As the capital of the Alps and the Dauphiné, a university city, science hub and official City of Art and Culture, Grenoble has a long list of assets! Among its attractions are the old town, full of lively squares, mansions and picturesque shopping lanes lined with old houses; countless museums containing rich collections; relaxing parks and gardens like Paul Mistral park, Jardin des Plantes (Botanical Garden) and Île Verte park; and its stunning panoramic view of the surrounding mountains from La Bastille fort.

In the historic centre, don't miss: the pedestrian Saint-André square lined with café terraces and overlooked by the magnificent Gothic and Renaissance facades of the old Dauphiné Parliament building; Hôtel de Lesdiguières, a mansion opposite the charming Jardin de Ville where hundred-year-old trees grow; Place Grenette square, the hub of Grenoble life, with shops, restaurants and cafés; Place aux Herbes, a square with a little covered market hall where a market takes place every morning except Monday; Place Notre-Dame, for the 13th-century cathedral, Old Bishop's Palace Museum (Musée de l'Ancien Évêché) and Fountain of the Three Orders (Fontaine des Trois Ordres), which commemorates the 1788 events leading to the French Revolution.

In terms of culture, Grenoble offers a large choice of museums, temporary exhibitions and entertainment, including the Museum of Grenoble and its sumptuous collections of old and modern art, the Archaeological Museum, Natural History Museum, National Centre of Contemporary Art, Dauphinois Museum, Old Bishop's Palace Museum, Stendhal Museum, Isère Resistance and Deportation Museum and the Grenoble Automaton Museum. A host of very interesting places to satisfy a wide variety of tastes!

One of France's leading art museums, the Museum of Grenoble exhibits one of the finest collections of early, modern and contemporary art with around 900 works on display.

Initially based in a former Franciscan convent, dating from the 13th century and opened in 1798, it offers the general public a complete retrospective of western painting from the 13th to 21st centuries, with French, Flemish, Dutch, Italian and Spanish art represented by numerous masterpieces. A panorama of the main trends in contemporary art since 1945 and an archive of Egyptian antiquities documented by Champollion complete the museum's collection.

The present museum, which reopened in 1994 on Place Lavalette and whose architecture has been completely redesigned, is located in the immediate vicinity of the old quarters of town and is accessible from Place Notre-Dame. It borders the Isère, including the Albert Michallon Park which is directly connected to it and has become a sculpture park. You are sure to appreciate the brightness and the 7,500 m² of space devoted to the permanent and temporary collections, which are spread over the rooms on either side of a large gallery, designed to resemble an indoor street in broad daylight. The rigour, simplicity and clarity of the design, and the very pure geometry with its soft lines, have helped to raise the profile of the Museum of Grenoble, a true conceptual success at the service of Art.

The sheer scale of the museum's art collection may make it hard to organise your visit. Be sure to take a look at the departments of Antiquities, the 13th to 16th centuries, 17th to 19th centuries, contemporary art, modern art and graphic arts. Those who prefer a guided tour can choose from a wide range of tours for all audiences, individuals, groups and families, some of which are designed to build bridges between art, literature, poetry, music, dance, theatre and architecture. For children, there are "Wednesday workshops" all year round, on fifteen or so different themes, to understand, imagine, discover one or more works of art, and take part in a visual art creation workshop.

The history-laden Château de Vizille, built in the 17th century by Lesdiguières, then supreme commander of the French armed forces, was the cradle of the French Revolution in the 18th century. It was here that the Assembly of Vizille (or Assembly of the Three Orders of the Dauphiné) gathered on 21 July 1788 to demand a meeting of the Estates General (a form of national parliament). The estate is also noteworthy for having served as the French Presidents' summer residence from 1925 to 1960. Today the property of Isère Departmental Council and open to the public, the château houses the Museum of the French Revolution dedicated to this turbulent period in France's history including a wonderful collection of works of art and objects.

The vast 100-hectare park standing in front of the château is a lovely place for a walk or family outing, and boasts formal gardens, a rose garden, a lake and canals and an animal park with deer, grey herons, swans and geese.

Towering over Greater Grenoble from a height of 475 metres and accessible on foot or by cable car from the centre of Grenoble, La Bastille fort offers an absolutely exceptional panoramic view of the surrounding scenery: the Chartreuse mountains to the north, Belledonne mountain range to the east, Vercors mountains to the west and the city of Grenoble below! This key tourist attraction is especially worth a visit to see the stunning sunsets.

