Grenoble
The parkside suburb setting might not have the charm of the town centre, but friendly English-speaking staff at HI Grenoble run it like clockwork. The top-notch facilities include a bar, kitchen, games room, sun deck and laundry. It's 5km south of the train station. Non-HI-members must buy a full membership to stay.
The hostel is served by the Express 3 and C2 buses; get off at 'La Quinzaine' stop.
22.12 MILES
One of the greatest summertime pleasures of the French Alps is hiking in France’s second-largest national park. The glacier-carved, 918-sq-km park has…
3.2 MILES
For lovers of European art, this museum is an uplifting place to get lost for a day. There's an even spread of artistic eras on display: an antiquities…
3.42 MILES
This highly impressive museum unveils the secrets of a 12th-century church and cloister using light effects, a haunting choral soundtrack and an…
Parc Naturel Régional du Vercors
24.21 MILES
Mountains, limestone cliffs and dense forests create a high-drama landscape within this 2062-sq-km preserve, a few kilometres southwest of Grenoble. The…
Parc Naturel Régional de Chartreuse
17.99 MILES
Limestone promontories, dense forests and a powerful liqueur are the signature features of this 767-sq-km regional park. The 1300km of marked walking…
3.34 MILES
After a fun ride in the téléphérique, or a steep, hour-long climb, the reward is a magnificent mountain panorama from Grenoble's stocky fortress, built…
3.14 MILES
This ever-evolving museum unleashes a century of regional history on visitors. Suits of armour are back-lit in brightly coloured rooms, 3-D family trees…
22.55 MILES
Filled with karst springs and enormous, spectacularly lit chambers, the Grotte de la Luire was used as an emergency hospital during WWII. When it's open,…
2.42 MILES
A cavernous glass-and-steel warehouse built by Gustave Eiffel has been turned into one of France's leading centres of contemporary art. Many of the…
2.78 MILES
Consecrated in 1699, the St-Louis church may look austere from the outside but within you'll find a staggering set of seven paintings, featuring scenes…
2.94 MILES
This modest museum, housed in the restored apartment of his maternal grandfather, Docteur Gagnon, celebrates the work of the author of The Red and the…
4. Téléphérique Grenoble-Bastille
2.99 MILES
Hop into a clear-panelled spherical pod for dreamy views of Grenoble's red roofs and magnificent mountains on this cable-car ride up to the Bastille. Les…
5. Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l’Isère
3 MILES
This thoughtfully curated exhibition presents the history of Grenoble's vigorous resistance to Italian and then German forces during WWII, with plenty of…
3.09 MILES
The rose-brick rib vaults of Grenoble's elegant cathedral rise from the site of a 4th-century church. Its present form dates to the 1200s, though its…
3.11 MILES
A run-through of regional history, from prehistory through medieval times to the 20th century, is presented within the atmospheric walls of the 13th…
3.14 MILES
This ever-evolving museum unleashes a century of regional history on visitors. Suits of armour are back-lit in brightly coloured rooms, 3-D family trees…