Magazine - 01/11/04

© CDT Isère / S. Corporon Grenoble seen from Saint-Eynard.

If you arrive in Grenoble by motorway from Lyon or Chambéry, the sight of its outer boulevards with 1950s concrete blocks of flats can be disappointing to say the least. Grenoble and its inhabitants are sometimes considered slightly inward-looking and reserved when first approached. But this is merely an illusion as each year, the French press ranks it first among the five most agreeable French cities. In a special report last August on Europe's secret capitals, Time magazine went even further by placing the alpine 'little big town' at the top of the European league table of cities which have managed to combine technological modernity and quality of life!

With 157,000 inhabitants in the city (424,000 when the suburbs are included too), Grenoble is an average city, dynamic and yet enjoyably relaxed. In the 19th century, the alpine capital pushed through economic and technological changes, moving from craft industry (glove making, textiles) to metallurgy (iron ore extracted from the Belledonne mountains), coal mining (the Mûre mines) and above all water power. During the First World War when the coal mining regions of the Nord and Lorraine were occupied, Grenoble's hydroelectricity enabled French industry to survive.
More recently, Grenoble is the location of the Nuclear Studies Centre (CENG), of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, and of a micro and nanotech research centre known as Minatec (established in Crolles in February 2003) where the world's most powerful electronic chips are being developed. Greater Grenoble is also home to an increasing number of foreign engineers working in close cooperation with the University of Grenoble (53,000 students including 6,000 foreigners).
This dynamism has also resulted in the new cultural centre (Maison de la Culture) which was inaugurated in September 2004 under the name MC2. Originally founded in 1968 on the initiative of André Malraux, the centre is now 6,000 sq. m. bigger and its productions draw audiences from the whole region.

As was the case for its cultural life, for a long time Grenoble was not particularly known for its gastronomy. But that is all changing now. You'll find a fine selection of regional products: cheeses, such as Saint-Marcellin (made famous by Louis XI) and the creamier and fattier Saint-Félicien. Look out for the Étoile du Vercors label. You should also taste the Bleu du Vercors, Carré du Trièves and Chambaran—a raw cow milk pressed cheese produced by the 60 nuns at the Trappist nunnery near Roybon. These cheeses can be bought from the cheese shop Bayard (Laiterie Bayard) whose owner, François Blanc-Gonnet, will only be pleased to tell you about other good food addresses. For example, head for: Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs where Roger Mathais produces marvellous walnut oil; Villard-de-Lans where Frank Teissier raises snails of exceptional quality; and Saint-Martin-du-Vercors where Jean-Jacques Perucca produces a duck foie gras equally good as those from Périgord!
As for local wines, forget about Roussette de Savoie for a moment and learn more about the wines from the Dauphiné! In 1900, the Grésivaudan hills supplied cheap wine to the 25,000 soldiers based in Grenoble. Today, on the slopes of the Chartreuse mountain range, Daniel Zegna carefully grows two vine varieties typical of the Dauphiné—Verdesse (white) and Persan (red) with which he makes excellent table wines. Of course don't forget to visit the Chartreuse liqueur cellars (Caves de la Chartreuse) in Voiron where three monks of the Chartreuse order distil the mysterious elixirs whose recipe has been a secret since 1605.
Lastly, to tuck into a real 'gratin dauphinois' (oven-baked sliced potatoes in cream, without grated cheese), chicken with crayfish, mountain trout, pigeon terrine or a soufflé à la chartreuse, we recommend the following two friendly restaurants: La Panse (a local institution) and Le coup de Torchon, whose menu at 15 euros is almost too good to be true.

