A Redeye View: Grenoble in December 2014

This was a short break we decided to have as we haven't really spent any time in France before. A day trip to Paris and LILLE is about all we have seen of the country so to have five days there was certainly a bit different. We chose GRENOBLE as our base because we had been recommended it as a good area and at the foot of the French Alps with some good places to visit. One walk we did was to take us high above the city that offered some great views of the surrounding mountains and also down over the whole of Grenoble. We had decided to take the BUBBLE CAR to LA BASTILLE a small fortified mountain located at the crossroad of three valleys, served by the first urban cable-car in the world where you can look down from the hilltop and discover the flattest town in France in its mountain setting! As well as looking down on he city, there are some great mountain views and we were lucky enough to see MONT BLANC @ 4,810 m (15,781 ft), one of the highest peaks in Europe. A very interesting place and lots of nooks and cranies to explore.

View from the bubble car

View over the city to a distant Mont Blanc

View over Grenoble

Snow capped peaks overlooking Grenoble

View over to the Mont Blanc summit just in the clouds

We made our way to the Mandrin Caves and along one of the tracks that takes you to Mont Jalla, mountain troops’ national memorial @ 630m (2066ft). The memorial was inaugurated on the 17th June 2000, and is dedicated to the memory of the 150,000 mountain troops, known as the Blue Devils, who have fallen in combat since their creation in 1888.

Cave entrance

The well lit up tunnel

view out of the triangle window

view out of the circular window

Mandrin Caves

Memorial to the Mountain Troops

Old fort overlooking Grenoble

Mountain troops war memorial

View over to Mont Blanc

War memorial plaque

The paths that traverse the Bastille form part of the local and national GR FOOTPATH network which allows the visitor to continue their walks and hikes in the rest of the CHARTREUSE MOUNTAINS. From here we headed along the GR network that took us through the woods where we were heading for another memorial cross that celebrates the liberation of Grenoble and again looks out over the city from a clearing. We were lucky to find it as it isn't sign posted but well worth the effort for the views. There was quite a few people on the racks from hikers to mountain bikers, all taking advantage of the recent mild weather before the snows came.

Track through the woods

Its a steep and rocky climb at times

View from the memorial

View down to the war memorial, La Bastille and Grenoble

From here we decided to make the long trek back down to the hotel as it was mid afternoon and it would be dark by the time we got down. Some great views and lots of little tracks all over that took you back down to certain parts of the city. This was a great way to spend the afternoon and we timed it well, as it started to rain a bit by the time we got to the river.

Moody skies over the mountains

Back through the Mandrin Caves

Bubble Car platform

Bubble Car

Through cobbled streets to the town

Grenoble Street market just finishing

Buuble car over the River Isere

We also paid a visit to a lovely little place called ANNECY which is also known as the Venice of the Alps, due to the canals that run through the centre. We also had a boat trip that takes you round the lake which was very interesting with some great views of the surrounding villages and mountains. A really nice place to spend a day and if you have the time a great place to explore over a number of days.