Encircled by three regional parks (Vercors, Chartreuse, and Belledonne), Grenoble has won the geographical lottery. Ironically, that means that the city often passes under the radar, as visitors headed for the mountains dash through with eyes skyward.
As a result, this French city is disarmingly unpretentious, with a centre where students rub shoulders with skiers in craft breweries, businessmen and mud-spattered hikers frequent the same wine bars, and where you can start the day paragliding over spires and finish it dancing in sultry jazz bars.
