Belley

Sister cities

• Mering

History

Belley is of Roman origin; in the 5th century it became an episcopal see. It was the capital of the province of Bugey, which was a dependency of Savoy till 1601, when it was ceded to France. In 1385 the town was almost entirely destroyed by an act of arson, but was sequentially rebuilt by the dukes of Savoy, who surrounded it with ramparts of which little is left. Belley was the birthplace of the epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Belley was the seat of the Bishop of Belley and is the location of Belley Cathedral. Belley is the home region of St Peter Chanel, the famous 19th-century Marist missionary martyr and protomartyr of Oceania.

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,641
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,575
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,521
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,500
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,431
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,344
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  971
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  888

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2026-01-12
  4 km SSW of Les Houches, France
• M 3.3 — 2025-05-06
  8 km W of Chapareillan, France
• M 3.3 — 2022-09-25
  7 km ESE of Ar?ches-la-Frasse, France
• M 4.5 — 2022-03-12
  3 km S of Faverges, France
• M 3.4 — 2020-06-23
  11 km ESE of Samoëns, France
• M 3.2 — 2017-11-17
  10 km NNE of Saint-Rémy-de-Maurienne, France