Autrans () is a former commune in the Isère department in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Autrans-Méaudre-en-Vercors. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, it hosted the biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and the ski jumping normal hill events. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Autranais or Autranaises. The commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Geography Autrans is located on the Vercors Plateau in the Vercors Regional Natural Park some 10 km west of Grenoble and 11 km east of Vinay. Access to the commune is solely by the D106C which branches north from the D106 and passes in a loop through the village then back south to Méaudre. A local road goes north from the village along to the valley to the ski fields in the north of the commune. There is farmland in the valley but the slopes of the surrounding mountains are rugged and heavily forested. The Meaudret rises in the north of the commune and flows south down the valley through the village and continues south to join the Bourne at Les Jarrands. Bus line 5120 connects Lans-en-Vercors and Villard-de-Lans stops in Autrans village and Méaudre (the square). There is a shuttle bus in winter from the village to the ski fields. Hiking trails There are two main hiking trails crossing the commune: municipality is crossed by the GR 9; the GR footpath: Tour of the Four Mountains. Places and hamlets L'Achard Les Ronins Les Prud'hommes Villeneuve Eybertière Le Bourg du-dessus Les Eperouses Le Bourg du dessous Le Bouchet Le Truc Andrevière Les Gonnets Les Tranchants Les Vernes Les Gaillards Le Mollaret Le Tonkin Les Franques Payenat Écharlière Neighbouring communes and villages Toponymy The name Autrans is derived from the name of a village called Lans (the oldest village on the plateau) and originated from oultre-Lans meaning "beyond the village of Lans" which, over the course of time, was transformed into Autrans. History The 1968 Olympics in Grenoble (which were the first to be aired on TV) included cross-country skiing, biathlon, ski-jumping (90m ski-jump) and combined Nordic skiing (jumping and cross-country). For many French people the TV images of Nordic skiing at Autrans were a revelation. This would mark the beginning of