​​​ Lost Paradises Travels - Europe  

FRANCE - Alps - Grenoble​

Grenoble sits at the foot of mountains between the Drac and Isère rivers and is located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère and plays the role of an important scientific centre of Europe. The city advertises itself as the "Capital of the Alps", due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. The Bastille, an ancient series of fortifications on the mountainside, overlooks Grenoble on the northern side and is visible from many points in the city. It is one of Grenoble's most visited tourist attractions and provides a good vantage point over both the town below and the surrounding. Since 1934, the Bastille has been the destination of the "Grenoble-Bastille cable car". This system of mostly transparent egg-shaped cable cars known to locals as "Les Bulles" (the bubbles) provides the occupants with an excellent view over the Isère. mountains. The left wing of the palace was extended in 1897.

One of the main building is a gothic-renaissance palace constructed at the Place Saint André around 1500 and extended in 1539. It was the location of the Parlement of Dauphiné until the French Revolution. It then became the Grenoble courthouse, until the courts were moved to a modern building in 2002.