Place Grenette

Place Grenette is the square that most visitors cross within minutes of arriving in central Grenoble, and it is one of the places where the city shows how it has used the Alps as a backdrop to ordinary life. The name comes from the old grain market, the grenette, that once stood here, and for centuries the square was used for trading, with merchants selling grain and other goods in the middle of the town. Today it is a pedestrian space lined with café terraces, restaurants and shops, shaded in summer and a good place to sit with a drink and watch the city go by.

The square is linked to a famous moment in the history of the Dauphiné. In March 1815 Napoleon returned from exile on Elba, landed on the Mediterranean coast and marched north through the Alps toward Paris. At Grenoble the troops sent to stop him joined his side, and the city opened its gates to him. The route he followed is today marked as the Route Napoléon, and the central streets of Grenoble form a stop on it. Place Grenette belongs to that story, since it stood in the middle of the town he entered, and from here he continued on to Lyon and then to Paris in the episode known as the Hundred Days.

The fountain at the centre of the square dates from 1825 and carries decorative figures, among them cherubs and dolphins. The dolphin is the emblem of the old province of the Dauphiné, which took its name from the title of the heir to the French crown and had the dolphin on its arms, so the fountain is a small reminder of local identity. Around it, the buildings are mostly of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the stone and plaster fronts and iron balconies typical of the French provincial town.

The square is easy to reach, as the tram lines A and B stop close by, and it forms a natural starting point for exploring on foot. From here the narrow streets lead to Place Saint-André, one of the older squares, and to the Quartier Saint-Laurent, across the river Isère, where the climb to La Bastille begins. The cable cars of the Téléphérique, which carry passengers over the river to the fortress on the hillside, are a short walk away and offer one of the best views of the city and the mountains. The Musée de Grenoble, with its fine art collection, lies a little farther along the river.

Place Grenette is open at all times and free to visit. It is liveliest in the evening, when the terraces fill, and on market days. It suits anyone who wants to feel the rhythm of a mountain city with a student population, and it makes a pleasant place to plan the rest of the day.