More About Grenoble

We realized fairly quickly, Grenoble is not a charming little village. In fact it is a city of 159,000 in a metropolitan area of 433,000. It is situated in a valley at an elevation of about 700 feet. A good sized and reportedly intermittently rowdy river runs through it, either the Drac or the Isere depending on how you define origins, etc.

Even though a lot of people live here the city feels fairly compact. This points out a major difference between what we have seen of Europe and much of the U.S. It is common in the U.S. to desire BIG. As noted in previous blog posts, the majority of the cars here are small with a fair number of midsize sedans. Pickups and SUVs are rare. There appear to be many more walking, tram, and bicycle commuters, especially in Grenoble. Homes adhere to a similar trend. It is rare to see a freestanding home. They build up. We are in a 9 story building with several apartments per floor. Most complexes are 4-8 floors of older buildings of attractive and at times stunning architecture. Yards are practically non-existent. A number of apartment complexes, at one time were one family homes of aristocrats that likely also housed servants. Pictures below are typical apartment/condo complexes followed by housing renovated into the theater where the windows are murals depicting life.

There are several agencies that advertise, with pictures in their windows, homes for rent. Walking around we stop to read these. We have been startled by two things. Small living spaces and small rents. Studios appear to start around 400 euros. A large 50 square meter apartment like we are currently inhabiting can be as low as 700euros. Larger living spaces have rents commensurate to what I have related. There are likely some less savory parts of the city, but the above quotes are for dynamic adequately kept parts of the city with an extensive array of bars, cafes and shops, as well as cultural buildings, squares and parks. People appear to be willing to sacrifice living space for a vital city life. People in general in France seem to spend more time in cafes and bars, and generally they do not look like they spend a lot on clothes. Money is spent on experiences I believe, not rent. Think about the rents where you live.

One of my favorite topics, murals. Grenoble is known as a long time hot spot for street art. For the past decade that reputation has been enhanced by the Street Art Fest Grenoble Alpes, which has attracted some of the most revered living street artists. We have yet to do the Street Art Walk tour.

My executive decision is that I will no longer post pictures of defaced street art. Above is the best, and cleanest, we have seen so far in Grenoble. The amount of disrespect to the artists is much worse here than in Nimes, as is the overall amount of ugly graffiti. The one above has been spared, likely due to being in a difficult to reach position. So happy to see that because the degree of difficulty and skill here is off the charts.

Last night we walked through old town. I am leaving with pictures of a couple of churches. This one struck a place in my heart. It felt really good inside too.

I think every French city has a Notre Dame Cathedral. This is theirs in Grenoble.

Finally, sunset in Grenoble.