Place Saint-André is the historic heart of Grenoble — a small, irregular medieval square hemmed in by the Gothic church of Saint-André and the 15th-century Palais du Parlement du Dauphiné. Terrace cafes occupy the square year-round, and in summer the Open Air Short Film Festival screens films here at night.
The square connects the old town to the Jardins de Ville and the river. It is the kind of place that rewards lingering: have a coffee, watch the pigeons, and notice how the light changes on the medieval facades across the afternoon. The Musée Stendhal, dedicated to the city's most famous literary son, is just off the square on rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau.