Practical Information about Les Houches

Planning

To allow more participants in Les Houches there will be two 10-days sessions. Priority is given for the conveners and students to attend the full duration fo the Workshop.  The first session is from 2nd May 2005 to 11 May noon. The second group will take over from 11 May afternoon to 20 May 2005.

Fees

The total fee covers lodging (single room) and meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). It amounts to 750 Euros for a 10 day period.   This fee should be made payable to the Secretariat in Les Houches upon arrival (see here).

How to contact the Centre des Houches?

Postal Address:
Ecole de Physique des Houches
La Côte des Chavants
F-74310 Les Houches
FRANCE

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

Emergency number, only reachable during the meeting, outside office hours: +33 6 87 82 87 78 (outside France)
                                                                                                                    06 87 82 87 78 (within France)

Facilities:

The School has the following facilities:
 

  • a small library with the main scientific journals and some reference books,
  • three working rooms with blackboards and an auditorium for 70 people
  • projectors for standard slides and for transparencies,
  •  a video-tape recorder VHS + monitor multi-system (NTSC, PAL, SECAM),
  • a photocopy machine,
  • a fax,

    • For the Workshop Physics at TeV Colliders  special arrangements have been made as concerns the computing facilities (details will be posted later).

     

    Your Stay

    Meals are taken at the school dining room. Drinks are not included.

    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:

    Weather is unpredictable (altitude 1150 m), temperature may range from -15 to 5°C in winter and from 5 to 25°C in summer. Sport clothes are preferable. Warm sweater(s), rain gear, good walking shoes and home shoes are necessary. For the period 2-20 May we recommend that you bring some warm clothes.

    Weather in Les Houches and Chamonix (8kms away in the valley...)


     

    Various:

    A flashlight is handy at night ; the school chalets are scattered on the mountainside and outside lights may be poor (power failures, storms, star parties).

    Electricity: AC, 50Hz, 220V.


     

    Access:

    For those who need a visa, please note that if you intend to come to  Les Houches from Switzerland you need both a Swiss and French visa. A Schengen visa is not valid for Switzerland.

    By Conference Bus: CERN<->Les Houches

     The bus journey from CERN to Les Houches takes about 1h30.

    By Local  Buses from Geneva:

    From Geneva centre (main bus station) to the Les Houches Village. Take the bus  going to Chamonix  and get off at the stop Office du Tourisme (tourist center) of Les Houches.

    Bus Timetable:  download the pdf file here

      Geneva bus station website

    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 4460 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   limousine service but you would need to make a reservation on the site Airport Transfer System.
    When you make the reservation specify Geneva-->Chamonix Valley.
    The fares varies depending on how many people share the limousine, it ranges from 40 euros up to as much as about 200euros if you happen to be the only person in the limo!

    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, the updated train  timetable and reservations you can consult the French Railways site.
     
     
     

    By road:

    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!

    Click for detailed road maps

    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.


     

    What to do in Les Houches?

    Astronomy: Sky conditions are quite good at the School (when the sky is clear...) despites the lights of les Houches and Chamonix. As an example, here are photos of Sagittarius and of the Hale-Bopp comet taken from the School.
    gif (175 Ko)jpeg (20 Ko) - gif (170 Ko)
     

    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