Every design for Saint-Étienne

Ever heard someone call it simply Sainté? Then you have met a Stéphanois, and you will know they mean it with affection.

What makes Saint-Étienne different is its working past and how openly it wears it. For generations it was the French city of the weapon, the bicycle and the ribbon, and a major coal mining centre; the Musée de la Mine Site Couriot keeps that memory alive, as does the Musée d'Art et d'Industrie. It was also the starting point of some of the first railway lines in continental Europe. The decline of those industries left its mark, but the city answered by remaking itself as a capital of design, earning a place in the UNESCO Creative Cities network. And then there is football: AS Saint-Étienne, the Greens, ten times champions of France, whose story is told at the Musée des Verts.

People who grew up between the hills of the Furan valley tend to stay loyal for life. Coming back means green shirts in the stands, familiar hills and a frankness you find nowhere else.