It has been a while since I shared something that you can visit around here and we visit so many things, that I really have to post more! I guess now that the weather is slowly cooling down, it’s time to share something high up in the skies with your, because it might be too cold to visit this later in the year. Fort Saint-Eynard is not a hidden gem or an unexplored place around here. If you are from Grenoble or the area, you know this place and have probably visited it once or twice for sure. But even though Eynard is on the beaten track, I consider it a very nice place to visit. Especially if you want to have a good view from above, on the valley in which Grenoble is situated.

This spot on the Chartreuse doesn’t only give a very impressive overview of the valley (if you are not afraid of heights), the nice thing about Saint-Eynard is that it offers a lot of different things that you can do at one place. You can enjoy the view and the fort, have a decent (also vegetarian) lunch, visit a tiny art gallery with up-cycled art and/or take a hike if you wish. They also have an outdoor terrace where you can have a drink and enjoy the sun (if the wind permits).

Saint-Eynard was built in 1879 as part of the fortified chain that was meant to protect Grenoble. Other fortresses that were built in the same period as part of this chain are the fortress of the Bastille, Bourcet, Mûrier, Quatre Seigneurs and Montavie. Visiting a few of these fortresses gives you a better idea of how they planned to protect the city.

At Saint-Eynard I find the restaurant especially charming. It’s a very cosy and inviting space where they serve delicious home-baked cakes and other foods. As a vegetarian, I have ordered there omelets in the past. But they have other things as well.

Next to the restaurant there is a place where ‘recup’-art is displayed as I mentioned before. Perhaps there are moving exhibitions, because I believe we also once saw a puppet exhibition. It’s never a huge exhibition due to space constraints, so you will always have enough time to do something else there as well.

You can take a stroll around the fortress. Besides hiking in the proximity of the building, it’s also possible to hike to the fort from Grenoble. I haven’t done that, because it’s a pretty ridiculous climb (for me). But well, we all have different super powers!