Built from 1823 to 1848 to defend the Dauphiné from an attack by the Duchy of Savoy, this former military fortress is today a cultural centre with exhibitions of contemporary art and the Museum of the Mountain Troops (Musée des Troupes de Montagne) dedicated to the environment and history of mountain soldiers.

Located in the Taillefer mountains south of the town of Vizille along the Napoleon Road, the four lakes at Laffrey – Lac Petichet, Lac de Pierre-Châtel, Lac Mort and the big Lac de Laffrey – are an ideal spot to unwind and go on nature walks. A water sports centre and beaches with sun umbrellas and loungers at the Lac de Laffrey make it the perfect place to sunbathe, swim, windsurf, pedalo and fish.

A real natural citadel made of limestone, the Vercors Regional Nature Park, straddling the departments of Drôme and Isère, covers 206,208 hectares and culminates in the Grand Veymont, at an altitude of 2,341 metres. Created in 1970, it consists of 8 natural regions, which are the Vercors Drômois, Diois, Gervanne, Royans-Drôme, Quatre-Montagnes, Trièves, Royans-Isère and Piémont Nord. Rich in natural treasures, the Vercors Park stands out thanks to its diverse, wild and stunning landscapes. Tall limestone cliffs, deep gorges, chasms and caves, high plateaus, green valleys, mountain pastures and forests reflect an exceptional heritage.

Moreover, some impressive tourist routes run through it, like those of the Combe Laval and the Col de Rousset in Drôme, or the Bourne Gorges and the Écouges Canyon in Isère, which offer breathtaking views!

The great biodiversity of the Vercors Regional Nature Park makes it an exceptional territory, particularly rich in fauna and flora. Many animal species live there including 135 nesting bird species, 65 mammal species and 17 reptile and amphibian species. Mammals include large ungulates like the chamois, mouflon, deer, boar and Alpine ibex. When it comes to flora, the territory has 85 protected plant species and 75 orchid species. The Park also contains the biggest reserve of land in mainland France, the Hauts Plateaux, a truly unspoilt area since there are no roads or villages there.

To admire and make the most of this extraordinary countryside, the Vercors Regional Nature Park offers a wide range of activities. On sunny days, explore the paths on foot or by mountain bike. Thrill-seekers can opt for climbing, canyoning, caving or paragliding. In winter, the ski resorts such as Villard-de-Lans - Corrençon-en-Vercors and Lans-en-Vercors welcome you to go skiing down the many snowy slopes or enjoy lots of other winter pursuits.

Lastly, you can't talk about the Vercors massif without mentioning its significant historical past. This mountainous territory was indeed a bastion of the Resistance during the Second World War and was one of the most important maquis in France. Yet this heroic movement came to a tragic end in July 1944 when the Germans launched a powerful attack on the Vercors. A number of remembrance sites, like the Memorial of the Resistance in Vercors at the Col de la Chau pass, the Museum of the Resistance in Vassieux-en-Vercors and La Cour des Fusillés at La Chapelle-en-Vercors, welcome visitors to help them understand and never forget this dark period of history.

Located in the mountains above Grenoble at the summit of the Belledonne range, the ski resort of Chamrousse, famous for having hosted the downhill ski competitions of the 1968 Olympic Games, is split into two levels: Le Recoin (Chamrousse 1650) and La Roche Béranger (Chamrousse 1750). This popular destination with Grenoble inhabitants offers 90 km of downhill runs and 40 km of cross-country ski trails.

In the summer, the resort has numerous outdoor activities available, including hiking, mountain biking, tennis, archery, climbing, horse riding, a tree-top obstacle course, grass sledging, quad biking, fishing and paragliding.

Chartreuse Regional Nature Park (Parc Naturel Régional de Chartreuse) straddles the Isère and Savoie départements over an area of 69,000 hectares. The scenery consists of mountains, forests, limestone cliffs, gorges and Alpine meadows, making it paradise for nature lovers. Numerous sporting activities are available there in summer, from walking along the many waymarked footpaths and climbing, to mountain biking and hang gliding. In winter, the family resort of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, in the Isère, offers cross-country and downhill skiing, and snowshoeing.

The Chartreuse mountains boast many natural sites worth visiting, in particular Charmant Som summit for its stunning panoramic viewpoint (Belvédère des Sangles), Guiers Mort gorges, Pas du Frou (a dizzyingly high road dominating a precipice), Saint-Même cirque and the quiet and peaceful setting of Grande Chartreuse monastery.

The Park Visitor Centre (Maison du Parc) in Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse has lots of useful information for organising your stay in the Chartreuse mountains.

