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This paper compares the genesis and growth of two well-known European high-technology centres, Cambridge in the UK and Grenoble in France. This paper attempts to explain why, despite strong differences in terms of initial conditions, Cambridge and Grenoble present similarities, sometimes striking, related to the creation of their respective science parks and to the growth of high-tech activities in the wider area. In the early 1970s Cambridge was a typical British university town while Grenoble had a strong industrial past and a tradition of relationships between university and industry. Despite these differences, high-tech activities emerged at the same time in both places as a unique local dynamic milieu. The paper shows the similarities and differences in the paths of development followed in both centres. Current constraints on growth are described and new dynamics of growth are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]