lat, Gratianopolis , commune status =

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint-André, jardin de ville, banks of the Isère , arrondissement = Grenoble , canton = Grenoble-1, 2, 3 and 4 , INSEE = 38185 , postal code = 38000, 38100 , mayor = Éric Piolle , term = 2020–2026 , party = EELV , image flag = Flag of Grenoble.svg , image coat of arms = Coat of Arms of Grenoble.svg , intercommunality = Grenoble-Alpes Métropole , coordinates = , elevation min m = 212 , elevation m = 398 , elevation max m = 500 , area km2 = 18.13 , population = , population date = , population footnotes = , urban pop = 451096 , urban area km2 = 358.1 , urban pop date = 2018 , metro area pop = 714799 , metro area km2 = 2876 , metro area pop date = 2018 Grenoble ( , ; or ; oc, Graçanòbol) is the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

and

largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropo ...

of the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of southeastern France. It was the capital of the Dauphiné historical province and lies where the river Drac flows into the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.French Alps. The population of the commune of Grenoble was 158,198 as of 2019, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area (French: or ) was 714,799 which makes it the largest metropolis in the Alps, ahead of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

and

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third ...

.Comparateur de territoire
INSEE A significant European scientific centre, the city advertises itself as the "Capital of the Alps", due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. The many suburban communes that make up the rest of the metropolitan area include four with populations exceeding 20,000: Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Échirolles, Fontaine and

Voiron Voiron (; frp, Vouèron) is a commune (French municipality) in the ninth district of the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron i ...

.Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017
INSEE Grenoble's history goes back over 2,000 years, to a time when it was a village of the Allobroges Gallic tribe. It became the capital of the Dauphiné in the 11th century. This status, consolidated by the annexation to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, allowed it to develop its economy. Grenoble then became a parliamentary and military city, close to the border with

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Sa ...

, which at the time was part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

. Industrial development increased the prominence of Grenoble through several periods of economic expansion over the last three centuries. This started with a booming

glove A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless g ...

industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, continued with the development of a strong

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of ...

industry in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, and ended with a post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

economic boom symbolized by the holding of the X Olympic Winter Games in 1968. The city has grown to be one of Europe's most important research, technology and innovation centres, with one in five inhabitants working directly in these fields. Grenoble is classified as a global city with the ranking of "sufficiency" by the

Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershir ...

. The city holds the title of European Green Capital in 2022.

History

Antiquity

The first references to what is now Grenoble date back to 43 BC. Cularo was at that time a Gallic village of the Allobroges tribe, near a bridge across the Isère. Three centuries later and with insecurity rising in the late

Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, a strong

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the s ...

was built around the small town in 286 AD. The

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...

visited Cularo and, touched by the people's welcome, made the village a Roman city. In honour of this, Cularo was renamed Gratianopolis ("city of Gratian") in 381 (leading to Graignovol during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and then Grenoble). Christianity spread to the region during the 4th century, and the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

of Grenoble was founded in 377 AD. From that time on, the bishops exercised significant political power over the city. Until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, they styled themselves the "bishops and princes of Grenoble".

Middle Ages

After the collapse of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, the city became part of the first Burgundian kingdom in the 5th century and of the later Kingdom of Burgundy until 1032, when it was integrated into the

. The Burgundian rule was interrupted between 942 and 970 by Arab rule based in

Fraxinet Fraxinetum or Fraxinet ( ar, فرخشنيط, translit=Farakhshanīt or , from Latin ''fraxinus'': " ash tree", ''fraxinetum'': "ash forest") was the site of a Muslim fortress in Provence between about 887 and 972. It is identified with moder ...

. Grenoble grew significantly in the 11th century when the Counts of Albon chose the city as the capital of their territories. Their possessions at the time were a patchwork of several territories sprawled across the region, and the central position of Grenoble allowed the Counts to strengthen their authority. When they later adopted the title of " Dauphins", Grenoble became the capital of the State of Dauphiné. Despite their status, the Counts had to share authority over the city with the Bishop of Grenoble. One of the most famous of those was Saint Hugh. Under his rule, the city's bridge was rebuilt, and a regular and

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve d ...

