| Tips and photos of unusual, out-of-the-way Grenoble attractions, posted by real travelers and locals. Grenoble Map |
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 Road side sign by JLBG
In 1984, the French Revolution museum opened. It reminds not only how the French Revolution began here in 1788 and spread in 1789 to Paris and the whole country but also it shows all the cultural, social and political changes that occurred at the end of the XVIIIth century all over Europe. The library owns more than 20,000 books than can be used by researchers, students and anybody interested in the history of that dramatic and exciting period.
B.P. 1753 - 38220 Vizille
Tél : 04.76.68.07.35. - Fax : 04.76.68.08.53.
Opening of the park (free) :
Every day except Tuesdays and the 1st of May.
March through May and September through October : 9h-19h
June through August : 9h-20h.
November through February : 10h-17h.
Museum and castle :
Every day except Tuesdays, the 1st of May Christmas and New Year's day..
April through October : 10h-17h
November through March : 10h-17h Leave a Comment
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 Borrowed picture by JLBG
Thirty km of railroad gripped to a steep mountain slope, 142 bridges, 18 tunnels, 122 bends reveal a breathtaking landscape for 100 minutes. This metric width railway began to run in 1889 after four years of titanic work.
to transport coal from La Mure to Saint-Georges-de-Commiers where it was loaded on full size wagons to reach Grenoble and further. The mines are now closed and the train runs only for tourists. In La Mure a photographic shows present 100 years of the mine train. In Saint-Georges-de-Commiers, a museum reminds how the miners had a hard work.
Tél : 0.892.391.426. - Fax : 04.76.735.736. e-mail : trainmure@aol.com
For more, look at the web site Chemin de fer de La Mure Leave a Comment
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 by JLBG
For more on the Funiculaire, visit their web site.
On the "Plateau des Petites Roches", you can hike on one of the numerous trails with an outstanding landscape. But this is also the best taking off ground in Europe for free flight, paragliding, etc
Every year, an International Festival, the Icarus cup takes place for 4 days with 80,000 visitors, 8,000 pilots. The 32nd edition will take place in 2005 from september 22nd through 25th
Cost: 2 day pass €5; gala night €6
Borroughed from the Coupe Icare web site :
The Icare Festival in Saint-Hilaire du Touvet, now in its 30th year, offers an incredible variety of vehicles in which to travel by air. From the humble paper plane to the hot-air balloon, anything that relies on the whims of nature to fly is represented.
Created in 1974, the Coupe Icare (Icarus Cup) is the oldest 'free flight' manifestation in the world. It assembles more than 7000 para and hang-gliders from all over the world. During the event the 1,300 inhabitants of the village see the population increase 20 times over for four days!
Many different competitions and activities are on show. Some are educational, like the children's village, while others such as the aerial acrobatics and hot air balloons are spectacular. Then there's the crazy and much celebrated aerial disguises...
The competition for the best disguise is undoubtedly the highpoint of the Coupe Icare. It is both funny and poetic, giving full rein to the most extravagant ideas. A flying Eiffel Tower four metres high, a dragonfly six metres long, etc. Whether they are individual or team efforts, the disguises are prepared months before. There is no limit to participants' imagination, but always the nagging question, "Will it fly?" Leave a Comment
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 by JLBG
In my Saint Martin le Vinoux page, I will explain under "things to do" why and how Saint Martin le Vinoux and the whole Grenoble area are strongly linked to the history of concrete. The Casamaures is the master piece of that industry and in this case, it is worth the name of art and is a must visit for those who are interested in architecture. I will present in this page concrete achievements not only in St Martin but also in Grenoble. Leave a Comment
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 Maison de la Musique by JLBG
In my Meylan page, I will present mostly Meylan but also neighboring cities of La Tronche, Corenc and Montbonnot-Saint-Martin.
Meylan and Montbonnot-Saint-Martin are now developped at the bottom of the valley though the ancient villages were on the slopes, out of reach of the Isère floods. La Tronche and Corenc have both remained entirely on the slopes of the Chartreuse massif. The Mont Saint Eynard with its fort is on the limit of these communities.
