With only a few hours in Grenoble, i visited the Tourist Information about what best to see. The Tourist Information were really helpful here, unlike in other cities. They gave me a good map with two self guided walking tours on it, which i used as best i could after i prioritised the trip up to the Basilica on the cable car.
The cable car ride with its unusual little baubles, was fun. Everybody gets a seat facing the window, so everybody gets a good view. The windows were quite scratched up and wet, so i was hard to take a photo from the inside without it showing up. But the views were stunning. Once up on the Basilica, there are several viewpoints. My favorite was the Geologist Terrace, being a former geologist i still get nostalgic at names like these. The Basilica is basically a ruin, with lots of touristy paraphernalia, but i was surprised to find that on a weekend in May, most of it was shut up. I had heard that there were three restaurants up there so i was hoping to get some lunch, but again they were shut. Looking at their menus they are really high end and there was no way i could afford their prices. The snack shop was also shut.
So with everything shut up at the top i walked around to the caves, which are free to get into. They served as part of the defence of the Basilica and make for a good visit. I only paid for a single for the cable car, so i walked down the hill, which takes about 30 mins and is an easy path. I was starving by this point, so let just say is was a beautiful walk, but i wish i had eaten.
Back in town, i started scavenging for somewhere to eat. 5pm in France and nowhere serves food. Eventually i found a sandwich seller, who was willing to microwave a pizza for 3 Euro. Not the sit down meal i was hoping for, but enough to get me through a few more stops on that tourist map. Grenoble has a number of interesting building and squares, and possibly the most boring cathedral front in France. At first i could not quite believe that what was in front of me was marked on the map as the Cathedral Notre Dame. I could have walked passed (hang on, i did earlier). Inside it was a very plain, mosersrty style building, except much larger in size. Its light ary wall made it quite peaceful.
I really wish i had more time to explore, but this city has plenty to offer sightseers for a day or two. There is a really inviting covered market called Halles Sainte-Claire next to the tourist office, which was shut, but looked worth a visit. I love that kind of ironwork, maybe its my Shropshire heritage. Who knows.
