Saone et Loire is a French department located in the very sought-after Burgundy (Bourgogne) region. The department is situated in the centre east of France and is surrounded with Cote d’Or and Nièvre (Saone et Loire), Ain, Rhone and Loire (Rhone Alpes), Jura (Franche Comté) and Allier (Auvergne). With 544,893 residents, it is the largely inhabited department of Burgundy. Most of the residents of Saone et Loire live in the east of the department, this area being much better developed in terms of transport networks.