My Time in Grenoble

I studied in Grenoble for a semester and I cannot recommend it enough. I found the city and the courses I was taking to be perfect for what I was wanting to get out of my study abroad experience. My program was the French Language and Culture program, so all of my classes were in French at the B1 level. I thought the teachers were excellent and made the French immersion very accessible and were always happy to help with any questions or clarifications, and the students at the university were from all over the world, so it really made me have to use French to communicate with almost all of my classmates (I was the only American in my class, but this was not the case for other CEA CAPA students in the same program who were at different French levels) and I feel like I progressed a lot during the semester because of it. Grenoble is also a great city because it is pretty walkable and the tram system can get you pretty much anywhere in the city or the suburbs. Many places, such as restaurants, cafes, museums, the ski companies, transportation companies, etc. in Grenoble have student discounts (from what I understand this is the case in all of France). The location of Grenoble makes it easy to travel to other cities and countries at a decent price, too. I was able to travel multiple times to Switzerland and Germany because of the proximity and low cost, and while I didn't get a chance to go, Italy is also very close. If you like adventure and nature especially, I think you will be able to find many things to do in and around Grenoble, such as hiking, skiing, snowboarding, bouldering, and paddle boarding. The city also feels very safe; I never had any incidents of being in danger or anything bad happening, and neither did anyone else on my program.