Walk: apartment to cable car, through Fort dla Bastille, around Old Town, and back to apartment; 3 miles
Accommodation: Touche Majordomesque (Airbnb)
We played tourist today. After breakfast in our apartment, we hiked over to Old Town and took a cable car to Fort de la Bastille, about 866 feet above the city. The fort was built in the mid-1800s to defend the town against attacks from Savoy, but by the time it was done, Savoy had been annexed into France and the fort was no longer needed--so it was never used for defense. It was used for training by troops in 1938.
Today, it offers wide views over Grenoble and the surrounding area, a zipline, a climbing course (you can clip in and climb around the outside of the fort, dangling over the cliffs), art exhibits, a couple of restaurants, an escape room, and other games for adults and kids. We were there early in the morning, before all that stuff opened up, and just enjoyed the views.
Back down in the city, we wandered the streets of Old Town and found the big main indoor and outdoor markets open. We bought a small roasted chicken, a nut tart, and a pistachio cookie, and had a picnic on a bench in a small park.
By noon, we had finished exploring and were boots up on the sofa, reading and snoozing. We did a little planning for tomorrow's ride, did a load of laundry, and pumped up the bike tires. It doesn't hurt to have a lazy day.
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| The River Isere winds through Grenoble, around the base of Mount Jalla. The cable car to Fort de la Bastille starts on one side of the river, crosses the river, and heads up Mount Jalla to the fort. |
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| Each cable car has seating for six, but we were glad that people were loading with just their own travel partners. We are still very aware of Covid, and we see quite a few older people wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces. |
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| Tomorrow, we will leave Grenoble on the bike trail that you can see on the far side of the river, heading south and west to Pont-en-Royans. |
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| This small farmer's market was just a few blocks from the large indoor and outdoor market at the Marche des Couvert Halles, where we bought our lunch. |
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| Fountain of the Three Orders. |
