From Grenoble, the road into the Chartreuse mountains is a steep series of switchbacks. The valley below and the snowy peaks of the Belledonne massif on its far side pop in and out of view among the trees, and the schist fang of the Dent de Crolles towers thousands of metres above.
We pause outside the shadowy, winding, single-lane Saint-Pancrasse tunnel, a vertiginous drop to our right, and the driver of the T85 bus leans on the horn before heading forward. We meet a van coming the other way, which begrudgingly reverses. It is one of many times when I’m relieved not to be behind the wheel.
In the French department of Isère, I can access four mountain ranges easily by bus and train from the centre of Grenoble, with journeys ranging from 30 minutes to an hour. At under £10 for a return ticket, it’s a relatively affordable option, too.
The buses aren’t just for tourists, however. Grenoble is a university city packed with students.
Aware that Covid restrictions had affected their physical and mental health, teacher and mountain guide Faustine Zunino began planning treks using public transport and offering them at low cost through a student association. It was an immediate success, and now 50 of the routes have been compiled into a car-free walking guide that can be used by visitors.
Day hikes include the ascent to the 1,901m summit of Le Moucherotte, which is a steep but rewarding 10km walk from the village of Saint-Nizier through woodland and along the mountain ridge, and the 6km loop from La Motte d’Aveillans village to La Pierre Percée, a dramatic rock arch pierced with a three metre-high hole on top of the Matheysin plateau.
Ten of the most popular have been translated into English and are available for free on the Isère Tourism website, which should appeal to the 36 million people in England who walk for leisure, according to a Sport England survey.
Céline Valette from promotions bureau Isère Attractivité says: “Slowly but surely, the number of hikers using public transportation is growing. And when you test it once, you discover that’s it’s so easy to use.”
Grenoble is a great choice for flight-free travellers. It is around seven-and-a-half hours by high-speed rail from London – Eurostar to Paris and then direct from Gare de Lyon to Grenoble.
The city is a mostly low-rise beauty, spread out across the valley on both sides of the Isère River. Its old centre is packed with grand 18th-century buildings with vast walnut wood doors. Once palaces, they are now smart apartment blocks.
Bookshops, bars and boutiques rub shoulders in narrow alleyways, and the large student population lends a lively atmosphere. It also means it’s easy to find cost-effective places to eat.
Grenoble is cheaper than other Alpine cities, such as Innsbruck (where consumer prices are 15.9 per cent higher, according to cost-of-living comparison site Numbeo) and Salzburg, where prices are 17.9 per cent higher. And the public transport connections mean saving on car hire and petrol.
My bus journey through the narrow tunnel brings me to the starting point for one of the 10 translated hikes. I disembark at the Plateau des Petites Roches, an area of the Chartreuse regional nature park encompassing three tiny villages stretched along a wide ridge.
Paragliders from all over the world gather here to launch from the plateau, but I’m looking for a more low-key adventure.
First, I fuel up at welcoming Baribal Café Resto, in Saint-Hilaire, on regional ravioli with seasonal wild garlic (a three-course menu is €23). Had it been a less blustery day, I’d have bought myself a picnic from the nearby Magasin General in Saint-Bernard, which is packed with provisions from local farmers and bakers.
I’m booked in for a guided walk, so I finish lunch and head off to meet Sylvie Ustal and Titan from Capao Nature. The former greets me with a warm smile, the latter with a deafening bray.
Sylvie tells me that, in France, families love walking with these sure-footed, silky-nosed companions (from €40 per half day). Easily able to tackle up to 40km per day, the donkeys are sociable creatures.
There is something calming about leading Titan along woodland paths and meadow trails, but they’re so well marked, with regular yellow signs and painted bands on the trees, that I’d have had no trouble going alone.
The next day I do just that, taking the T64 bus to hike in the Vercors massif, where I hop out at the village of Lans-en-Vercors. The tourist office here, like all those in Isère’s rural villages, is fronted by boards with maps and suggested routes.
Tramping along the valley floor in the spring sunshine, I spot a hiker who took the same bus as me. There’s a brisk wind on this sunny March day, but the temperature is close to double figures.
When unseasonably heavy snowfall prevents me accessing the Matheysine mountains, I visit Grenoble’s free museums, enjoying the works of French masters in the Musée de Grenoble, tracing the human history of the region in the Musée Dauphinois, and seeing Alpine photography at the Musée de l’Ancien Évêché.
Then, later, when the weather smiles on me once more, Grenoble has its own urban hike – up to the hilltop Bastille fortress.
From the viewing platform, I pick out the mountain ranges I’ve hiked in, and earmark ones to try next time. Through the clear Alpine air, they look almost as if I could reach out and touch them.
That’s not quite true, but it’s good to know they’re only a bus ride away.
Travel essentials
Getting there
A return train ticket from London to Grenoble via Paris starts from £196 through trainline.com. Download the L’Appli M application for information on public transport in Grenoble.
Staying there
Three nights at the Maison Barbillon Hotel, just steps from Grenoble’s central train and bus station, starts from £186 room only, maisonbarbillon.com/en.
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