Belley is the main town among the municipalities of Southern Bugey and the Valromey covered by Bugey360. As a sub-prefecture of the Ain (a town hosting a local branch of the State administration) and the seat of the Bugey Sud community of communes (the grouping of local municipalities), it has the hospital, the offices for official paperwork, the largest market in the area and most of the shops. The town has 9,388 inhabitants (INSEE municipal population 2023, in force since 1 January 2026) and its postcode is 01300.
Key facts
Belley is the historic and religious capital of the Bugey, and has been the seat of a bishopric since the early Middle Ages. The Bugey passed to the House of Savoy in 1077, then to France under the Treaty of Lyon in 1601; Belley then became the seat of a bailiwick attached to the province of Burgundy. The municipality covers about 2,255 hectares according to the official geographic database.
Since 2024 the Bugey Sud area has been a candidate for the Pays d’art et d’histoire label, a national heritage designation; according to the community of communes, the process is ongoing and the label has not yet been awarded.
Belley town hall
The town hall (hôtel de ville, or mairie) is at 11 boulevard de Verdun, 01300 Belley. Its switchboard number is +33 (0)4 79 42 23 00, according to the municipal services page checked on 9 November 2026. The Belley town hall listing gives the same details.
To find out who the mayor and deputy mayors are, the town’s official website, belley.fr, publishes the membership of the municipal council. Bugey360 does not reproduce this list, to avoid out-of-date information.
The sub-prefecture of Belley provides State services for the arrondissement (district); its contact details are in the official service-public directory.
Belley market
The weekly market takes place on Saturday mornings, from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm according to the town hall (8 am to 12.30 pm according to the tourist office), in the town centre: Grande Rue, Place des Terreaux and boulevard de Verdun. The town announces around 90 stallholders. For questions about pitches, the market officers (placiers) can be reached at the town hall on +33 (0)4 79 42 31 71.
Two occasional events complete the calendar: a flower market in April, at the Promenoir, and an evening craft market every summer in July. The exact dates are announced each year by the town. Other markets in the area are covered in our guide to markets in Southern Bugey (in French).
Transport
There is no railway station in Belley. Two TER (regional train) stations serve the town, according to the community of communes:
- Virieu-le-Grand – Belley station, served by TER trains to Lyon (via Ambérieu) and Geneva (via Bellegarde), and linked to Belley by coaches A45 and A47;
- Culoz station, which has more connections and a staffed ticket office, linked by coach A43.
The regional coaches (run by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and operated by the Régie des transports de l’Ain) leave from Belley: A73 to Chambéry, A43 to Culoz and Chanay, A45 to Virieu-le-Grand and Champagne-en-Valromey, A47 to Hauteville and Brénod, A93 to Morestel. Some lines or stops operate as on-demand services, to be booked the day before by 12 noon.
In town, La Navette, the town bus run by the community of communes, operates Monday to Saturday (single ticket, 10-journey card or season ticket). It serves the town centre, the hospital, the sports complex, the retail park and the residential areas. Details of lines and stations are in our guide to getting around Southern Bugey.
Health and services
- Centre hospitalier Bugey Sud, 700 avenue de Narvik: public hospital with an emergency department (urgences), a mobile emergency unit (SMUR) and a maternity unit; switchboard +33 (0)4 79 42 59 59. See the Centre hospitalier Bugey Sud listing and our guide to health services (in French).
- Maison France services Bugey-Sud: France services centres offer free help with official online procedures (tax, benefits, identity documents and so on). This one is moving to 80 ter rue de la Louvatière (Louvatière Navette stop), where it will see the public from 17 November 2026; it is closed on 12, 13 and 16 November 2026. Telephone: +33 (0)4 57 29 81 50. Details in the France services listing.
- Centre nautique Bugey-Sud, avenue Paul Chastel: the intercommunal swimming pool, reopened on 19 October 2026 after refurbishment (swimming centre listing).
- Media library (médiathèque), housed in the former bishop’s palace (media library listing).
- Recycling centre (déchetterie): ZAC de l’Ousson, near the fire station. The Belley reuse centre takes objects, textiles and small furniture.
Other public services in the area are presented on our public services page (in French).
Heritage
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral: rebuilt in the 19th century by the architect Chenavard after damage during the Revolution, it keeps a Romanesque doorway on its north façade. It has been listed as a historic monument since 30 October 1906.
- Former bishop’s palace (18th century): protected as a historic monument since 1932 and bought by the town in 1978; the adjoining Jean-Pierre Camus garden was renovated in 2010.
- Grande Rue: many 15th-century inner courtyards, including that of the house where Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, author of The Physiology of Taste, was born in Belley on 1 April 1755.
- Lycée Lamartine, a former college protected as a historic monument, where Alphonse de Lamartine was a boarder in the early 19th century.
- The bronze she-wolf by Colette Sonzogni recalls the town’s emblem; recent excavations have uncovered a large Gallo-Roman bath complex.
The tourist office, 34 Grande Rue, offers tours of the old town (tourist office listing). Further reading: our guide to the heritage of Southern Bugey (in French).
Nature and outings around Belley
The ViaRhôna cycle route reaches Belley from Seyssel and Chanaz, then continues towards Groslée (our ViaRhôna guide is in French). To the north, Lake Barterand, at Pollieu, has a supervised beach in summer (page in French). The Lavours marsh and the Glandieu waterfall round off the area’s nature outings, and you can explore the vineyards with our guide to Bugey wines.
Restaurants, hotels and shops in Belley
The Bugey360 directory lists several verified addresses in the town; the full list, with a map, appears at the bottom of the page.
- Restaurants: the Brasserie des Terreaux, opposite the fountain, the bar-brasserie Le Café Neuf, on the same square, and the Bistrot Alp’1, avenue Charles de Gaulle. A few kilometres away, the Auberge de Contrevoz. A wider selection on our page of restaurants in Southern Bugey.
- Hotel: the Sweet Home hotel, boulevard du Mail, 3 stars and 35 rooms. Other accommodation on our where to stay page.
- Local produce: the farmers’ shop Bugey Côté Fermes, the Fruitière du Valromey cheese shop and the Distillerie de la Sainte Famille.
Events
Belley hosts most of the area’s concerts and shows, as well as the Christmas market, scheduled from 11 to 13 December 2026 at the salle des fêtes (community hall). All events are in the Southern Bugey events calendar; dated practical information (roadworks, services moving) appears in the news.