hospital was built. Arms of the Dauphin of France

The inhabitants of Grenoble took advantage of the conflicts between the Counts and the bishops and obtained the recognition of a Charter of Customs that guaranteed their rights. That charter was confirmed by Kings Louis XI in 1447 and Francis I in 1541. In 1336 the last Dauphin Humbert II founded a court of justice, the , which settled at Grenoble in 1340. He also established the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 re ...

in 1339. Without an heir and deep into debt, Humbert sold his state to France in 1349, on the condition that the heir to the French crown used the title of '' Dauphin''. The first one, the future Charles V, spent nine months in Grenoble. The city remained the capital of the Dauphiné, henceforth a

province of France The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until the National Constituent Assembly adopted a more uniform division into departments (''départements'') and districts in late 1789. The provinces continued to exist administratively until ...

, and the

Estates of Dauphiné Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

were created. The only Dauphin who governed his province was the future Louis XI, whose "reign" lasted from 1447 to 1456. It was only under his rule that Dauphiné properly joined the Kingdom of France. The Old Conseil Delphinal became a

Parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fr ...

(the third in France after the Parliaments of Paris and Toulouse), strengthening the status of Grenoble as a Provincial capital. He also ordered the construction of the Palais du Parlement (finished under Francis I) and ensured that the Bishop pledged allegiance, thus unifying the political control of the city. At that time, Grenoble was a crossroads between Vienne, Geneva, Italy, and

. It was the industrial centre of the Dauphiné and the province's biggest city, but a rather small one.

Renaissance

Owing to Grenoble's geographical situation, French troops were garrisoned in the city and its region during the

Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

. Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I went several times to Grenoble. Its people consequently had to suffer from the exactions of the soldiers. The nobility of the region took part in various battles (

Marignano The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the ...

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the ...

) and in doing so gained significant prestige. The best-known of its members was

Bayard Bayard may refer to: People *Bayard (given name) * Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places * Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community * Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood * Bayard ...

, "the knight without fear and beyond reproach". Grenoble suffered as a result of the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

. The Dauphiné was indeed an important settlement for Protestants and therefore experienced several conflicts. The

baron des Adrets Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

, the leader of the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...

, pillaged the Cathedral of Grenoble and destroyed the tombs of the former Dauphins. In August 1575, Lesdiguières became the new leader of the Protestants and, thanks to the accession of Henry IV to the throne of France, allied himself with the governor and the lieutenant general of the Dauphiné. But this alliance did not bring an end to the conflicts. Indeed, a Catholic movement, the ''Ligue'', which took Grenoble in December 1590, refused to make peace. After months of assaults, Lesdiguières defeated the Ligue and took back Grenoble. He became the leader of the entire province. Lesdiguières became the lieutenant-general of the Dauphiné and administered the Province from 1591 to 1626. He began the construction of the Bastille to protect the city and ordered the construction of new walls, increasing the city's size. He also constructed the Hôtel Lesdiguières, built new fountains, and dug sewers. In 1689, the bishop Étienne Le Camus launched the construction of Saint-Louis Church.

From Louis XIV to the French Revolution

Journée des Tuiles (Alexandre Debelle), Musée de la Révolution française - Vizille

The revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

caused the departure of 2,000 Protestants from Grenoble, weakening the city's economy. However, it also weakened the competing glove industry of Grasse, leaving the glove factories of Grenoble without any competition.''Petite histoire du Dauphiné '', Félix Vernay, 1933, p98 This allowed a stronger economic development for the city during the 18th century. At the beginning of that century, only 12 glovers made 15,000 dozen gloves each year; by 1787, 64 glovers made 160,000 dozen gloves each year. The city gained some notoriety on 7 June 1788 when the townspeople assaulted troops of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

in the " Day of the Tiles". The people attacked the royal troops to prevent an expulsion of the notables of the city, which would have seriously endangered the economic prosperity of Grenoble. Following these events, the Assembly of Vizille took place. Its members organized the meeting of the old Estates General, thus beginning the

. During the Revolution, Grenoble was represented in Paris by two illustrious notables, Jean Joseph Mounier and Antoine Barnave. In 1790, the Dauphiné was divided into three

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, and Grenoble became the ''chef-lieu'' of the Isère department. Only two refractory priests were executed at Grenoble during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Pius VI, prisoner of France, spent two days at Grenoble in 1799 before going to Valence where he died.

