567km (352 miles) SE of Paris; 55km (34 miles) S of Chambéry; 103km (64 miles) SE of Lyon
The ancient capital of the Dauphine, Grenoble is the commercial, intellectual, and tourist center of the Alps. It’s a major stop for travelers, including those driving between the Riviera and Geneva.
A sports capital in winter (it hosted the 1968 Winter Olympic Games) and summer, it attracts many foreign students; its university has the largest summer-session program in Europe. Founded in 1339, the University of Grenoble has a student body of some 55,000. The metropolitan area, the agglomération grenobloise (pop. 660,000) is also home to four other universities with a large contingent of English and American students, giving the city a cosmopolitan air.
