The Domain of Vizille – Museum of the French Revolution, Domaine de Vizille – Musée de la Révolution française, Vizille, France Not far from the tranquil city of Grenoble is a museum dedicated to the history of one of France’s most bloody chapters. The château that houses it is linked to significant pre-Revolutionary events, and also served as a summer…
The Old Bishops’ Palace Museum, Musée de l’Ancien Évêché, Grenoble, France The history of the Isère Department is sweepingly and excellently looked at in the building that used to be home to the bishops of Grenoble. The collection is not vast, but very well presented, and makes for a good starting point for further exploration of the city. The building…
The Archaeological Museum of St Laurent, Musée archéologique Saint-Laurent, Grenoble, France Across the Isère river, in the quaint streets of the St Laurent quarter of Grenoble, is a fascinating little museum which serves as a heartening example of what can happen if you dig down under the buildings of cities with ancient origins. The museum is proud of the fact…
Dauphinois Museum, Musée dauphinois, Grenoble, France A little way up the slopes of the Bastille is the 17th century Convent of St Mary. Since 1968, this charming building has housed an eclectic collection which looks at the history of the Grenoble region, known until 1790 as Dauphiné. At that point the region was divided and it now covers the departments…
Notre-Dame Cathedral, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Grenoble, Grenoble, France In my travels in France I have learned one thing about its churches: what you get on the outside isn’t necessarily reflective of what’s on the inside. A good example of this is Grenoble’s cathedral, which has a somewhat unimpressive exterior, literally squished between other buildings – and somehow it fits in…