19th century

The establishment of the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

was overwhelmingly approved (in Isère, the results showed 82,084 yes and only 12 no). Grenoble welcomed for the second time a prisoner Pope in 1809. Pius VII spent 10 days in the city en route to his exile in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissemen ...

. In 1813 Grenoble was under threat from the Austrian army, which invaded Switzerland and

. The well-defended city contained the Austrian attacks, and the French army defeated the Austrians, forcing them to withdraw at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

. However, the later invasion of France in 1814 resulted in the capitulation of the troops and the occupation of the city. During his

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

from the island of Elba in 1815, Napoleon took a

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

that led him near Grenoble at Laffrey. There he met the Royalist Régiment d'Angouleme (former 5th) of Louis XVIII's Royal Army. Napoleon stepped toward the soldiers and said these famous words: "If there is among you a soldier who wants to kill his Emperor, here I am." The soldiers all joined his cause. After that, Napoleon was acclaimed at Grenoble and General

Jean Gabriel Marchand Jean Gabriel Marchand, 1st Count Marchand (10 December 1765 – 12 November 1851) went from being an attorney to a company commander in the army of the First French Republic in 1791. He fought almost exclusively in Italy throughout the French ...

could not prevent Napoleon from entering the city through the Bonne gate. He said later: "From

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

to Grenoble, I still was an adventurer; in that last city, I came back a sovereign". But after the defeat of Waterloo, the region suffered from a new invasion of Austrian and Sardinian troops. Fontaine trois ordres - Grenoble

The 19th century saw significant industrial development of Grenoble. The glove factories reached their Golden Age, and their products were exported to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. General Haxo transformed the Bastille fortress, which took on its present aspect between 1824 and 1848. The Second Empire saw the construction of the French railway network, and the first trains arrived at Grenoble in 1858. Shortly thereafter Grenoble experienced widespread destruction by extensive flooding in 1859. In 1869 engineer Aristide Bergès played a major role in industrializing hydroelectricity production. With the development of his paper mills, he accelerated the economic development of the Grésivaudan valley and Grenoble. On 4 August 1897, a stone and bronze fountain was inaugurated in Grenoble to commemorate the pre-revolutionary events of June 1788. Built by the sculptor Henri Ding, the Fountain of the Three Orders, which represents three characters, is located on Place Notre-Dame. People in Grenoble interpret these characters as follows: "Is it raining?" inquires the third estate; "Please heaven it had rained", lament the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

; and "It will rain", proclaims the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

20th century

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

accelerated Grenoble's economic development. To sustain the war effort, new hydroelectric industries developed along the various rivers of the region, and several existing companies moved into the armaments industry (for example in Livet-et-Gavet). Electrochemical factories were also established in the area surrounding Grenoble, initially to produce chemical weapons. This development resulted in significant immigration to Grenoble, particularly from Italian workers who settled in the Saint-Laurent neighborhood. Entrée exposition H

The economic development of the city was highlighted by the organization of the International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism in 1925, which was visited by more than 1 million people. The organization of this exhibition forced the military to remove the old city walls and allowed the expansion of the city to the south. This exhibition also highlighted the city's hydropower industry and the region's tourist attractions. The site of the exhibition became an urban park in 1926, named Parc Paul Mistral after the death of the mayor in 1932. The only building of this exhibition remaining in the park is the crumbling Tour Perret, which has been closed to the public since 1960 due to its very poor state of maintenance.

World War II

During World War II, at the Battle of the Alps, the Nazi invasion was stopped near Grenoble at Voreppe by the forces of General Cartier in June 1940. The French forces resisted until the armistice. Grenoble was then part of the French State, before an Italian occupation from 1942 to 1943. The relative mercy of the Italian occupiers towards the Jewish populations resulted in a significant number moving to the region from the German-occupied parts of France. Grenoble was extremely active in the

Résistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

against the occupation. Its action was symbolized by figures such as Eugène Chavant, Léon Martin, and Marie Reynoard. The University of Grenoble supported the clandestine operations and provided false documentation for young people to prevent them from being assigned to STO. In September 1943, German troops occupied Grenoble, escalating the conflict with the clandestine movements. On 11 November 1943 (the anniversary of the armistice of 1918), massive strikes and demonstrations took place in front of the local collaboration offices. In response, the occupiers arrested 400 demonstrators in the streets. On 13 November, the resistance blew up the artillery at the Polygon, which was a psychological shock for an enemy who then intensified the repression. On 25 November, the occupiers killed 11 members of the Résistance organizations of Grenoble. This violent crackdown was nicknamed "Grenoble's Saint-Bartholomew". From these events, Grenoble was styled by the Free French Forces the title of ''Capital of the

Maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The netwo ...

