Practical Information about Les Houches |
Telephone:
+33 -4-50 54 40 69 (from Monday to Friday at office hours)
Fax:
+33 -4-50 55 53 25
E-mail:
secretariat.houches@ujf-grenoble.fr
You may contact participants at meals hours (12h30-13h30) (19h30-20h30)
by calling the Restaurant at +33 -4-50 54 41 24
The School has the following facilities:
Coffee, tea (free!) and liqueurs are available at the cafeteria.
Breakfast : 8:00 am to 8:45 am ; Lunch : 12:30 am ; Dinner : 7:30 pm
Participants are housed in "chalets". All the buildings have now been renovated. Most rooms are single occupancy (read our warning).
The cafeteria has a piano, baby-foots and table tennis. A few montain bikes are available.
Pictures of the Housing and Conference
complex at Les Houches.
Weather
in Les Houches and Chamonix (8kms away in the valley...)
Electricity: AC, 50Hz, 220V.
By Local Buses from Geneva:
From Geneva centre (main bus station) to the Les Houches
Village.
Timetable
Dep.
GVA 8.30 Arr. Les Houches 9.50 (daily)
Dep. GVA 16.15 Arr. Les Houches 17.45 (does not run on Sunday!)
Note that because of the G8 summit in Evian the journey may take longer.
Note however that the service is not convenient. First
it is not frequent. Second, the bus stops in the village which is still
4kms away from the School. If you do not want to climb on foot, we advise
you to take a taxi. Fare: about 12 Euros.
You need to reserve a taxi by phoning: [33] (0) 450 54
41 76 or 450 54 41 09.
To go from Geneva train station to the bus station
For a map of Geneva and general information.
By plane:
Geneva Airport is 1 hour drive from les Houches. There is a regular bus service between Geneva Centre and Les Houches (see section Local Buses from Geneva).
It is possible to use a private limousine service but you need
to inform the secretary by e-mail
ten days before with the following informations :
Flight number, origin, date and time of arrival.
Fare: about 40 Euros
For further updated information on Geneva Airport see the site of the Airport.
By train:
Arrival at Les Houches station, with one change at Saint-Gervais (from France). There is about 10 trains per day between St Gervais and Les Houches. The train Station is about 5 kms from the Centre de Physique (the latter being uphill!!)
We strongly advise you to take a taxi. You need to reserve a taxi by phoning: [33] (0) 450 54 41 76 or 450 54 41 09.
Fare: about 12 euros.
For other fares you can consult the French
Railways Site for timetable and reservations.
By road:
Please note that the G8 summit is being held in Evian. A few crossing points between CH<->F have been closed. The ones that are open all day may be crowded. Please allow for more time if you are driving from Switzerland.
Les Houches are easily accessible from France (A41 highway), from Switzerland (Martigny and Col des Montets).
From Geneva and Le Fayet: 8km before Chamonix, 300 m after passing under a tunnel, bear right by the first road out for "Les Houches Les Trabets". When arriving at the cable car station "Bellevue", turn right and continue upwards (roughly 2 km starting from the teleferic). 500m after the cable car station "Prarion", turn left and follow small arrows at crossroads. Continue up to the end of Route de la Côte des Chavants. There you are!
From Chamonix: bear right for "Les Houches-Chef-Lieu", turn right in Les Houches, go ahead at the cable car station "Bellevue". Then proceed as above.
Cars may be rented from Geneva and from Chamonix, but it is useful to make reservations.
Beware that the Mont-Blanc Tunnel is closed. Direct access from Aosta
to Chamonix is not possible.
The Astronomy Club of Chamonix has good instruments and organizes very nice star parties in the mountains (col de Balme, 2200 m) during summer. Contact Observatoire du Mont-Blanc, 67 Lacets du Belvédère, 74400 Chamonix (Tel: 04 50 53 45 16).
Ideal for hiking, climbing, .....
For more see here
Consult the Les Houches Tourism
web page