How to: Erasmus in Grenoble

This is an infosheet for people who might be coming for Erasmus in Grenoble. Hope it would help in the beggining, so the new erasmus students wouldn't have to struggle like some of us had been struggling.

Arrival

When you arrive in Grenoble, the first thing you should probably do is to lend a Métrovélo – it will save you a lot of time and money as the trams are quite expensive. It is probably better to lend it just for one month and during this period try to buy a bike on the Sunday Market on the parking place under the Bastille. Mind the fact that bike business is the most interesting for the local thieves. Better to buy the most expensive lock, which is not possible to be cut. Good place to buy a lock or even whichever sport equipment is Decathlon, tram line B, stop Grand Sablon.

Internet connection in France is not very advanced. At least at the universities. When you arrive you will find yourself completely cut off. You will not be able to log in before getting your username and password at your university. There is a few possibilities – subscribing in EVE for € 5, there is a free WIFI connection supermarket Geánt or in the center on the place Victor Hugo, there is an unsecured WIFI connection of Hotel Angleterre.

The university internet connection is through Cisco VPN gateway. The Cisco client is not very good, though. It is worth trying to find an alternative client. Concerning OS X, the best one is definitely Shimo.

In the beggining you will be asked for a huge amount of photographies. Anywhere you go, you will need it. Better to print them yourself or photocopy them before your arrival here. Photobooths here would rip you off.

Accommodation

Accommodation is quite expensive in France, but there is government aid called CAF. Anyway, mind the fact that choosing the cheapest student accommodation might surprise you as the quality is really bottom. I, myself, chose one, I had to redecorate the walls as they were disgusting and smelly, but in the end I moved to a more expensive place anyway. Might be a good idea just to stay one month in some cheap place and during that time try to find a collocation with some french, so you would get a closer touch with the culture and mainly the language.

Courses, Learning agreement

Before arrival you will be asked to fill in the learning agreement. Don't be so worried about it, you will be able to change all the subjects after trying them. Concering ENSIMAG which I was studying here, all the informations you will be able to find on intranet site once you get your username and password at the international student office. The site is rather chaotic and also ambiguous, but you will get used to it and if you get to some troubles because of misunderstanding, noone will blame you. The schedule of the courses is listed also in the ENSIMAG building on the left side of the entrance. This information are more trustful than those on the intranet site. Mind the fact, that there are CSE Master courses and also Master of Science in Informatics courses held in English. Concerning those courses – if you chose to take all the courses and then the final stage, you can get a Master diploma on ENSIMAG, which is well recognized all around Europe.

People from all the universities should consider interuniversity couses for foreign students on Stendhal university. They are all interesting and they are all worth 5 ECTS credits.

Leisure, free time

Concerning the amount of the courses – I prefered just to take courses which were not obligatory to attend and which were rather easy, so I could profit from the stay here. Grenoble is a great locality for hiking, mountaineering, skiing and so on. Suscribing to some student organization like ESMUG, EVUG or EGUG will help you join all the activities even when you don't have any experiences, material or a car to transport (car is very very useful here, sharing the places will be always cheaper than public transport). There is also an airport in Grenoble, where you can get cheap flights to London (I flied with Ryanair for € 7, taxes included), or airport in Lyon, from which you can fly to most destinations. However, getting to Czech Republic is rather problematic and it is probably easier to fly from Genève with Swiss airlines.

Public transport, SNCF, TER, TGV

If you planning to travel by train, consider buying a 12–25 discount card which gives you 50 % in most cases. If you planning to go to Paris, just the return journey will pay for it. If going to Genève and buying tickets online, it is better to pick up the tickets in France as in Switzerland you would have to pay additional fee. When taking buses, there is no need for any discount card, just don't forget to mention that you are under 25 when buying a ticket.

Telecommunication

First thing to say is „do not buy Orange“. Not really worth it. I did and I regretted it. If you fancy buying just a prepaid SIM, good choice is Virgin or prepaid card from LeClerc supermarket. However, it is worth it getting a contract with Bouygues Telecom with which you get free sms and mms and a brilliant phone just for € 1. As you would be foreigner, you are allowed to cancel the contract whenever after 3 months. It is enough to say that you leave the country. Just ask the staff, they will explain everything.

In the end I want to ask anyone who finds some other information useful, please don't hesitate to contact me and I will add it to the list here.