The cable car
About
The cable car (French: téléphérique), Quai Stéphane Jay (if you're walking, follow the Isère in the direction of the center of the town until you see the cables, you cannot miss them), (+33) 4 76 33 44 44 (fax: (+33) 4 76 51 61 49, contact@telepherique-grenoble.com). Closed for 3 weeks in January. Otherwise open every day, 10h45-18h30 in winter and up to 9h15-00h15 in summer. Prices at 6.80 euro for round trip or 4.70 euro for single trip (as at Aug 2011). The cable car is the easiest way to see the town from above, and the trip in the plastic bubbles is impressive. At the summit (some 260 m above the town) is a 19th-century fortress, La Bastille. When you arrive at the top, you can explore the fortifications, have a meal or light refreshments, follow winding paths further up the mountainside or simply enjoy the view (on a clear day Mont Blanc is visible in the distance). If you take the path (GR9) to the rear of the Bastille, you can walk approx 20-30 mins further up to Mont Jalla to get an even better view, where there is a memorial to the mountain troups who fought in WWII and a monument erected on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Grenoble (1944). You can also walk up to the Bastille via one of several paths or go by car from the city of La Tronche. Paths start from the Fountain of lion on the East side, (this path is called Montée Chalemont) or a park on the West, near the large arch (called Jardin des Dauphins).