'' on the antennas of the BBC. This event only intensified the activities of Grenoble's resistance movements. The Germans could not prevent the destruction of their new arsenal on 2 December at the Bonne Barracks. After the

Normandy landing The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, resistance operations reached their peak, with numerous attacks considerably hampering the activity of German troops. With the landing in Provence, German troops evacuated the city on 22 August 1944. On 5 November 1944, General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

came to Grenoble and bestowed on the city the '' Compagnon de la Libération'' to recognise "a heroic city at the peak of the French resistance and combat for the liberation".

Post-war

In 1955, future physics Nobel prize laureate Louis Néel created the Grenoble Center for Nuclear Studies (CENG), resulting in the birth of the Grenoble model, a combination of research and industry. The first stone was laid in December 1956. In 1968 Grenoble hosted the X Olympic Winter Games. This event helped modernize the city with the development of infrastructure such as an airport, motorways, a new town hall, and a new train station. It also helped the development of ski resorts like Chamrousse,

Les Deux Alpes Les 2 Alpes () is a ski resort in the French ''department'' of Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The village sits at and lifts run to . It has the largest skiable glacier in Europe and is France's second oldest ski resort behind Chamonix. It h ...

, and Villard-de-Lans.

Geography

Grenoble is surrounded by mountains. To the north lies the Chartreuse, to the south and west the Vercors, and to the east the Belledonne range. Grenoble is regarded as the capital of the French Alps. It is the centre of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration). Except for a few dozen houses on the slopes of the Bastille hill of Chartreuse, Grenoble is exclusively built on the alluvial plain of the rivers

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Drac at an altitude of . As a result, the city itself is extremely flat. Mountain sports are an important tourist attraction in summer and winter. Twenty large and small ski resorts surround the city, the nearest being

Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 communes in the French department of Isère Isère ( , ; ...

, which is about 15 minutes away by car. Historically, Grenoble and the surrounding areas were heavy industry and mining sites. Abandoned mills and factories can be found in small towns and villages, and a few have been converted to tourist attractions, such as the coal mine at

La Mure La Mure () is a commune in the Isère département in southeastern France. It is located south of Grenoble on the plateau Matheysin. Population Sights * The Chemin de fer de la Mure is a small touristic train using a railway initially bui ...

Climate

The climate in Grenoble depends on the data from the chosen weather station. Grenoble Airport, located northwest of the city has a range from temperate continental climate to

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

( Köppen: Cfb,

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Tre ...

: Dc, Do) depending on the chosen classifications. The area contains significant seasonal differences between warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Both temperatures above for the summer months and winter air frosts are common. In addition, the climate is much gloomier than in the Mediterranean region, although less so than in Northern France. Rainfall is quite heavy by French standards, although the number of rainy days is relatively moderate. As a result of winter lows averaging below freezing, snowfall also occurs, although the Grenoble Airport area itself is too mild to sustain a snowpack all winter, unlike the surrounding mountains. The record low of decisively indicates the continental influence, being colder than records in typical maritime climates. Winter nights are also colder than in all other French lowland areas. However, the city of Grenoble features a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(Köppen: Cfa) with no dry season. Although the record is incomplete, the newer station will meet the humid subtropical classification if maintained for the required 30-year period.

Saint-Martin-d'Hères weather station

(5 km east of Grenoble)

Alpes-Isère Airport weather station

(40 km north-west of Grenoble)

1981 - 2010 normals

Population

Urbanism and architecture

The Bouchayer-Viallet site is a powerful symbol of Grenoble's industrial past. This former factory is now converted into a dual-purpose area more closely linked to the Berriat neighbourhood. Innovative business activities as Apple Inc. co-exist with housing, sporting facilities, contemporary music venue and arts centres as Le Magasin. At the entrance to the Bouchayer-Viallet site, Square des Fusillés has been redeveloped and extended taking over an old car park, to facilitate access from the tramway stop and Cours Berriat. Redevelopment of the former De Bonne barracks was an important step in the drive to launch sustainable housing in France. In 2009, the site of De Bonne was distinguished as the best eco-neighborhood in France. A shopping mall contains 53 shops arranged around an inner concourse, with one side opening onto the park and the other connecting to the town.

Main sights

La Bastille

The Bastille, an ancient series of fortifications on the mountainside, overlooks Grenoble on the northern side and is visible from many points in the city. The Bastille is one of Grenoble's most visited tourist attractions and provides a good vantage point over both the town below and the surrounding mountains. Seilbahn-Grenoble

The Bastille fort was begun in the

, and later centuries saw extensive additions, including a semi-underground defense network. The Bastille has been credited as the most extensive example of early 18th-century fortifications in all of France. It then held an important strategic point on the French

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

frontier with the

Kingdom of Savoy The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

. The first cable transport system, installed on the Bastille in 1875, was built by the Porte de France Cement Company for freight. This cable transport system connected a quarry on Mount Jalla, just over the Bastille, and Grenoble. It was abandoned in the early 20th century. Since 1934, the Bastille has been the destination of the " Grenoble-Bastille cable car". This system of mostly transparent egg-shaped cable cars known to locals as "Les Bulles" (the bubbles) provides the occupants with an excellent view over the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019. This renaissance palace was constructed at the Place Saint André around 1500 and extended in 1539. It was the location of the

of Dauphiné until the

. It then became the Grenoble courthouse, until the courts were moved to a modern building in 2002. The left wing of the palace was extended in 1897. The front of the former seat of the nearby Dauphiné Parlement combines elements from a gothic chapel and a Renaissance façade. The building now belongs to the Isère Council (Conseil Général de l'Isère). An ongoing renovation project will give this building a new life whilst preserving its patrimonial character and adding a modern touch.

Museum of Grenoble

The city's most prized museum, the Museum of Grenoble (''Musée de Grenoble''), welcomes visitors a year. It is primarily renowned for its extensive paintings collection, which covers Western paintings from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. In the early 20th century, the Museum of Grenoble became the first French museum to open its collections to modern art, and its collection of modern and contemporary art has grown to become one of the largest in Europe. The painting holdings include works by painters such as Veronese,

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

, Zurbarán,

Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the a ...

, Delacroix, Renoir,

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fro ...

, Signac, Monet,

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primar ...

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, Kandinsky,

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented ...

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly infl ...

and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. The museum also presents a few Egyptian antiquities as well as Greek and Roman artifacts. The Sculpture collection features works by

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo to see his family and ...

and

Alexander Calder Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and hi ...

. In April 2010, the ''prophetess of Antinoe'', a 6th-century mummy discovered in 1907 in the Coptic

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

Antinoe In Greek mythology, the name Antinoe (; Ancient Greek: Ἀντινόη) may refer to: * Antinoe, mother of Ancaeus and Epochus by King Lycurgus of Arcadia.Scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes, ''Argonautica'' 1.164 The latter's wife was otherwise ...

in Middle Egypt, returned to the Museum of Grenoble, after more than fifty years of absence and extensive restoration.

Archaeological museums

Situated on the right bank of the Isère, on Place Saint-Laurent, the

Grenoble Archaeological Museum Grenoble Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Grenoble, France. It occupies the historic site of Saint-Laurent at the foot of the Bastille on the right bank of the Isère. The building Saint-Laurent church was built on the remains of a ...

presents the archaeological excavations done on its location. The vestiges date back to the 3rd century AD and provide a timeline of the history of Christianity in the region. The museum is situated below a 12th-century Benedictine church, under which Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac, brother of famed egyptologist

Jean-François Champollion Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 17904 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in t ...

, discovered a 6th century AD church in 1803. It was one of the first classified monuments in France thanks to the intervention of Prosper Mérimée, historic monument inspector. Systematic excavations were conducted from 1978 to 2011, as part of a regional research program on the evolution of churches during the Middle Ages. After eight years of work, the museum reopened on 6 May 2011. The Musée de l'Ancien Évêché is the second archaeological museum in the city and is located near the

Grenoble Cathedral Grenoble Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Grenoble) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Grenoble, France. It is a national monument, and is the seat of the Bishop of Grenoble (since 2006 Bishop of Grenoble–Vienne). Hi ...

