Top 10 Things To Do In Grenoble

Top 10 Things To Do In Grenoble

The city of Grenoble is located in the Auvergne-Rhȏne-Alpes region surrounded by four mountains: the Vercors, Belledone, Chartreuse and Oisans, hence the name “Capital of the Alps”.  Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère. The residents of the city are known as “Grenoblois”.

In the 18^th and 19^th century Grenoble was famed for its glove-making industry. However, today Grenoble has grown to be one of European’s most important research, technology, and innovation centers giving the famous Silicon Valley a run for its money. This has been highly contributed to Grenoble having four universities.

Grenoble has a wide array of tourist attractions that include castles, museums, theaters, cultural festivities, restaurants, shopping venues and a beautiful landscape surrounded by sky-high snow-capped peaks and luscious green forests. Here are the top 10 things to do while in Grenoble;

Vieille Ville Grenoble

Vieilla Ville – flickr

Vieille Ville is also referred to as the old town. The historical town has changed very little since the 16^th Century. You can get to see pieces of the original town by taking a stroll on the pedestrian-only cobblestone lane streets that lead to an elegant medieval square, where farmers’ market is held every day except Mondays. As you stroll the streets try to spot bronze medallions fixed in the streets designating the location of where the protective wall once stood.

Grenoble’s Old Town is the heart of the city, hosting a vast range of medieval buildings that create an elegant façade. There are many attraction to discover as you wander the old town but here are a few; at the old Town’s center, Episcopal palace which houses the Musée de lˊĔveche. The museum illustrates Grenoble’s history from the early days through the Middle Ages until the 20^th century. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame amazes visitors with its Gothic interior. The Palace of the Dauphinois Parliament brightens the street with its Gothic to early Renaissance decorative styles.

Fort De La Bastille

Fort de la Bastille – Wikimedia Commons

Fort de la Bastille is a military fort built from 1823 to 1848 on the hill that gives it its name. The military fort was built to protect the Dauphiné from an attack by the Duchy of Savoy. The fort towers over Grenoble from a height of 475m. Since 1934 it has been linked to the city by one of the first urban cable-cars in the world.

Today this former military base turned to a Cultural Centre boasts of being the most visited tourist attraction in Grenoble. Fort de la Bastille offers a tranquil view of the city below as well as a scenic natural view of the surrounding mountains and forest. The view is simply breathtaking.

The Fort also hosts the Museum of the Mountain Troops that is dedicated to the history of the Fort de la Bastille soldiers and the environment.

The Saint-Laurent Archeological Museum

The Saint-Laurent Archeological Musuem – Wikidata

The Saint-Laurent Archeological Museum is a major archaeological site excavated from 1978 to 1995. This museum is housed in the old parish church of Saint-Laurent. The museum offers an insight to almost two thousand years of history from the 4th-century mausoleum to the 19th-century church.

The Saint-Laurent Archeological Museum is famous for its monument from the 6^th – 7^th centuries: the Saint-Oyand crypt. The crypt was classified as a historical monument in 1850. On 10^th October 1977 the protection extended to other parts of the church.

Today the memories of this place and of those who lived here can be staged thanks to digital means. We can now see the evolution of funeral practices, beliefs and attitudes from pagan practices to Christianity.

Grenoble City Garden

Grenoble City Garden – Wikimedia Commons

Grenoble City Garden is a 1.6-hectare garden divided into 4 sections at the base of Fort de la Bastille hill. The garden was built next to the private residence of The Duke of Lesdiguiéres, which houses nowadays The House of International. In 1719 it was opened to the public.

Today the garden maintains its original vast wooded area and a flower garden filled with roses. Enjoy the beautiful garden scenery of palm, orange, sycamore and chestnuts trees. You can also stroll the garden in search of the bronze statue, La Fontaine du Torrent, created by local artist Urbain Basset in 1878.