These cities in the close neighbourhood of Grenoble have always been residential locations. When a one hour horse or carriage ride was necessary to reach Meylan or La Tronche, wealthy citizens had for summer a country mansion in these remote places. Now that they are reached by bus or car in a dozen of minutes, everybody wants to live there as it is the less polluted part of the valley and has more green spaces. Meylan had 1074 inhabitants in 1946, 19,000 now.
Meylan is twinned since 1986 with Gonzales (Louisiana) in the USA, 1988 with Planegg (Bavaria) in Germany and since 1999 with Didcot in England.
During the past thirty years, Meylan, the first and more recently Montbonnot-Saint-Martin have developed a district called ZIRST (for Zone industrielle de Recherche Scientifique et Technique = Industrial zone for scientific and technical research). That means that the ZIRST has built 2/3 levels buildings ready for rent to small, new companies in electronics, informatics, metrology and other high technology fields. Larger companies have bought land and have now buildings of their own, often developing an interesting architecture. They are the one I will show here.
This ZIRST has often been called the French Silicon Valley. On the 15th of April 2005, the unpronounceable ZIRST has become Inovallée, for Innovation Valley and with an evident wink to Silicon Valley. Leave a Comment
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 Borrowed picture by JLBG
Open every day except Mondays from April 1st to October 31st.
In July and August guided visits from 10h to 18h.
For more on the Cuves de Sassenage, visit the web site of the Office du Tourisme. Leave a Comment
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 by JLBG
Saint Martin d'Hères (SMH) is not only a campus but on my page I will present only that part of the city. Moreover, I will present here all what is connected with the University, let it be in SMH or elsewhere in the Grenoble area.
A CENTRE OPEN TO THE WORLD
6,000 foreign students
3,200 students registered for French as a foreign language courses
Thousands of foreign executives
2 international secondary schools
40 foreign communities
150 cultural and international associations
more than 80 countries in contact with Grenoble research teams (of which 80% in EU countries and North America).
B Grenoble, an international research venueThese international networks ? the fruit of each establishment's past and their bonds with other academic bodies ? are organized through European student mobility programmes and bilateral and multilateral agreements.
The agreements cover the exchange of students, researchers and teachers, and joint teaching programmes such as dual degrees and co-tutored theses. They cover every area of science. The diversity of the student population attending Grenoble universities reflects their international dimension, hosting more than 6,000 foreign students, who account for 10% of the total student body.
C A favourable context for learning languagesEighteen languages are taught in Grenoble universities (German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, English, Spanish, Dutch, Rumanian, Arab, Modern Greek, Portughese, Serbo-Croate, Catalan, Italian, Polish, Czech.
In the middle of the campus Maison des Langues et des Cultures offers all students complete courses and separate modules, in classes or for self-learning. Leave a Comment
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 by JLBG
On August 27th 1957, Henri Giraud, a master of mountain flying landed on top of the Mont Aiguille in a small plane, a Piper J 3. Altogether, between 1957 and 1975, he landed 53 times on the summit.
If you want to know more on the %Lmontaiguille.free.fr/Mont Aiguille, you can visit this website or the other one, also on the Mont Aiguille Leave a Comment
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 by JLBG
Driving from Grenoble, you pass first by Vizille, its castle and museum of the Revolution and then have to climb the famous "Côte de Vizille". It is the steepest main road in France. If you climb it, be sure that you car will not overheat. That happens to many! If you drive down, take extreme care, use the motor brake, drive slowly. Numerous road signs remind that. In the past, there has been several accidents involving busses, trucks or cars that have run brakeless. It is now strictely forbidden to busses and trucks.
On top, the small village of Laffrey (250 inh) and the 3 lacs de Laffrey (Laffrey lakes) : Grand Lac, Lac Mort and lac de Petichet. There are several beaches. Bathing and sailing brings every week end a lot of citizens from Grenoble. However, do not forget that the elevation is close to 1000m and the water is never very warm.
On the "Prairie du Retour" (Meadow of the way back) stands the statue of Napoleon. It is the place where he met with the army coming from Grenoble and which was supposed to arrest him and instead, backed him. Leave a Comment
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 Borrowed picture by JLBG
Open 9h-19h from mid June to mid September. Best period is July. Entrance 4 euros. Guided visit at 14h every week day.
For more on the Jardin botanique alpin%L, visit their web site. The web site Jardin Alpin du Lautaret gives also interesting information. Leave a Comment
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