The city lies on the western bank of the river Saône, between Bresse in the east and the Beaujolais hills in the south.

Mâcon features an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with warm summers, slightly too cool to be called humid subtropical (Cfa).

The agglomeration of Mâcon originates from the establishment of an oppidum and of a river port by the Celts from the Aedui, probably at the beginning of the first century BC.

This is demonstrated by the large Roman hoard known as the Mâcon Treasure that was discovered in the town in 1764, the remains of which is in the British Museum.

On 3 June 1564, Charles IX from Chalon, stopped in the town during his Royal Tour of France (1564–1566), accompanied by the Court and the nobles of his kingdom, including his brother the Duke of Anjou, Henry of Navarre, the cardinals of Bourbon and Lorraine.

[6] The town is strategically built: it was a possible entrance into the kingdom for the Swiss or German mercenaries during the French Wars of Religion.

On 21 October 1790, the matriarch of a prominent local family gave birth to a son who remains highly visible in his hometown, the Romantic poet and historian Alphonse de Lamartine.

[7] In 1790, the Revolutionary government designated Mâcon as the capital (chef-lieu) of Saône-et-Loire, a newly created département within the radical restructuring of national administration.

During World War II, Mâcon was the northernmost town in the unoccupied zone libre between Paris and Lyon.

On 11 November 1942, following Operation Anton, nearly eight hundred German soldiers settled in the city after crossing the demarcation line.

This was due to the public service delegation contract between the SITUM and the Mâcon Bus company (a subsidiary of Transdev), operating the network since 1987, not being renewed at the last call for bids.

Mâcon is one of the department's major employment areas which is by far the most dynamic (13.5% increase between 1999 and 2006) compared to cities such as Chalon-sur-Saône or Montceau-les-Mines which are losing jobs.

The quarters of the town's centre are varied: From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, the esplanade Lamartine underwent extensive redevelopment and upgrades.

All along, one can find an extract from the famous poem by Lamartine, "Le Lac": "Time, halt in your flight... " engraved in the ground in silver letters.

The "Eté frappé" Festival, a free art and music festival, takes place every summer from June to August all over the town (notably on the Lamartine esplanade alongside the river Saône) featuring many concerts of a wide range of musical styles (classical, French song, jazz, rock, folk, hip-hop, rap), many shows (dance, comedy), open air film shows, open air plays, sporting events.