Highest Major Cities in France

Cities in France with more than 15,000 inhabitants, ranked by elevation above sea level (GeoNames digital elevation model).

📅 2026📏 metres50 entries🇫🇷 See all of this country’s rankings →

All entries · 50

400 metres600 metres800 metres

Every dot is one entry, placed by its value (metres); the vertical bar marks each row’s median.

Pontarlier20,313 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

834 m

Gap42,715 people · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

741 m

Le Puy-en-Velay22,718 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

640 m

Rodez28,337 people · Occitanie

627 m

Aurillac34,724 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

625 m

Digne-les-Bains18,986 people · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

596 m

Oyonnax25,697 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

556 m

Sallanches16,725 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

542 m

Seynod18,590 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

542 m

Saint-Étienne176,280 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

529 m

Cran-Gevrier19,354 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

510 m

Annecy-le-Vieux21,521 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

498 m

Cluses19,789 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

484 m

Firminy17,902 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

477 m

Annecy49,232 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

452 m

Guéret15,853 people · New Aquitaine

447 m

Annemasse28,275 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

441 m

Thonon-les-Bains31,684 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

436 m

Chamalières20,298 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

421 m

Lourdes15,786 people · Occitanie

409 m

Clermont-Ferrand147,865 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

406 m

Montbrison16,164 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

394 m

Issoire15,984 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

393 m

Cournon-d'Auvergne18,848 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

390 m

Épinal39,518 people · Grand Est

388 m

Millau23,307 people · Occitanie

378 m

Saint-Chamond38,014 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

372 m

Le Creusot25,590 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

367 m

Saint-Leu29,278 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

366 m

Manosque21,351 people · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

364 m

Belfort54,562 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

362 m

Riom20,142 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

362 m

Albertville19,113 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

346 m

Saint-Dié-des-Vosges24,628 people · Grand Est

341 m

Annonay18,423 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

340 m

Audincourt15,577 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

334 m

Montbéliard28,865 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

327 m

Autun18,283 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

325 m

Chaumont28,981 people · Grand Est

322 m

Vence18,668 people · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

322 m

Tarbes52,106 people · Occitanie

316 m

Montceau-les-Mines20,221 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

312 m

Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume15,225 people · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

312 m

Limoges141,176 people · New Aquitaine

309 m

Grasse47,581 people · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

308 m

Voiron22,114 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

301 m

Besançon128,426 people · Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

300 m

Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon21,893 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

296 m

Pamiers16,997 people · Occitanie

289 m

Rillieux-la-Pape28,076 people · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

287 m

Highlights

Within France, Pontarlier ranks first in 2026 with 834 m, followed by Gap (741 m) and Le Puy-en-Velay (640 m).

Across 50 entries, values run from 834 m (Pontarlier) to 287 m (Rillieux-la-Pape), with a median of 383 m.

Source: GeoNames, cities with more than 15,000 inhabitants, 2026. Unit: metres.

Source: GeoNames, cities with more than 15,000 inhabitants · CC BY 4.0 (GeoNames) · fetched Oct 17, 2026 — Elevation is the GeoNames digital elevation model value at the populated place coordinates; population figures are shown for context.

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