Grenoble

Getting Here

Paris's Gare de Lyon dispatches four trains daily (two direct and two via Lyon Part-Dieu) to Grenoble (3 hrs, 10 mins; €75; 3 hrs, 50 mins; €93.20 via Lyon). Six TGV trains daily connect Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport with Grenoble (1 hr, 33 mins; €19.60). Satobus (www.satobus.com) connects Lyon-Saint-Exupéry with Grenoble (1 hr, 5 mins; €21) every hour on the half hour. Altibus (www.altibus.com) connects Grenoble with 60 ski stations and towns throughout the Alps.

Grenoble's layout is maddening: your only hope lies in the big, illuminated maps posted throughout town or the free map from the tourist office. Use the mountains for orientation: the sheer Vercors plateau is behind the train station; the Chartreux, topped by the Bastille and téléphérique (cable car), are on the other side of the Isère River; and the distant peaks of the Belledonne are behind the park. TAG runs 21 bus and tram routes, many starting at Place Victor Hugo.

Visitor Information

Grenoble Tourist Office. 14 rue de la République, Grenoble, 38000. 04-76-42-41-41. www.grenoble-tourisme.com. Train station, 38000. 04-76-54-34-36. www.grenoble-tourisme.com.