The Vercors Regional National Park

The Vercors Regional National Park – Wikipedia

The Vercors regional national park translates to Parc Naturel régional du Vercors in French. It is nicknamed “The Limestone Citadel” because ninety per cent of the mountain surface is covered with thick slabs of white limestone. It is a Forest Mountain protected area covering 135,000 hectares. It is located between the Isére valley, to the north, and the Diois, to the South. In 1970 it was officially declared a regional national park.

During World War II the mountain served as a safe and defensible position for the French Resistance: Forteresse de la Résistance.  The area now contains around three hundred monuments dedicated to the resistance, including the preserved remains of a destroyed village.

The mountain provides a magnificent view of its unique fauna and flora, gorges, slender peaks known as needles, vertical rocky cliff faces, caves, alpine trails and general landscape. This is a natural paradise where the air feels fresher and the colors brighter.

Cable Car Of Grenoble Bastille

Cable Car Of Grenoble Bastille – Wikimedia Commons

In 19^th September 1934, a cable-car dedicated to tourism was built in the slopes of the Bastille Mountain, which connected the city centre to the mountain top. A project of  Paul Michoud, Vice-President of the Chamber of Tourism and two successive Mayors of Grenoble,  Paul Mistral and Léon Martin. The cable car of Grenoble Bastille as from 1976 was also known as the “bubbles” because of their spherical shape.

Get an aerial view of Grenoble as your ride the now transparent glass cable cars from the town centre (altitude 212 m) up to the heart of Bastille (altitude 475 m) in not less than 5 minutes.

Museum Of Grenoble

Museum Of Grenoble – Wikipedia

Museum of Grenoble is one of France’s leading art museums displaying one of the finest collections of early, modern and contemporary art and antiquities. The museum showcases masterworks of art in a bright, 7,500 m² spacious venue whose temporary rooms allows it to showcase two exhibitions every year. The museum’s permanent collection includes around 900 artworks on display, from Egyptian antiquities to 20th-century paintings.

The museum was founded on 16^th February 1798 by Louis-Joseph Jay. On 12^th March 1897 a decree changed the museum from a county museum into a municipal museum. The current building housing the museum on the Isere River border was inaugurated by Prime Minister Edouard Ballad on 30^th January 1994.

To further enhance the beauty of the museum is a sculpture garden in the Albert Michallon Park.

Paul Mistral Park

Paul Mistral Park – Wikimedia Commons

Parc Paul Mistral in French is the biggest landscaped garden in Grenoble. It was created thanks to Mayor Paul Mistral’s desire to have the International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism which took place on 21^st May to 25^th October 1925. This park is reserved for military engineering hence none building is allowed.

It covers 27 hectares. The park hosts important sportive facilities and the city hall. It was once the site of the 1968 Winter Olympics and it was the host of the speed skating events during the Olympics.

Le Magasin

Le Magasin – Wikipedia

This brick, metal and glass building is a former warehouse, built by the famous architect Gustave Eiffel for Paris’s World Fair in 1900. The manufacturers Bouchayer and Viallet bought the iron structure and reassembled it in Grenoble. In 1986 the warehouse was transformed into a modern art gallery which is famous for displaying only the most cutting edge art in France.

The gallery is considered one of the finest modern art galleries in the whole of France. The building’s remarkable glass roof floods the main exhibition space with radiant light making the artworks pop brighter and clearer. Every three months there is a new series of solo exhibitions from an invited guest artist. These exhibitions act as a canvas for the best new creative talents in the world.

Musée Dauphinois

Musée Dauphinois – Wikipedia

Dauphinois museum in English was founded in 1906 by the ethnographer Hippolyte Müller. The museum is housed by the Santa Maria d’en Haut Convent. This 17th-century convent provides a historic setting for the museum’s collection. The museum also comprises of a lovely garden, an ancient monastery and an extravagant Baroque chapel.

This ever-changing museum looks at all the aspects of life and history in the old Daphiné province including its skiing history. The museum greatly focuses on archaeology, industrial heritage, prehistory and historical ethnology. The museum does not house a permanent exhibition thus you’re sure to find something new and interesting every time you visit.