MMedieval lanes, tree-lined parks, secluded squares with far-reaching views of mountain giants, birdsong and public gardens with beds for everyone: welcome to Grenoble, the largest and greenest metropolis in France in the Alps. 170,000 people live in the valleys of Drac and Isère between the massifs of Belledonne, Chartreuse and Vercors, 700,000 in the greater area. This basin forced Grenoble early on to take measures against particulate matter, greenhouse gases and smog.
Grenoble was the first city in France to draft a climate plan in 2005. Within ten years, Grenoble managed to reduce greenhouse gases by a quarter. They should be halved by 2050. 1,500 new trees were planted and pesticides were banned from city parks. The speed limit in the city center is 30; more and more streets, squares and zones are completely taboo for cars.
Local public transport in Grenoble is also focusing on sustainability: in addition to the trams and biogas buses that run between the districts, an almost four-kilometer-long urban cable car will connect the districts of Fontaine and Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux in the air from 2024.
Source: Infographic WORLD
They’ve been floating since 1934 Bubbles over the old rooftops of Grenoble. The cable car was a first in Europe – at that time such municipal facilities only existed in Rio de Janeiro. In 1976, the famous Plexiglas bubbles replaced the first metal cabins. Since then they have become an integral part of the cityscape.
After four minutes, the journey ends at the Fort de la Bastille. At a height of 476 meters, the bulwark on the mountain towers over the city – and in its casemates, walls and vaults today houses Accrobastille, France’s only climbing park in a fortress. A large viewing platform offers a wide view. At sunset, the surrounding mountains glow like flames. The panorama extends to Mont Blanc, which stands out against the blue sky with its glittering snow cap.
Grenoble is the Green Capital of Europe
The sustainability strategy has paid off: Grenoble was named European Green Capital in 2022. The Alpine metropolis is the second city in France after Nantes (2013) to receive this title. But not only the green plus points are worth a visit, the city also has a lot to offer for those interested in history and for connoisseurs.
Down in the valley, Grenoble reveals its history. The city is 2000 years old – and it was never destroyed in the war. Long, straight streets run through the quarters. One of them is the Cours Jean-Jaurès, an eight-kilometer-long, dead-straight avenue.
In the heart of the old town is the Place Grenette. With its charming cafés and restaurants, it gives little indication that executions once took place here. The impressive wrought-iron market hall was built on the Place Sainte-Claire in 1874. To this day it is a realm of indulgence – filled, for example, with wines from the Dauphiné made from Chardonnay, Jacquère, Persan and Verdesse grapes.
Cafes and restaurants in the old town invite you to take a break
Quelle: Getty Images/L. Toshio Kishiyama
And with regional specialties. Like the Bleu du Vercors-Sassange, a creamy blue cheese made with milk from Montbéliard, Villard and Abondance cows. Or with mountains of walnuts, of which there are several varieties. They are also an important ingredient for the local Vin de Noix, a full-bodied nut wine made from grapes and green walnuts, which the “Café de la Table Ronde”, founded in 1739, serves as an aperitif.
Preserving traditions – Jean Strazzeri on Rue Voltaire does the same thing. As the last glove maker in Grenoble, he makes gloves from fine goatskin, entirely by hand and with tools that are over 100 years old in some cases. In the 18th and 19th centuries there were almost 200 such workshops.
The first eco-district in France
The Jardin de Ville is a little off the center. Hard to believe that the Stadtgarten was the city’s only green space until the early 19th century – with a grove of lines, plane trees and linden trees surrounding a bandstand and a garden with stem roses, centenary palms and potted orange trees.
The Jardin de Ville is a green oasis
What: pa/imageBROKER/Barbara Boensch
As befits a green city, you can see murals and graffiti everywhere, which have been legally painted on the city’s facades since 2015 as part of the Street Art Festival: 200 works of art of all styles, 200 poetic, political, humorous or even ecological Embassies.
Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni warn of the environmental emergency with their drowning polar bear. On the Place Doyen Gosse, the collective Reskate’s huge mural “Eco vs Ego” in the style of 1940s commercials questions the role of humans in the face of environmental problems.
Murals can be seen all over the city
Source: pa/dpa/Lisa Marcelja
La Caserne de Bonne shows that people can set positive accents. In 2009, Grenoble transformed military wasteland into France’s first eco-district. In the heart of the city center, it combines living, working, learning and relaxing on 800 hectares in a car-free complex with short distances, a promenade and a park. 40 percent of the 800 apartments are socially funded, everywhere bicycles are leaning against the facades.
There is a reason for the obvious popularity of bicycles: As early as 2004, Grenoble launched a city bike system that today includes 9,000 sunny yellow bikes: standard bikes, tandems, folding bikes, cargo bikes and children’s bikes – and now more and more e-bikes. 400 bike paths and 21 marked circular routes invite you to whiz through the city away from traffic – and then to draw larger circles.
Hiking in the nature park bordering the city
To the south, a 15-kilometre loop leads along roads with little traffic and no elevation changes into the countryside: to Thierry Rault’s Ferme Aromatique in Varces. He has been growing aromatic and medicinal plants there for 15 years: sage, thyme, rosemary, mint, all organic. Exotic plants such as the oyster plant (Mertensia maritima), which tastes slightly fishy, or the Vietnamese cheese plant, whose leaves taste like Camembert, are hidden between pots of local herbs.
A few pedals away, at the crossroads of the Route du gros chêne and the Route du Moulin de Tulette, a small market has been held every Wednesday since 2018 in the gardens of Malissoles. From coffee and honey to ravioli and goat cheese to meat and bread, there’s enough to fill the picnic lunch basket.
A cable car takes you across the Isère River to the Bastille
Quelle: Getty Images/L. Toshio Kishiyama
If you don’t like cycling, you can also go hiking in Grenoble: the regional nature park begins in the city, right next to the Bastille. The hiking network of the metropolis measures 820 kilometers. You leave the city behind in no time, roam through valleys and over hills, through forests and over alpine pastures, fill your lungs with clean air. The way back in hiking boots is too strenuous? No problem, public transport runs everywhere to bring tired hikers back to the city.
Tips and information:
Getting there: By train, for example by ICE/TGV via Strasbourg and Lyon, continue with the regional train to Grenoble.
Grenoble Pass: The Grenoble City Pass offers free travel on public transport, access to 25 activities at no extra cost and discounts at 15 other sites. It is valid for 24/48/72 hours and costs 19/33/48 euros.
Information: Grenoble Alpes Tourism, grenoble-tourisme.com/de
