The Rhône’s north-south divide

Slate roofs and orange tiles dominate the vista of the Rhône Valley, France’s gateway to the Mediterranean – and there’s a reason for that

The vineyards of the southern Rhône: its best wines are often found in small unknown names

The city of Lyon is, for many, the gateway to southern France and the beginning of the Mediterranean. It is France’s largest inland port and a main harbour for the petrol industry, with vast barges unloading oil into vast refineries that occupy almost the entire south of the city.

Lyon feels plugged directly into the Mediterranean at the southern mouth of the Rhône in Marseille, and into the oil fields of the Gulf. ...