Grenoble

The mountain-ringed “Capital of the Alps”: ride the bubble cable car up to the Bastille for views over the city, then linger in the nearby Vercors and Chartreuse massifs and monastery.

Grenoble lies in southeastern France in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and is the prefecture of the Isère department. Set in a glacial valley where the Isère and Drac rivers meet, it is ringed by three massifs — the Chartreuse, Vercors and Belledonne — and is known as the “Capital of the Alps”, as well as a renowned university and research city. The city is flat and compact, with the main sights within walking distance: on the right bank of the Isère, ride the bubble cable car up to the Bastille for views over the city and mountains; the old town on the left bank has Place Saint-André, the Palais du Parlement du Dauphiné, the cathedral and the Musée de Grenoble, while the Musée Dauphinois and the Musée Archéologique Saint-Laurent sit on the hillside below the cable car. Most municipal museums are free. Half an hour north of the city you reach the Chartreuse massif, where you can visit the Grande Chartreuse monastery museum and the Chartreuse cellars in Voiron; to the southwest is the Vercors plateau, whose cliff roads, overhanging houses of Pont-en-Royans and Choranche caves are worth a day's drive; to the southeast are the Château de Vizille and the Himalayan footbridges of Lac de Monteynard, and in winter ski resorts such as Chamrousse are within an hour. The climate is continental, with muggy summers and cold, foggy winters; May–June and September are best for hiking, and December–March is mainly for skiing. Getting there: the TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon takes about 3 hours, and direct coaches from Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport take about 1 hour; the city has a tram network, but a rental car is recommended for the mountains. Allow 2–3 days: one for the city and the Bastille, one for the Vercors, and one for the Chartreuse or the ski slopes. Note that most municipal museums close on Tuesdays, and snow chains may be required on mountain roads in winter.

Top sights

Where to eat

Itineraries