Bourgogne-Franche-Comté capital Dijon
Geography
The region borders Grand Est to the north, Île-de-France to the northwest, Centre-Val de Loire to the west, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to the south and Switzerland (the cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel and Jura) to the east.
The distances from Besançon, where the regional council sits, to other cities, are: Paris, the national capital, 410 km (255 mi); Bordeaux, 729 km (453 mi); Toulouse, 762 km (473 mi); Marseille, 538 km (334 mi); Lyon, 227 km (141 mi); Montpellier, 523 km (325 mi); Nice, 694 km (431 mi).Departments
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté comprises eight departments: Côte-d'Or, Doubs, Jura, Nièvre, Haute-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne, Territoire de Belfort.Major communities
The largest communes are (population as of 2017):
Dijon (156,920; headquarters regional prefecture)
Besançon (115,934; headquarters regional council)
Belfort (47,656)
Chalon-sur-Saône (45,096)
Auxerre (34,634)
Mâcon (33,638)
Nevers (32,990)
seat of government administrative center headquarters main city principal city