French Alps: Grenoble Excursions

One of the benefits of studying abroad is the ability to venture outside your host city and explore the surrounding area. Excursions are offered for all semester, year, and summer programs. Semester students are typically offered two to three excursions and summer students are typically offered one to two excursions. You will receive a calendar of the specific CEA excursions offered for your program during orientation. To give you an idea of the possibilities, we have collected typical experiences from some of the day trips and weekend tours offered to our students in the past.

Annecy

Charming does not describe the beauty of Annecy adequately. This ‘Venice of the Alps’ has such allure that students will be sad to leave. Exploring the city's canals, flower covered bridges, arcaded streets, and walking along the lac d'Annecy will be a memorable experience.

Beaujolais

The Nouveau Beaujolais festival celebrates the new wines of the season. What better way to learn how the French produce, age, and distribute wine? Students will enjoy roaming through the vineyards, picking grapes, and sampling the finished products.

Lyon

This excursion to Vieux Lyon begins at Place Bellecour, a large public square that is known for its proximity to Lyon’s shopping district. Just a short trip across the Saône river is the 12th century gothic Cathedral Saint–Jean, famous for its horologe astronomique, a 16th century clock with a perpetual calendar and animated figures, situated inside the cathedral. The visit to Lyon may also include the Basilique Notre–Dame de Fourviere, which was built from 1872-1896 in an eclectic style. Students may also wish to visit Les Traboules (enclosed ancient passageways) and the Théâtre Romans (Roman ruins). As France’s gastronomical capital, Lyon also has a very large variety of restaurants to choose from.

Orange-Avignon

A morning visit to Orange introduces students to the Roman Arc de Triomphe and the Theatre Antique, a 2000 year old Roman theater and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Students then visit Avignon, where they are free to explore, shop and relax before dinner. The market in Avignon also provides a wide array of delectable foods; students may wish to purchase lunch here and meet for a group picnic. An audio tour will guide them through the Palais des Papes before heading back to Grenoble via “la route des vins”, where a stop at a local chateau provides the opportunity for a dégustation (wine tasting) of the famous Châteauneuf du Pape wine.

Paris (GEM Summer Only)

Paris evokes history, allure and romance. Here students will begin their four-week program with an introduction to France and French culture through an arrival excursion in Paris. Students will be received at the airport and housed in a combination hostel and cultural exchange center. After settling in, students will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant and a city tour where they will have the opportunity to meet the other program participants. Students may wish to continue sightseeing on their own that afternoon. The evening will feature a dinner hosted by Grenoble Ecole de Management. Departure will take place early the next morning on the Paris-Grenoble TGV, arriving in Grenoble before noon in order to check into assigned housing.

Pont du Gard & Aigues-Mortes

This excursion begins with a visit to the Pont du Gard, a UNESCO World Heritage site, built shortly before the Christian era to allow the aqueduct of Nîmes (which is almost 50 km long) to cross the Gard river. The Roman architects and hydraulic engineers who designed this bridge created a technical as well as an artistic masterpiece. From the Pont du Gard, students will head south to the walled medieval town of Aigues Mortes and participate in the local fête votive. This annual festival includes music, dancing and a course Camarguaise, which is a local version of “bullfighting”. The objective is to remove ribbons attached to the bulls’ horns—in this bull “fight”, the bull is unhurt and lives to run another day. There is also an Abrivado, an event during which bulls are driven through the streets of Aigues Mortes by gardians, the local Camargue cowboys. Dinner Saturday night takes place in the 16th century restaurant/ hotel where students are lodged. On Sunday morning a trip to the coast of the Mediterranean brings students to Saintes Maries de la Mer. This coastal town celebrates its annual Pelerinage d'Octobre, or October pilgrimage, which reenacts the arrival of the town’s patron saints on the same weekend as the fete votive in Aigues Mortes. The procession to the sea dates back to the 12th century, where locals dressed in period costume reenact the arrival of Les Saintes Maries.

Ski Weekend in the Alps

Nowhere on earth is as breathtaking as the Alps, and there is certainly no place as perfect for a ski retreat. Students will even have the opportunity to experience the incredible, awe-inspiring beauty of the interior of a glacier at Chamonix. This excursion is the perfect way to relax and unwind after a big exam.

Vienne

Vienne may be small in size but it is rich in history. Situated between Grenoble and Lyon, Vienne features such sites as the Temple of Augustus, which was built around 20BC as part of a Roman forum. A guided tour allows students an exclusive glimpse of the temple’s interior, which is usually closed to the public. After having lunch, students will visit the Saint –Roman–en-Gal archeological site and museum that was once a neighborhood of Vienne during the Gallo-Roman period. The visit includes a tour of the ruins, from artifacts to the remains of buildings themselves. Students will be amazed by the ruined townhouses, public baths, markets and warehouses along with paved Roman streets. The museum also houses an amazing display of Gallo-Roman mosaics.

Geneva (GEM Summer Only)

Located only two hours from Grenoble, Geneva is not only a beautiful city, but also home to many international organizations. Students will enjoy a guided tour of the World Trade Organization (WTO) where they can learn about the inner workings of this famous institution. Afterwards, a free period will be provided for exploration and lunch in Geneva, before heading to the picturesque lakeside town of Annecy, France. Students will spend the afternoon visiting Annecy's meandering canals and historic sights before having a real Savoyard dinner in the center of "old" Annecy.