Venue > About Grenoble

• Lyon Saint Exupéry airport  is the closest important airport (it is about 100 km away from Grenoble). There are few long distance flights serving it but it is well connected  to major airport hubs in Europe (Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich). You can reach Grenoble from the airport  by direct shuttle connection (1h from Lyon Saint Exupéry, with a bus every 30mn) or trains. Tickets can be purchased at the airport, or booked in advance on the websites of the two buses companies: Oui-Bus and Flexi-Bus, or the train company: Sncf.
   
• Geneva Airport, is about 150 km away from Grenoble. Many international airlines companies serve Geneva airport, and  direct flights from principal cities in the world to Geneva may exist. You can reach  Grenoble from the airport by direct shuttle connection (2h from Geneva Airport, buses run every hour) or trains. Tickets can be purchased at the airport, or booked in advance on the websites of the train company Cff, and the bus company Aerocar. Remember that Geneva is a Swiss city and depending on your country of origin you may need a visa. Since 2008 Switzerland is part of the Schengen area, European Union citizens should not have problems travelling via Geneva. It is also worth remembering that Switzerland has its own currency (the Swiss Franc); nearly all retail outlets in Geneva accept Euros but change is given in Swiss Francs. Geneva Airport also has a “French part” that does not require to enter into Swiss territory if you come from France and your destination flight is to France.
   
• Grenoble Isère Airport, also known as St Geoirs, about 40 km from Grenoble, or about 35 minutes by coach. This is a small low-cost airport. Flights are more frequent in the ski season. EasyJet and Ryanair offer flights to/from Grenoble Isère Airport.

A direct TGV train line also connects Paris to Grenoble in 3h (every day), from the main train station (Gare de Lyon) or the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle international airport. TER trains also link the city to Geneva in Switzerland (2h), to Milan (4h), to southern Alps (Gap, Sisteron) and to Valence (1h) where you can change for the TGV to Southern-France. More info on SNCF website.

Additional information on how to get to Grenoble is available on Grenoble in wikitravel and on Grenoble Alpes website.

A city of history

Grenoble’s history goes back over 2,000 years. The quiet Roman city of Gratianopolis became the capital of the DauphinéŽ in the 11th century, and was annexed to the French kingdom 3 centuries later. The city really entered the national historical record in 1788, when riots in town prompted the DauphinŽ Parliament  to ask that the kingdom Etats  GéŽnŽéraux should meet, an event that marks the start of the French revolution.

The late 18th century also triggered the industrial and cultural development of the city. The renowned glove industry of the 18th and 19th centuries continued with the development of a strong hydropower industry in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, which stimulated mechanical construction, electrical engineering, and eventually microelectronics.

In 1968, Grenoble hosted the 10th Winter Olympics, which contributed to the development of tourism in DauphinŽé: the Chamrousse ski resort, where the ski competitions took place in 1968, is only 20 minutes away from the city center.

Today, the city has grown to be one of Europe’s most important research, technology, and innovation centers, with each fifth inhabitant working directly in these domains.

If you'd like to know more, please also visit the website of Office de Tourisme Grenoble-Alpes Métropole