. Installed in 1998, it houses the first baptistery of the city The Grenoble townhall hosts a bust of Stendhal by sculptor

Pierre Charles Lenoir Pierre Lenoir (23 May 1879, in Paris – 9 September 1953, in Paris) was a French sculptor. Biography Pierre Lenoir was a French sculptor and medallist and was one of the Breton sculptors born in the 1880s who studied together at the École r ...

Education and science

Secondary level

The large community of both foreign students and foreign researchers prompted the creation of an international school. The Cité Scolaire Internationale Europole (CSI Europole) was formerly housed within the '' Lycée Stendhal'' across from the '' Maison du Tourisme'', but later moved to its own building in the district. In the centre of the city, two high schools have provided education to the isérois for more than three centuries. The oldest one, the Lycée Stendhal, was founded in 1651 as a Jesuit College. An astronomical and astrological sundial created in the college's main building in 1673 can still be visited today. The second-oldest higher education establishment in Grenoble is the Lycée Champollion, completed in 1887 to offer an excellent education to both high school students and students of preparatory classes.

Higher education

The city is an important university centre with over 54,000 students in 2013, of whom 16% arrive from abroad. In a 1339 pontificial bull, Pope

Benedict XII Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful ...

commissioned the establishment of the

. In 1965, the university mostly relocated from downtown to a suburban main campus outside of the city in Saint Martin d'Hères (with some parts in

Gières Gières () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration). The archaeologist Joseph Chamonard (1866–1936) died in Gières. Grenoble-Universités-Gières station has rail con ...

). However, smaller campuses remain both downtown and in the northwestern part of the city known as the '' Polygone Scientifique'' ("Scientific Polygon"). From 1970 to 2015, the university was divided into four separate institutions sharing the campus grounds, some buildings and laboratories, and even part of their administration: * Grenoble I –

Joseph Fourier University Joseph Fourier University (UJF, french: Université Joseph Fourier, also known as Grenoble I) was a French university situated in the city of Grenoble and focused on the fields of sciences, technologies and health. It is now part of the Univers ...

(sciences, health, technologies) * Grenoble II – Pierre Mendès-France University (social sciences) ** which includes the Institute of political studies * Grenoble III –

Stendhal University Stendhal University (french: Université Stendhal, also known as Grenoble III) was a university located in the outskirts of Grenoble, France that offered courses in foreign languages and cultures, ancient and modern literature, language and commu ...

(humanities) * Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG or Grenoble-INP) is a federation of engineering colleges. On 1 January 2016, the first three of those merged back to form the Université Grenoble Alpes. ENAC Grenoble Campus

Campuses of the École nationale de l'aviation civile (French civil aviation university), École d'Architecture de Grenoble ( School of Architecture of Grenoble) and Grenoble École de Management (Grenoble School of Management) are also located in Grenoble.

Science and engineering

Grenoble is a major scientific centre, especially in the fields of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

, and

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

: Universite Joseph Fourier (UJF) is one of the leading French scientific universities while the Grenoble Institute of Technology trains more than 5,000 engineers every year in key technology disciplines. Grenoble's high-tech expertise is organized mainly around three domains: information technology, biotechnologies, and new technologies of energy. Many fundamental and applied scientific research laboratories are conjointly managed by Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble Institute of Technology, and the French '' National Centre for Scientific Research'' (CNRS). Numerous other scientific laboratories are managed independently or in collaboration with the CNRS and the French '' National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control'' (INRIA). Other research centres in or near Grenoble include the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the Institut de radioastronomie millimétrique, one of the main research facilities of the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (Nuclear Energy Commission, CEA), the LNCMI and the European branch of Xerox Research (whose most notable center was PARC). Leti and the recent development of Minatec, a centre for innovation in micro- and nano-technology, only increases Grenoble's position as a European scientific centre. Biotechnologies are also well represented in the Grenoble region with the molecular biology research center BioMérieux, the

Clinatec Clinatec is a biomedical research center based at the Polygone Scientifique in Grenoble. Doctors, biologists and micro- and nanotechnology experts work side by side at the 6,000 m2 facility. Around a hundred researchers and employees work at the ...

center, the regional center NanoBio and many ramifications of the global competitiveness cluster Lyonbiopôle. Meanwhile, Grenoble has large laboratories related to space and to the understanding and observation of the universe as the Institut de radioastronomie millimétrique, the Institut de planétologie et d'astrophysique de Grenoble, the Laboratoire de physique subatomique et de cosmologie de Grenoble, the Institut Néel but also to a lesser extent the

Institut des sciences de la Terre An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institute, research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countr ...

