The venue

Congress Venue

Poitiers is the capital of the Vienne department, anchored in the Poitou region. The city of Poitiers bears a secular tradition as a university centre, starting in the Middle Ages. The University of Poitiers was established in 1431, making it the second oldest university in France. It has welcomed many famous philosophers and scientists throughout the ages (notably François Rabelais, René Descartes, Joachim du Bellay, among others). The town center is picturesque and its streets include predominant historical architecture, mainly religious, especially from the Romanesque period.

The FLAM2023 will be held at the Descartes auditorium, located in the hyper-center of Poitiers. This auditorium is located in the buildings of the University of Poitiers, showing an easily recognizable facade (the famous “Hôtel Fumé“, a masterpiece of flamboyant gothic architecture from the XV^th century). This entrance is located at the 8 Rue Descartes, Poitiers. A secondary entrance can be used to access the auditorium, located at the 23 Rue des Carmélites, Poitiers.

How to get to Poitiers

The city of Poitiers is strategically located. It connects the Aquitaine Basin in the South (Bordeaux, 220Kms) to the Paris Basin in the North (Paris 330 Kms). This area is an important geographic crossroads in France and Western Europe. For this, one can easily get to Poitiers by several means

Getting to Poitiers by train

Poitiers is served by a train station benefiting from a high frequency of service. You can plan your trip with the website of the french national railways here.

Additionally, you can check itineraries and plan your booking using the Trainline website here.

Getting to Poitiers by plane

For our colleagues overseas and far away, Poitiers is easily accessible by plane. The most practical route is to fly to the Roissy – Charles de Gaulle airport located near Paris (CDG). From the airport, a direct high speed train connection allows you to arrive to Poitiers (see example of schedule for the train connection here). The train connection last for about 2h30, and leads you to Poitiers train station, located in the city center. The AirFrance website allows to book both plane & train tickets at the same time (https://wwws.airfrance.fr/en).

Coming from the United kingdom, you can directly land at the Poitiers airport (PIS Airport), which provides frequent connections with London Stansted airport. On arrival, you will need a cab to reach the city center (approx. 15-20€ for the course).

Moving around in Poitiers

Feeling lost once you hop off the train? Please have a look at the video below, showing how to get to the closest bus stop, leading you to the city center. Buses line 13 and 2B will lead you to the town hall (bus stop names ‘Victor Hugo‘). From there, you will easily access hotels and all sites of the FLAM2023.

In Poitiers, you can visit most of the city by feet. In addition, you can also use public transportations, via the bus company Vitalis. Tickets can be bought via their smartphone application or directly on site, where major bus stops have tickets machines.

You can also rent e-bikes and e-scooters with the rental service Pony, available in Poitiers.

We have drawn a simplified map below to illustrate walking distances between important sites for the meeting.

Accès directs

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