The Château du Touvet stands in the town of Le Touvet in the Grésivaudan Valley at the foot of the Belledonne mountain range. A fortified house in the 13th century, then a country retreat in the 18th century, it is today a listed Historic Monument. Its 18th-century gardens figure on France's list of Remarkable Gardens and feature a lovely Italian-style water staircase bordered by embroidery box flower beds.

The richly-decorated château interior is also open to the public and contains collections of historic souvenirs, furniture and antique paintings.

Founded by St Bruno in 1084, Grande Chartreuse monastery is the head monastery of the Carthusian Order. It stands in the heart of the Chartreuse mountains near the village of Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse in a magnificent, quiet and unspoiled setting.

This haven of peace and tranquillity is only accessible on foot, which takes 30 minutes from La Correrie car park. However, please note that only the surrounding scenery and the buildings' exterior facades can be admired: because the monks in the monastery are vowed to silence and prayer, it is not open to the public.

But you can visit the very interesting Grande Chartreuse museum located 2 km away in the La Correrie buildings, a monastery annex. Through exhibitions and its Gallery of Maps, the museum focuses on the history of the Carthusian Order and the lives of its monks and nuns, as well as Carthusian architecture.

The mountain village and winter and summer sports resort of Villard-de-Lans enjoys an exceptional climate and geographical location at the foot of the Grande Moucherolle in Vercors Regional Nature Park. A popular family destination in all seasons and awarded the Family Plus label, it offers a vast array of sports activities: downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in winter; and hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, climbing, canyoning and tennis in the summer. The resort also boasts a well-being centre and an aqua centre with a wave pool and slides.

The Côte 2000 cable car takes you right up to the ski runs in winter and to the mountain biking and walking trails and the paragliding launch point in summer.

The Château de Longpra is a gem of Dauphiné architecture that nestles in a lush, green setting near the town of Saint-Geoire-en-Valdaine. It was rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of a fortified house for Pierre-Antoine de Longpra, a councillor in the Dauphiné Parliament.

Surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge, this listed Historic Monument contains refined Italian Neo-Classical-inspired interior decoration and magnificent parquet flooring made by famed cabinetmakers Hache.

Worth a visit is the Museum of Woodworking Tools (Musée de l'Outil à Bois), housed in the outbuildings, where a fine collection of 18th- and 19th-century chisels and gouges is on display.

Encircling the château is a landscape park with an avenue of two-hundred-year-old lime trees and a flower garden – a relaxing place for a stroll.

Built in the 11th century by Lord Wilfrid de Virieu, then extended and remodelled up until the 18th century, the Château de Virieu, which dominates the Bourbre Valley, has retained its medieval fortress appearance with an imposing keep, towers and magnificent studded main door. Inside, visitors can explore the main courtyard (Cour d'Honneur), with cannons given by King Louis XIII in 1622, the chapel with a carved stations of the cross, and superb furnished rooms such as the Great Hall, the King's Bedroom, the White Bedroom and the old kitchen with a monumental fireplace. At the foot of the castle lie formal gardens with arabesque-shaped flowerbeds set in grassed squares.

Located in the Upper Dauphiné in the southern part of the Isère département, the Trièves mountains are dominated by Mount Aiguille. Pastoral landscapes juxtapose wilderness in this mountainous region that writer Jean Giono described as a “cloister of mountains”.

The village of Mens, the capital of the Trièves, is a pleasant and interesting halt with its old covered markets and narrow streets, its Café des Arts decorated with frescoes dating from 1896 and a museum devoted to the history and heritage of the Trièves, covering both the area's natural and man-made attractions.

The Trièves is a wonderful place to relax and recharge your batteries while you enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities, from hiking and mountain biking to horse riding.

Located at 1,860 metres altitude in the Grandes Rousses mountain range in the Oisans, the ski resort of L'Alpe d'Huez is a renowned winter sports destination. Offering abundant sunshine, pure air, good snow coverage and 240 km of runs, the resort is paradise for skiers and snowboarders. Other reasons for its popularity include the 16-km La Sarenne run (one of the longest in the world!), night skiing, fantastic sports facilities, an outdoor ice rink, shops, entertainment and great après-ski spots.

Alpe d'Huez is also a fitness resort in the summer season, offering numerous activities like rambling, mountain biking, climbing, via ferrata, horse riding, fishing and pool swimming, to name but a few.

Well-known among cycling enthusiasts is the Alpe d'Huez ascent. This legendary stage of the Tour de France has 21 hairpin bends and is a challenge taken up by thousands of cyclists every summer.