(part of the Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble). In order to foster this technological cluster university institutions and research organizations united to create the GIANT (Grenoble Innovation for Advanced New Technologies) Campus with the aim at becoming one of the world's top campuses in research, higher education, and high tech. The city benefits from the highest concentration of strategic jobs in France after Paris, with 14% of the employments, 35,186 jobs, 45% of which specialized in design and research. Grenoble is also the largest research center in France after Paris with 22,800 jobs (11,800 in public research, 7,500 in private research and 3,500 PhD students). Grenoble is also renowned for the excellence of its academic research in humanities and political sciences. Its universities, alongside public scientific institutions, host some of the largest research centres in France (in fields such as political science, urban planning or the sociology of organizations).

Knowledge and innovation community

Grenoble is one of the co-location centres of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's Knowledge and Innovation Communities for

sustainable energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as green ...

Economy

Industry occupies a large part of the local economy. High-tech industries have a significant presence, especially in the field of semiconductors, electronics, and

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics N.V. commonly referred as ST or STMicro is a Dutch multinational corporation and technology company of French-Italian origin headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates near Geneva, Switzerland and listed on the French stock market. ST ...

, Schneider Electric and

Soitec Soitec is an international company, based in France, that manufactures high performance substrates used in the manufacture of semiconductors. Soitec's semiconductor materials are used to manufacture chips which equip smartphones, tablets, ...

have major manufacturing and R&D facilities. Traditional industries in fields such as heavy equipment manufacturing and chemistry are still present and include

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

, GE Renewable Energy, and

Arkema Arkema S.A. is a publicly listed, multi-national manufacturer of specialty materials, headquartered in Colombes, near Paris, France. It has three specialty materials segments (or divisions); adhesives, advanced materials and coatings. A furt ...

. The town was once famous for

manufacturing, for which introduced an innovative technique in the 19th century. A few small companies continue to produce gloves for a very high-end market.

Companies

In 2011, the largest employers in the Grenoble metropolitan area were: The presence of companies such as HP or Caterpillar in the area has drawn many American and British workers to Grenoble, especially in the surrounding mountain villages. The region has the second largest English-speaking community in France, after Paris. That community has an English-speaking Church and supports the International School. Many of these Americans, British, Australians etc. go to Grenoble with the intention of returning home after some time but the mountains and general lifestyle often keep them there. Some choose to put their children in the international school "cité internationale", while the "American School of Grenoble" is the alternative for those who prefer to have the core curriculum in English. With numerous associations like Open House, this large English-speaking population organizes family events making life in Grenoble harder to turn away from. Publisher Glénat has its head office in Grenoble. Inovallée is a

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...

with about 12,000 jobs located at

Meylan Meylan (; frp, Mèlan) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration). Population Misuse of public money In 2013, the newly reelected Mayor of Meylan Marie-Christine Tard ...

and

Montbonnot-Saint-Martin Montbonnot-Saint-Martin () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).téléGrenoble Isère is the local TV channel with France 3 Alpes. The local newspaper is

Le Dauphiné libéré ''Le Dauphiné libéré'' is a provincial daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on local news and events. The paper is published in Grenoble, France. History and profile Founded in 1945, it takes the name from the former province of ...

Sport

Grenoble hosted the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

. The city is surrounded by ski resorts nestled in the surrounding mountains. Stade Lesdiguières is located in Grenoble and has been the venue for international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

games. Grenoble is the home of first

, FC Grenoble, and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

teams,

Brûleurs de loups The Brûleurs de Loups (French for ''Wolfs Burners'') are a professional ice hockey team that play in Grenoble, France. History The club was founded in 1963 under the name Grenoble Hockey Club. Since 1992, the club has been known as the Brûleu ...

, and a second-tier football team, Grenoble Foot 38. * Six-Days of Grenoble, a six-day track cycling race held since 1971 * The

via ferrata A via ferrata ( Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except ...

