Grenoble: Wed 11 – Fri 13 Sept: Accommodation
Wed 11th September
It was a cool morning for our last one in Annecy but Mark went for a ride around the lake, all 39 km, and I had a bit of a walk. It was then just a matter of packing up and heading off to Grenoble.
We stopped along the way at Gorges Du Fier and did a walk through the Gorge which was rather impressive. The Gorge had been carved out some 20,000 years prior by the action of a melting glacier, and the resultant water then went on to form Lake Annecy. The walk out and back along the Gorge took about an hour and cost 6 euros per head but is definitely worth the experience if you’re ever in the area.
Mark had been quite concerned about my apartment / hotel pick for Grenoble because of the name, Rocky Pops, but it turned out to be a delightful boutique-style hotel that also had a lovely bar and restaurant on the ground floor. I say ‘boutique’ but it was actually quite large so think maybe the word I’m looking for is ‘quirky’? Our apartment was quite spacious with a separate bedroom and the kitchen area was actually better stocked than the one in our previous apartment at Annecy. We were both exhausted though so didn’t venture out again until dinner time.
It was close to 6 pm before we headed out and we took a walk to explore around the town but it wasn’t too long before Mark stopped off to have a beer at one of the nice bars. We then drifted back towards our hotel as there were about four or five little restaurants directly opposite. We chose one that had a high Google rating, Et Si, and it was great. I’d link the website but, with help from another patron who was bilingual, we established from the owner that his website had been hacked and wouldn’t be fixed for another week or so. It’s worth a visit if you’re ever in the area though.
Thurs 12th September
It is very clear that we are getting old because it was 7:30 am before Mark and I got out for our morning walk. We went down to the river, successfully navigating the French traffic, and explored along the riverfront before heading back to our apartment for breakfast. One thing worth noting is that Grenoble is a very striking city, being almost in a bowl at the junction of two rivers and surrounded by mountain peaks in nearly every direction, so geologists would absolutely the place.
Our first stop for the day after leaving the hotel was at the Halles Sainte-Claire local food markets but these were rather small and half of the stores weren’t open so it did not take us very long to explore at all. We then took the cable car up to the 19th century Fort de la Bastille which offered spectacular views out over greater Grenoble. There was also a very interesting museum dedicated to the history of French Mountain Troops and I have a photo of a rather dashing young soldier who helped us with our entry ticket. The Bastille was not very big, and there was no audio guide or tour available, so it didn’t take too long to explore.
We didn’t have a lot else planned for the day as there weren’t any walking tours or even GPSmyCity guided walks for Grenoble. However there was one Visit Sights self-guided walking route which we did part of but this didn’t offer many interesting stops and half of them were rather ordinary churches. It was at this point that I checked in with Mark to ask: whose idea was it to come to Grenoble? Neither of us could remember!
It was lunchtime by this stage and we found a very busy little quiche cafe where we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Mark then said he had found a museum he wanted to visit, located on the other side of the river, so we set off there after our lunch. It was up several hundred stairs but we got there in the end. The Musee Dauphinois was set in the grounds of an old convent, with a very chequered history, but it had the most magnificent preserved baroque chapel in the grounds. The museum is dedicated to the people, culture and history of this Dauphine region of France and, it’s of no surprise then, that Gratin Dauphinois (potato gratin) is a signature dish from Grenoble. The museum offered an excellent overview of the history and artifacts of the people of the Alps, in both French and English which was very handy for us, and is definitely worth a visit. Rain started as soon as we left the museum so we headed back to the hotel to have a rest.
It was almost 6 pm before we headed out again and we made it as far as downstairs to the bar in our hotel. The place was packed and we got the last table available and spent about an hour there before drifting in to their restaurant. This, too, was a very busy and buzzing place and we had a nice meal for our final night in Grenoble. And the best thing was: we didn’t have far to go home!
We had enjoyed our short stay in Grenoble but would not say it is a place that you must visit. We start the Italian leg of this trip tomorrow with a one night visit to Turin before heading on to Alba.
