th-century castle, one of the oldest in

File:ParayLeMonialBasilique.jpg, Basilica of the Sacred Heart in

File:Grand pont Charolles.jpg, The town of

in the Charolais File:Château de La Clayette (2022).jpg,

Château de La Clayette The Château de La Clayette is a 14th- and 19th-century castle in the French town of La Clayette, situated in south-western Burgundy, in the north of the historical province of Beaujolais. It is a listed historical monument. Description Origina ...

in the Brionnais File:Bourbon-Lancy 4.JPG, Medieval center of

References

External links

* {{cite web, language=fr, title=Official website for the Charolais-Brionnais region, url=https://www.tourismecharolaisbrionnais.fr/ Geography of Saône-et-Loire