Grenoble

Grenoble (Occitan: Grasanòbol) is a city and commune in south-east France, situated at the foot of the Alps, at the confluence of the Drac into the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes région, Grenoble is the préfecture (capital) of the Isère département. Population of the city (commune) of Grenoble at the 1999 census was 153,317 inhabitants (157,900 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 514,559 inhabitants.

Miscellaneous

• Grenoble is famous for its walnuts, for which it enjoys an appelation of controlled origin.
• Grenoble hosted the 1968 Winter Olympics and is preparing to bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
• Grenoble is also famous for its Italian quarter, the "Quartier Saint Laurent" and the many ski resorts surrounding it.
• It is the home of rugby union team FC Grenoble and soccer team Grenoble Foot 38.
• Jean-François Champollion and Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived there, respectively during childhood and a few months.

Births

Grenoble was the birthplace of:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Abel Servien (1593?1659), diplomat
• Hugues de Lionne (1611?1671), statesman
• Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin (1681?1749), courtesan and author
• Jacques de Vaucanson (1709?1782), inventor of the modern-day robot
• Étienne Bonnot de Condillac (1715?1780), writer of the Enlightenment
• Jean Joseph Mounier (1758?1806), politician
• Antoine Barnave (1761?1793), orator of the French Revolution
• Casimir Pierre Périer (1777?1832), statesman
• Stendhal (1783?1842), novelist
• Henri Fantin-Latour (1836?1904), painter
• Lionel Terray (born 1921), climber
• Georges-Francis Servoz-Gavin, better known as "Johnny" (born 1942), motor racing driver
• André the Giant (1946?1993), professional wrestler and actor
• Michel Lotito (born 1950), entertainer
• Maurice Dantec (born 1959), science fiction author
• Miss Kittin, (real name Caroline Hervé, born 1973), electronica vocalist

Twin towns

• 1961: Catania, Italy
• 1963: Innsbruck, Austria
• 1976: Essen, Germany and Halle, Germany
• 1977: Chisinau, Moldova
• 1984: Oxford, United Kingdom and Rehovot, Israel
• 1990: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
• 1992: Pécs, Hungary
• 1997: Kaunas, Lithuania
• 1998: Sfax, Tunisia
• 1999: Constantine, Algeria
• 2002: Corato, Italy