Grenoble, France

While it has its fair share of the grey, concrete apartment blocks which blight the outskirts of many a French city, GRENOBLE, the self-styled "capital of the Alps", has a colourful and quirky maze of streets at its centre, where modern and medieval buildings are packed close together. Beautifully situated at the confluence of the Drac and Isère rivers, the city is also home to a vibrant student population of over 50,000 and a lively cultural scene which attracts young clubbers, actors and musicians from across the whole region. Grenoble's Musée de Grenoble, packed with paintings by notable nineteenth-and twentieth-century artists, is the region's outstanding art gallery, while the restaurants and cafés of the town provide relaxing spots in which to sit and admire the grandeur of this fantastic mountain setting.