The Hector Berlioz Museum stands in the centre of the town of La Côte-Saint-André in the birth house of the famous composer and writer Hector Berlioz. It recounts the life and work of the musician through a permanent exhibition and an interesting collection of antique furniture, original scores, musical instruments, paintings, engravings and original letters. The visit takes in the main drawing room, small drawing room/library, kitchen, Berlioz's bedroom and the music room, all of which are steeped in memories of the Berlioz family.

Symphony-loving music fans must not miss the Berlioz Festival that takes place every second half of August in the courtyard of the Château Louis XI.

Surrounded by mountains at an altitude of 765 metres, Lake Sautet boasts a magnificent natural setting. This wonderful 350-hectare reservoir located below the pleasant village of Corps offers a range of water-based activities including canoeing, sailing, pedalo, electric boating and swimming. Lakeside rambling and via ferrata are also available.

Pont-en-Royans is a charming and picturesque village in Vercors Regional Nature Park whose old houses overhang the Bourne. A good place to admire this unusual and particularly photogenic sight is Picard bridge or the river banks. Take a leisurely stroll along the river and stop to each lunch at one of the picnic tables or bathe in the waterfall.

Don't miss the Water Museum, a fun scientific and cultural space devoted to water in all its forms, including a water bar with no fewer than 1,500 bottles of water from all over the world!

A stop on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrim route (Way of St James) and one of France's Most Beautiful Villages, Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye will delight fans of built heritage with its half-timbered old houses, medieval market hall and abbey founded in 1297 by the Order of St Anthony to house the relics of St Anthony of Egypt. Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye has preserved a remarkable building from its rich religious past: Saint-Antoine Abbey Church, built from the 13th to the 15th centuries. This Gothic building is a listed Historic Monument and possesses a magnificent carved portal. The interior holds much of interest for visitors and pilgrims, including frescoes, walnut choir stalls, Aubusson tapestries, a monumental high altar housing the reliquary of St Anthony of Egypt, and an organ dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Also not to be missed is the treasure house of the Hospital Brothers of St Anthony (Antonines) in the church sacristies, which contains reliquaries, liturgical garments, surgical instruments and a Christ in ivory.

The Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye Departmental Museum, housed in the old noviciate, puts on exhibitions related to the Middle Ages, the abbey and the Order of the Antonines. You can also visit its medieval garden, located in the courtyard of the Great Stables (Grandes Écuries).

The village hosts a sacred music festival in the abbey church every summer, as well as a medieval festival, Saint-Antoine en Moyen Âge, with all sorts of entertainment, including shows, a market and medieval ball.

Nestling in a very special natural setting at the foot of the Meije massif, the pretty mountain village of La Grave has preserved all its character: steep, narrow streets, stone houses and, at the top of the village, two religious buildings, Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church and Pénitents Blancs chapel. Walking around this unspoiled village is a real pleasure.

The Glaciers de la Meije cable car departing from La Grave takes visitors up to the Girose glacier at an altitude of 3,200 metres. From the top there is a fantastic panoramic view over the surrounding mountains, plus the possibility of visiting an ice cave in the summer period.

Between Valence and Grenoble, Saint-Nazaire-en-Royans is an old fortified town in the department of Drôme. With a medieval past represented in particular by its narrow side streets and old houses, it is one of the region's many picturesque villages. Lovers of old buildings are sure to want to stay a while at the 13th-century church, which has a Gothic choir and a Romanesque belfry.

The aqueduct over the Bourne Canal is another one of the main attractions in Saint-Nazaire-en-Royans. Built at the end of the 19th century, it is made up of 17 arches and stands 35 metres tall and 235 metres long. Take the panoramic external lift and access a walkway just above the water. From there, you will have a magnificent view of the town and Vercors!

Very close by, you can visit the Thaïs cave in order to step back in time, all the way to Prehistory. Boasting surprising reliefs in red and black, it has some preserved remains that provide a chance to learn more about Cro-Magnon man.

Children and adults can discover the diverse landscapes of the Saint-Nazaire-en-Royans region on a paddle steamer cruise. While drifting peacefully along the Isère and Bourne, you will be able to admire the green riverbanks and discover a wealth of local fauna and flora.

La Bourne gorges, located in Vercors Regional Nature Park between Pont-en-Royans and Villard-de-Lans, are a wild natural site best viewed from the breathtaking gorge-side road.

Don't miss stopping off at Choranche caves in the gorges themselves for their wonderful stalactites, two underground rivers, emerald-green lake and sound and light show presented in the cave chamber called the Grande Salle de la Cathédrale.

