We live between two mountain ranges, the Pyrenees to the south and the Black Mountain to the north but we are seldom in either because there aren’t any rail tracks to take us there. If you saw last week’s blog post, you’ll know that we were spending the week in Grenoble, a city that is sometimes called the Capital of the Alps. Given that we were in the middle of one of the world’s most famous mountain ranges, it made sense to see where we could go by train. Although I can’t say that either of us knew anything about the towns of Voiron or Clelles (featured photo above, across the top), at least thanks to France TV we had an idea of the beautiful scenery we could expect to see.

It only takes 15 minutes to get from Grenoble to Voiron by train, so that was an easy choice for a quick day trip. Conveniently, the station in Voiron is only a 5-minute walk from where the town’s most famous product is celebrated, Les Caves de la Chartreuse. The Carthusian order of monks was established in the Alps’ Chartreuse mountains in 1084 and in 1605 they began developing an “elixir of long life” made with 130 plants, the recipe for which was (and apparently still is) known only to 2 monks at a time. Some words that I saw to describe this green liqueur were, “herbal, alpine, spicy, complex, medicinal” with everyone agreeing on “high proof” at 55% ABV (110 proof). The local tourism office simply says, “Okay, we’ll never know what’s in it… but it’s just plants, and it tastes so good.”

A quick walk back past the station took us into the center of downtown, to Place de la Republic where we got one of those sidewalk views of the distant mountains that you can see in the first paragraph above. Although the locals call it a cathedral, the Église Saint-Bruno is a church that was opened in 1871 and is noted for its neo-Gothic architecture and the impressive stained-glass windows. 

Since we’d started our visit with Chartreuse, why not end it there as well, this time enrobed in chocolate. Just opposite the church is Bonnat Chocolatier, a business that has remained family-owned since it opened in 1884. In the tradition of wine making, they specialize in “Grands Crus” chocolates that emphasize single-origin chocolate bars from different terroirs around the world, even roasting their own cocoa beans. And of course you can get bonbons filled with the local green liqueur. 

Early the next (foggy) morning we were off on another adventure about an hour south of Grenoble. While we had a destination in mind, Clelles, the real purpose of the journey was the trip itself through the Alps. We have a rail map that highlights particularly scenic routes and we’ve certainly made these types of day trips before, just to take in the views along the way. Often, as today, we time them around lunch so that we can pack a picnic and enjoy the meal, even with a glass of wine, with panoramic views.

The first section of the rail line out of Grenoble, Ligne des Alpes, opened in 1864 that would later make a complete connection between Lyon and Marseille. I’d read about the highlights along the way including impressive cliffs at the regional natural park, beautiful river and valley views, imposing viaducts, and numerous tunnels that pay homage to 19th century engineering. For our end of the line, Mont Aiguille was described as “the absolute showstopper of the trip” and continuing with “The view of it from the train and from the Clelles station is unforgettable.”  Directly below you can see our cloudy view at the station compared to the sunny one from Tourisme du Trièves (a photo thank you). Oh well, we still had a good time and there are some additional photos below.