UEFA Euro 2016 host city: Saint-Etienne. A view shows a square in Saint-Etienne. [Photo/Agencies]

Region: Rhone-Alpes

Population: 180,000

The green shirts of its famous soccer team, Les Verts. The renowned Biennale Internationale Design convention. And a proud history as a great industrial city of eastern France. Yet for all this tradition as both working and sporting center of excellence, Saint-Etienne has even more to offer. A place of contrasts, it is one of those large cities that also boast the advantages of a closer-knit community. The sporting and cultural attributes are never more apparent than in AS Saint-étienne's famous "Chaudron" football stadium and the Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, France's second-leading collection after the Centre Pompidou.