The Bastille, an ancient series of fortifications on the mountainside overlooking Grenoble on the northern side is visible from many points in the city. The Bastille is one of Grenoble's most visited tourist attractions and provides a good vantage point over the town below and the surrounding mountains.
Although the Bastille was begun in the Middle Ages, later years saw extensive additions, including a semi-underground defense network. The Bastille has been credited as the most extensive example of early 18th-century fortifications in all of France and then held an important strategic point on the Alpine frontier with the Kingdom of Savoy.[33]
"Les Bulles": the cable cars
The first cable transport system, installed on the Bastille in 1875, was built by the Porte de France Cement Company for freight. This cable transport system connected a quarry on Mount Jalla, just over the bastille, and Grenoble. It was abandoned in the early 20th century
Since 1934, the Bastille has been the destination of the "Grenoble-Bastille Cable Car". This system of egg-shaped cable cars known to locals as "Les Bulles" (the bubbles) provides the occupants with an excellent view over the Isère River. At the top are two restaurants and a small military museum on mountain troops (Musée des troupes de montagne).