Isère Tourism

Charming villages

Throughout Isère, you'll discover colourful villages clinging to cliffs, châteaux, medieval abbeys and quaint streets all interspersed with stunning scenery. Stop to admire soaring peaks, cascading waterfalls, forests and lakes or try out regional specialities on our local farms.

Se mettre au vert” means Getting back to Nature

Are you bringing a family? You can rediscover the fun of the farm.

Are you a gourmet? You’re sure to enjoy all our regional specialities.

Are you a culture buff? You’ll love visiting the castles, historic monuments and other hidden gems of our heritage.

Ideal for a weekend away, or why not swap the traditional seaside holidays in the middle of August for the Isère countryside, overflowing with treasures.

• Covering the cantons of Crémieu, Pont de Chéruy and La Tour du Pin, the Isle Crémieu plateau is a judicious blend of nature, history and culture.

• On the edge of Isle Crémieu lies Saint Chef, a happy village nestling in the hills. Surrounded by green countryside, this village has kept an authentic feel and has its own celebrity: Frédéric Dard, aka San Antonio, who spent his childhood there and chose to make it his final

• Between Lyon and Grenoble, the Pays de Bièvre-Liers is an ideal place to rest and recuperate on a weekend or a holiday in the countryside.

• 30 minutes from Grenoble and within an hour of Lyon, the Sud Grésivaudan is a great place to try a range of fine foods. Its plateaus, waterways and signposted trails make it the ideal place to go rowing and hiking. If you prefer rock-climbing, fly-fishing or canyoning, head to Presle, the banks of the Bourne or Ecouges.

• Hiking, mountain lakes, forests and Alpine pastures - welcome to the Valbonnais, at the edge of the Écrins National Park. This commune can be explored on skis or snowshoes, and you’re sure to be fascinated by its quiet forests and ice cascades.

 

Charming villages of Isère

Crémieu

Located 40 km east of Lyon, the medieval town of Crémieu offers a warm welcome.

You’ll find an authentic, impressive architectural heritage whose first written evidence goes back to the 12th century. Then the town enjoyed many centuries of prosperity.

Follow a numbered itinerary to explore all of these monuments : the Château Delphinal (12th century), strategically positioned on its high promontory, bears witness to the growth of the town, with the construction of fortified gates (14th century), a majestic hall (15th century), an Augustine convent leaning against the ramparts (14th-19th centuries), its cloister (17th century)

 All these remains are visible reminders of times past, when Crémieu was important militarily, economically and in religious matters.

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Pont-en-Royans

In the Vercors Regional Nature Park, this little village is a surprising wonder of Isère's heritage. Its colorful houses, clinging to the rock over the Bourne river were invented by the inhabitants of the 16th century.

They used their ingenuity to build a village that mould make timber trade easier.

This village owes its charm to the ingenuity of the people who, from the 16th century onwards, built it on a ledge to promote the wood trade.

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Vizille

At the edge of Oisans and Matheysine, at the heart of a quality environment, Vizille is an important cultural centre which was the birthplace of the French Revolution.

This town is located at the centre of a star whose points are formed by three Alpine valleys, overlooked by the Belledonne, Vercors and Oisans massifs.

Vizille is above all famous for its 17th century château and park. The château hosted the assembly of the Three Orders of the Dauphiné in the Jeu de Paume room during the States-General in 1788.

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Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye

Located 60 km west of Grenoble, the medieval village of Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye has been ranked as one of the most beautiful towns.

With its labyrinth of quaint little streets, its square, its ancien houses and monuments' frontage and roof, the little village takes you in the Middle Age.

Classified as a Historic Monument, the impressive Abbey sparkles with its flamboyant gothic-style facade.

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