Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes · France
Where to stay in Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne is a city in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, home to about 173,000 people.
- Best months
- July and August
- Nearest airport
- LYS64 km · Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Paris
- Language
- French
About
About Saint-Étienne
The city is on the Furan or Furens River, at the foot of the Pilat Massif. It is around 59 km (37 miles) southwest of Lyon and 53 km (33 miles) from Vienne. A legend states that in Roman times, it was a settlement with the name Furanum, from the name of the Furan River. The name was then changed to Furania, a name it would keep until the Middle Ages. The first written traces of the city's history date to 1258 when the town was called Sancti Stephani de Furano after Saint Stephen (Saint Étienne in French).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Saint-Étienne
See
Saint-Étienne has many elegant buildings, several attractive squares and some narrow, pedestrian streets. Here is a list of streets and squares to explore all of which are within walking distance of Place du Peuple. The locations can be found on Google Maps.
- Maison François 1st
- Museum of Modern Art
- Museum Art & Industry
- Museum the Mine
- Musée des transports urbains
- Planétarium de Saint-Étienne
- Church of Saint-Pierre, Firminy
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Saint-Étienne
7 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Auberge Du Lac | 24.9 km | |
| Best Western Saint-Etienne Porte du Forez | 13.9 km | |
| Domaine la Charpinière, the Originals Collection | 18.3 km | |
| Hotel Astoria | 2.1 km | |
| Hotel Du Golf | 2.9 km | |
| Le Berthoir | 21.7 km | |
| Novotel Saint-Étienne Centre Gare Châteaucreux | 1.3 km |
All 7 hotels in Saint-Étienne, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit Saint-Étienne
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Saint-Étienne are July and August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; November is the wettest, with about 91 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Saint-Étienne: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS), about 64 km from the city centre in a straight line; Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport (GNB, 74 km) and Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airport (CFE, 103 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
Société de Transports de l'Agglomération Stéphanoise, or STAS operates a public transport network and infrastructure in and around Saint-Étienne. Its responsibility is to provide tramway, trolleybus and bus service in the fifteen communes of the Saint-Étienne agglomeration. The STAS is operating as well an automatic bike sharing scheme called Vélivert. Smartcard needed.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
LYS · Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport
GNB · Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport
CFE · Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airport
Questions
Saint-Étienne: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Saint-Étienne?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Saint-Étienne are July and August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 24 °C; November is the wettest, with about 91 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Saint-Étienne?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS), about 64 km from the city centre in a straight line; Grenoble Alpes Isère Airport (GNB, 74 km) and Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airport (CFE, 103 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Saint-Étienne?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Saint-Étienne
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.