Grenoble is the prefecture and largest city of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is located within the Dauphiné historical province and lies where the river Drac joins the Isère at the foot of the French Alps. The residents of the city are called "Grenoblois".
The population of the commune of Grenoble was 158,180 at the 2016 census, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area was 687,985 which makes it the largest metropolis in the Alps, ahead of Innsbruck and Bolzano. A significant European scientific centre, the city advertises itself as the "Capital of the Alps", due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. The many suburb communes that make up the rest of the metropolitan area include four with populations exceeding 20,000: Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Échirolles, Fontaine and Voiron.
Grenoble's history goes back over 2,000 years, to a time when it was a village of the Allobroges Gallic tribe. It became the capital of the Dauphiné in the 11th century. This status, consolidated by the annexation to France, allowed it to develop its economy.