Chambéry (UK: /ˈʃɒ̃bəri/,[4] US: /ˌʃɒ̃beɪˈriː/,[5] French: [ʃɑ̃beʁi]; Arpitan: Chambèri) is the prefecture and largest city of the Savoie department in the southeastern Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France.

Chambéry was founded at a crossroads of ancient routes through the Dauphiné (Dôfenâ) region of France, Switzerland, and Italy, in a wide valley between the Bauges and the Chartreuse Mountains on the Leysse River.

The metropolitan area has more than 125,000 residents, extending from the vineyard slopes of the fr:Combe de Savoie almost to the shores of the Lac du Bourget, the largest natural lake in France.

It is found in a large valley, surrounded by the Massif des Bauges to the east (dominated by Le Nivolet, upon which La Croix du Nivolet is found), Mont Granier (Chartreuse) and the Chaîne de Belledonne to the south, the Chaîne de l'Épine (the most southern mountain of the Jura) to the west and the Lac du Bourget to the north.

The need for urban revitalization was met by the establishment of the Société Académique de Savoie in 1820, which was devoted to material and ethical progress, now housed in an apartment of the ducal château.

In spite of this it is highly influenced by its interior position within France, resulting in quite hot summers and winters with frequent temperatures below freezing, especially at night.

The château remained purely an administrative centre until Christine Marie of France, Duchess of Savoy, returned to hold court in 1640.

Victor Amadeus II, having abdicated, lived here with his second wife Anna Canalis di Cumiana before they were imprisoned at the Castle of Rivoli for trying to reclaim the throne.

Under Napoleon Bonaparte, the Aile du Midi ("South Wing") was rebuilt and redecorated to house the imperial prefecture of the department of Mont-Blanc.

The monumental fountain has realistic sculptures of the head and forelimbs of four lifesize elephants truncated into the base of a tall column in the shape of the savoyan (savoyarde) cross, topped by a statue of de Boigne.

The Sisters of St Joseph, an order founded at Chambéry in 1812, devotes itself to teaching and charitable work, and today, its members are now spread worldwide.