('') at the 1999 census was 514,559 inhabitants.
The city has been known under different names through time:
After the collapse of the ''. Grenoble was the capital of the Dauphiné, a
Province Of France since 1349, when the last Dauphin of Vienne sold the region to France, on condition that the heir to the French crown use the title of Dauphin.
Grenoble is surrounded by mountains: to the north the
Chartreuse , to the west the
Vercors , and to the east the
Belledonne Range . As such, it is often visited by the
Tour De France and is often called the "capital of the alpes".
The city is mainly built on the alluvial plain of the river Isere, at an altitude of around 214 meters. Mountain sports give to the city an important touristic interest: twenty ski stations surround the city, some only 30 minutes of drive away.
The presence of a large international community through both foreign students and foreign researchers has prompted the creation of an international school more than a decade ago: the ,
Spanish ,
Italian and
English but it also has a
Portuguese and an
Arabic section. It is now one of France's best secondary education centers.
In
1339 the
University Of Grenoble was founded by
Pope Benedict XII and the Dauphin
Humbert II (the counts of Dauphiné bore the title of Dauphin), whose charter of privileges stipulated that the university should give instruction in
Civil and
Canon Law , medicine, and the arts. This first attempt at a university foundered, but it was re-established on sound footing by the governor of the Dauphiné in
1542 .
Grenoble is now a major scientific center, especially in the fields of '' (UJF) is one of the leading
French scientific universities while ''
Grenoble Institute Of Technology '' (INPG) trains each year more than 1,000 engineers in high-tech areas. In fact, many fundamental and applied scientific research laboratories are conjointly managed by Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble Institute of Technology and the French ''
National Center For Scientific Research '' (CNRS). Numerous other scientific laboratories are managed solely or in collaboration by CNRS and the French ''
National Institute For Research In Computer Science And Control '' (INRIA).
Large research centers located in or near the city also include the
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the
Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and one of the French ''
Commissariat à L'Énergie Atomique '' (CEA) main research facility.
The recent development of
Minatec , a centre for innovation in micro & nanotechnology only increases the position of Grenoble as one of the European scientific centers.
An
IEP is located here, the ''
Institut D'études Politiques De Grenoble '', as well as an increasingly reputated business school ''
Grenoble École De Management '' (Grenoble-EM).
Grenoble was the birthplace of:
- Abel Servien ( 1593 – 1659 ), Diplomat
- Hugues De Lionne ( 1611 – 1671 ), statesman
- Claudine Alexandrine Guérin De Tencin ( 1681 – 1749 ), Courtesan and Author
- Jacques De Vaucanson ( 1709 – 1782 ), inventor of the modern-day robot
- Étienne Bonnot De Condillac ( 1715 – 1780 ), writer of the Enlightenment
- Jean Joseph Mounier ( 1758 – 1806 ), Politician
- Antoine Barnave ( 1761 – 1793 ), orator of the French Revolution
- Casimir Pierre Périer ( 1777 – 1832 ), statesman
- Stendhal ( 1783 – 1842 ), novelist
- Henri Fantin-Latour ( 1836 – 1904 ), painter
- Lionel Terray (born 1921 ), Climber
- Georges-Francis Servoz-Gavin , better known as "Johnny" (born 1942 ), Motor Racing driver
- André The Giant ( 1946 – 1993 ), Professional Wrestler and Actor
- Michel Lotito (born 1950 ), entertainer
- Maurice Dantec (born 1959 ), Science Fiction author
- Miss Kittin , (real name Caroline Hervé, born 1973 ), Electronica Vocalist
- Mélissa Theuriau (born 1978 ), news presenter
- Julien Brellier , born 1981, footballer
- Calogero , born 1971 , musician
- Cristobal Huet , hockey player
- 1961: Catania , Italy
- 1963: Innsbruck , Austria
- 1976: Essen , Germany and Halle , Germany
- 1977: Chisinau , Moldova
- 1984: Oxford , United Kingdom and Rehovot , Israel
- 1990: Phoenix, Arizona , United States
- 1992: Pécs , Hungary
- 1997: Kaunas , Lithuania
- 1998: Sfax , Tunisia
- 1999: Constantine , Algeria
- 2002: Corato , Italy
Grenoble may be accessed by plane from ,
Gatwick (
Easyjet ),
Stansted (
Ryanair ) ; Weekly flights from
Warsaw (
Centralwings ) ; Flights from
Gatwick (
British Airways ),
Bristol (
Easyjet ),
Stockholm (
Flynordic ) to Grenoble. It is roughly 3 hours by train on the
TGV from
Paris Gare De Lyon . Within Grenoble there is a comprehensive bus and tram service, run by
Semitag .