Grenoble is a climbing route located on the hill of the Bastille in Grenoble. The abundance of natural sites around Grenoble as well as the particular influence of mountaineering practices and history make many Grenoble inhabitants very fond of sports and outdoor activities (e.g., hiking, mountain biking,

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste ( Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which ...

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically a ...

, and

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

). The

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

cycling race regularly passes through the city.

Transport

A comprehensive bus and tram service operates 26 bus routes and five

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

lines. It serves much of greater Grenoble, while a new cable car system known as the Métrocâble is scheduled to be completed in 2022. Being essentially flat, Grenoble is also a bicycle-friendly city. The Gare de Grenoble is served by the

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

rail network, with frequent high-speed services (3 hours) to and from Paris-Gare de Lyon, usually with a stop at

Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. While Grenoble is not directly on any high-speed line, TGVs can run at reduced speeds on the classic network and enable such connections. Local rail services connect Grenoble with

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, and less frequently to

, to Valence, and to destinations to the south. Valence and Lyon to the west provides connections with TGV services along the Rhône Valley. Rail and road connections to the south are less developed. Grenoble can be accessed by air from Grenoble-Isère Airport,

and

Geneva International Airport Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It ...

, with the airport bus connections being most frequent to Lyon Saint-Exupéry. I-road - Grenoble

Highways link Grenoble to the other major cities in the area including the A48 autoroute to the northwest toward

, the A49 to the southwest toward the Rhone valley via Valence, the A41 to the northeast toward Chambéry, the Alps, and Italy and Switzerland. A partial ring road around the south of the city, the Rocade Sud, connects the motorway arriving from the northwest (A48) with that arriving from the northeast (A41). A project to complete the ring road, with a tunnel under the Bastille as part of the likely routes, was rejected after its environmental impact studies. From 2014 to 2017, the city of Grenoble tested the rental of seventy I-Road electric vehicles. In 2016, the speed limit was lowered to on 80% of the streets of Grenoble and forty-two neighboring municipalities, to both improve safety and reduce pollution levels. The limit, however, remains on the main arteries.

Culture

Grenoble hosts several festivals: the Détours de Babel in March, the Open Air Short Film Festival in early July, and the '' Cabaret Frappé'' music festival at the end of July. The

Summum Summum is a religion and philosophy that began in 1975 as a result of American citizen Claude "Corky" Nowell's claimed encounter with beings he described as "Summa Individuals". According to Nowell, these beings presented him with concepts r ...

is the biggest concert hall in Grenoble, and the most famous artists produce there. Another big hall, ''Le grand angle'', is located nearby in

. Smaller halls in the city include the ''Salle Olivier Messiaen'' in the Minim Monastery. The main cultural center of the city is called MC2 (for ''Maison de la culture, version 2''), which hosts music, theater, and dance performances. The Conservatory of Grenoble is founded in 1935. There are several theaters in Grenoble, the main one being Grenoble Municipal Theatre (''Théatre de Grenoble''). Others are the ''Théâtre de Création'', the ''Théâtre Prémol'', and the ''Théâtre 145''. Grenoble also hosts

Upstage Productions Upstage may refer to: * UpStage, an open source server-side application that has been purpose built for cyberformance * ''Upstage'' (film), (also known as The Mask of Comedy) is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film * The Upstage Gallery, fea ...

, which performs once a year through an exclusively English speaking troupe. There are two main art centres in Grenoble: the ''Centre national d'Art contemporain'' (also called '' Le Magasin'') and the ''Centre d'art Bastille''. Grenoble is known for its walnuts, which enjoy an ''appellation'' of controlled origin. The town also hosts a well-known comics publisher, Glénat.

Notable people

International relations

After World War I, one street in the centre of Smederevska Palanka (Serbia) was named French stree
(Francuska ulica)
and one street in Grenoble was name
Palanka street
Rue de Palanka). The same neighborhood also has a Belgrade Stree
(Rue de Belgrade)

Twin towns and sister cities

Grenoble is twinned with:

Gallery

References

Bibliography

External links

Grenoble City website

Grenoble Chamber of Commerce and Industry
* {{Authority control Communes of Isère Companions of the Liberation Prefectures in France Dauphiné Cities in France