Grenoble

Grenoble needs 1 day: riding the Téléphérique de la Bastille -the world's first urban bubble cable cars, opened in 1934- up to the fort with views of the three Alpine massifs surrounding the city, in the same day. April-September brings the mildest weather. It's mid-priced for France. It's nicknamed the «capital of the Alps» for being ringed by three distinct mountain ranges -the Vercors, the Chartreuse and Belledonne-, and its mix of universities, tech research and mountains made it one of France's leading scientific hubs.