Capital of the French Alps, Grenoble owes its development and success to its unique geographical location at the junction of three valleys leading, respectively, to Switzerland, Italy and the Rhone valley.
The city is surrounded by three mountain ranges - Belledonne, the Chartreuse and the Vercors - with summits reaching between 2000 and 3000 m which the famous author Stendhal referred to as the city where '"here is a mountain at the end of every street.''