Grenoble, France

Taking advantage of a free ride to a new city, I headed to the foothills of the Alps on a cool winter weekend. Grenoble is located north of Cannes, about a 4 hour drive away (due to either windy mountain roads, or a flatter circuitous route). And although the weather was uncooperative and rainy, the city was beautiful and utterly charming, exactly what you picture a French mountain town to be.

The cloudy, damp streets of Grenoble. A street tram
runs along the perimeter of the city center; you can see
the tracks here.

Since the weather was rainy, I had no choice but to pursue artistic endeavors and visited some museums. Luckily, there are quite a few to choose from, and I spent some time perusing portraits of dead French kings and saw an interesting exhibition about rural life in the Alps.

An old French King, Louis XIV

The Eglise Saint Louis, a pretty church located right in front of my hotel.

One of the highlights of Grenoble is the Bastille, a fortress located on a large hill overlooking the city. Unfortunately, the cable cars that service the ride from Grenoble city center to the top was out of service for winter maintenance, so my only option was to walk.

And... I didn't quite make it all the way up. I walked up a whole lot of stairs for about 20 minutes, and then decided to stop when I reached the Musée Dauphinois. The view was still very pretty, so it wasn't a total loss!

Those are snow-capped mountains waaaaay in the distance

The museum itself was quite interesting. In addition to a few exhibits, the building itself used to be a monastery in the 1600s. The original chapel is still on display, featuring an elaborate French Baroque ceiling.

Faaaaancy!

Grenoble is the perfect city to meander around in, with its beautiful architecture, modern conveniences, and lovely views!