Sprawled at the bottom of a valley carved out by a glacier 5 million years ago, Grenoble has a splendid geological environment. People who have lived here never forget this jagged alpine décor extending from the Écrins mountain range (3,983 m/12,945 ft) to the hills of Lower Dauphiné, near Vienne and the Rhône valley. Imagine a city nestling between the River Drac and the River Isère, literally surrounded by three mountain ranges facing one another.
To the north, the magnificent Chartreuse mountain range, against which the old Grenoble is built, reaches 2,082 m/6,766 ft at its highest peak. Visitors from the whole world come to hike around La Grande Chartreuse monastery founded by Saint Bruno in 1084, at the foot of the Grand Som (2,026 m/6584 ft), where the Chartreux monks (who have taken an oath of silence) continue to produce the famous green liqueur.
To the east, the Belledonne mountain range displays its snowy ridges for eight full months. In a mere twenty minutes, Grenoblois can reach their favourite ski resort: Chamrousse (1,750 m/5,687 ft) where the 1968 Winter Olympic Games took place. At the top of the skiing area, you have a bird's eye view over the Oisans mountain range, the Grand Pic de la Meije (3,983 m/12,945 ft), and the skiing area at Alpe-d'Huez.
To the west, rises the imposing and colossal Vercors with its 400 m/1,300 ft high cliffs—a natural fortress which was home to France's first maquis after 1942. The rivers crossing this immense block of limestone rocks supply Greater Grenoble with water via the 'Cuves de Sassenage' (a spectacular long cave which can be visited, 5 km from Grenoble at the foot of the Vercors).
To reach Villard-de-Lans, Autrans and the other Vercors resorts, take the winding D106 to Saint-Nizier. After Seyssinet, this road runs alongside the Tour-Sans-Venin (built by Roland to keep watch over the arrival of the Sarrasins) and the Mémorial du Vercors, which remembers 96 combatants killed in 1944. In Saint-Nizier, at the foot of the 'Trois Pucelles' (nickname given to a three-pronged limestone outcrop), the former Olympic ski-jump is the departure point of one of the region's best known walks—after two hours you will reach the summit of the Moucherotte with a breathtaking view over the valley, the Chartreuse and Belledonne mountain ranges and the southeast side of the Mont Blanc.

As you'll have gathered, one of Grenoble's major assets is its role as a travel base. Paragliding fans can head for the upper part of Saint-Hilaire, a small health resort located at the foot of the Chartreuse mountain range. Windsurfers, for their part, can head for the Lac du Monteynard or the Lac de Paladru. Railroad enthusiasts should take the train de la Mûre, inaugurated in 1888, which crosses 30 km/19 miles with a 560 m/1,820 ft difference in altitude.
Lastly, the Isère region (formally known as 'Dauphiné' because it belonged to the Dauphin and future Louis XI in the 1780s) is also surrounded in history. It has marvellously preserved not only its monuments but also, in its scenery and its architecture, the atmosphere of days past. The Château de Vizille, for example, 20 km/12 mi from Grenoble, saw the first act of the French Revolution, as the three orders of the Dauphiné (Church, Nobility and Third Estate) met here on 14 June, 1789 and condemned the arbitrary lettres de cachet as well as demanded the meeting of the States-General. The château today houses the Musée de la Révolution française. Its formal grounds where deer, stags, mouflons and herons roam freely, is the region's most beautiful garden.
Between 600 and 700 m (1,950 to 2,275 ft) altitude, Lower Dauphiné, to the northwest of Grenoble, has much gentler scenery. Here, you'll see old farms built of cob, dark walnut trees and ponds stocked with tench. Between Saint-Marcellin and the Gothic abbey of Saint-Antoine (saved from ruin by Mérimée), the Chambaran Hills (Collines du Chambaran) have hardly changed since the birth of Berlioz at La Côte-Saint-André in 1803!
Driving on their twisting roads is a real pleasure. After visiting the peaceful Romanesque priory at Marnans, why not take the D20 and then the D51, to the west of Roybon, to see the Palais idéal du facteur Cheval at Hauterives? This masterpiece of naive art built as a home by the postman Ferdinand Cheval is today a listed historical monument.