In the Vercors Regional Nature Park, the municipality of Vassieux-en-Vercors has an eventful history. This little mountain town in Drôme and the area around it witnessed confrontations between the Resistance and the Germany army during the Second World War. Indeed, Vercors was a bastion of the French Resistance and was one of the most important maquis in the free zone. But in the month of July 1944, German bombing destroyed Vassieux-en-Vercors, leading to the dispersion and inevitable death of the maquis members.

To learn more about this heroic and tragic story, head to the Departmental Museum of the Resistance in Vercors on Rue Fourna. With an exhibition area, testimonials and a rich collection of exhibits, step into the heart of the French Resistance. Inaugurated on 21 July 1994, the Resistance Memorial at the Col de la Chau pass is also a place of remembrance that pays tribute to all those who fought for freedom. Built on the edge of a cliff, it offers a direct view of the Vercors massif and the battlefield. It is also the starting point of a trail through the locations where fighting took place.

Another site devoted to the memory of the fighters is the necropolis of the Resistance in Vassieux-en-Vercors, located at the entrance to the village. It has 187 tombs, those of the maquis fighters and the civilians killed in summer 1944.

In 1970, a flint-cutting workshop was discovered in Vassieux-en-Vercors forest. Although it was abandoned by prehistoric man nearly 4,500 years ago, the workshop has remained intact. It is on this historic site that the Prehistory Museum was created. Archaeological excavations have unearthed bones, tools and minerals that you can discover on a fun and interactive visit.

For an original and colourful way to discover Provence, don't miss the wonderful exhibition of santons. At 15 rue de la Pouillette, Le Petit Monde des Santons tells the story of life in the past and the trades of yesteryear with a display of over 900 figurines!

Between the 15th and 19th centuries, several windmills were active in the municipality of Vassieux-en-Vercors. Two remain today, although they are in ruins, located near the hamlet of La Mure.

Nestling in the Épine mountain at the heart of the Savoyard Foreland, at an altitude of 360 metres, Lake Aiguebelette is one of the four great lakes of Savoie Mont-Blanc. This Natura 2000-certified site offers lovers of idyllic landscapes its turquoise water, protected ecosystem and mountainous environment. Containing two small, unspoilt islands, it is one of the warmest lakes in France, with a temperature of up to 28° in summer! This marvellous 545-hectare expanse of water is an ideal place for relaxation and taking it easy, and therefore very inviting for a swim. Bathing is only permitted on supervised beaches during the summer season, and for water sports such as canoeing, stand up paddle or pedalo boating.

Its neighbours in the municipality of Novalaise are an international rowing centre, which hosted the world championships in 1997 and 2015, and some hang-gliding take-off areas. Mountain bike enthusiasts can enjoy their favourite sport on a signposted 150-kilometre network of trails, while cyclists can use the landscaped path around part of the lake. Those who would rather go fishing will be delighted by the presence of many species such as lavaret and Arctic char.

In the Drôme part of the Vercors massif, a spectacular road runs through some impressive limestone cliffs for around 4 kilometres. This is the Combe Laval road between Saint-Jean-en-Royans and the Col de la Machine pass. Opened in 1898, it was initially used for transporting wood but soon became a curiosity for tourists. Indeed, thanks to its location at the heart of a majestic cirque with breathtaking landscapes, the Combe Laval road is now one of the region's most unmissable attractions! Alternating between tunnels and open-air sections, it's the opposite of monotonous. Dotted with dizzying panoramic viewpoints, it offers splendid views over the Royannais landscape.

In the Vercors massif, south of Saint-Jean-en-Royans, the national forest of Lente stands out thanks to its magnificent landscapes and diverse natural habitats. With a surface area of 3,000 hectares, it is easy to access via the stunning Route de Combe Laval road.

Thanks to the hiking paths running through it, this is a pleasant place for a walk. And if you're lucky, and very patient, you might catch a glimpse of the ungulates that live there. Indeed, Lente Forest is the ideal place to watch mouflon, deer, chamois and boar.

In addition, amid the beech trees and sycamores stands a century-old pine tree remarkable for its exceptional size. Known as the Sapin Bronzé, it's an unmissable curiosity in the Lente Forest. You can't fail to notice it on your walk!

If you weren't fortunate enough to see ungulates in the wild, there is an animal park at the very heart of the forest, where bison, mouflon and deer live. Make the most of your outing in the countryside to walk the botanical trail, featuring explanation signs about the many species present in the forest. And if you're with the kids, head for the mini-farm where they can roam freely among the animals.