The Interaction Museum

First Interaction Museum Symposium - Paris, 17-18 June 2005

The First Interaction Museum Symposium will take place near Paris (France), and is by invitation only.

The symposium will take place on Friday 17 June and Saturday 18 June, 2005, at LRI, Université Paris-Sud, in Orsay. This is 25 minutes outside Paris by train. We recommend that you stay at one of the two hotels we have selected in Paris in the Denfert area. Alternatively, you can stay at a hotel in Orsay, which is a 10-minute walk to the lab. This page gives travel instructions and the meeting schedule.

If you have any question, please contact Wendy and Michel.

Hotels

Hotels in the Denfert area in Paris:

• Hotel du Midi: 3, avenue René Coty.
  Phone: +33 (0)1 43 27 23 25 - Fax: +33 (0)1 43 21 24 58
  Price range: 80-100 euros per night
• Hotel du Lion: 1, avenue du Général Leclerc.
  Phone: +33 (0)1 40 47 04 00 - Fax: +33 (0)1 43 20 38 18
  Price range: 70-90 euros per night
• Sofitel Paris Rive Gauche: 17, boulevard Saint Jacques
  Phone: +33 (0)1 40 78 79 80
  Fax: +33 (0)1 45 88 43 93
  Price range: from 160 euros per night up

Hotel in Orsay:

• Hotel d'Orsay: 2, rue François Leroux - 91400 Orsay
  Phone: +33 (0)1 64 86 17 47 - Fax: +33 (0)1 64 86 17 48
  Price range: 50-70 euros per night

We recommend one of the first two hotels (Hotel du Midi and Hotel du Lion). They are typical, Parisian hotels, very well located and reasonably cheap.

If you want to stay closer tho the Paris city center, you'll find a long list of Hotels in the Sorbonne area here. In this area, Hotel des trois Colleges is a good recommendation as it is close to the RER.

Travel to hotels

If you are flying to Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) airport or taking a train to Gare du Nord, get on the express railway RER B line (see RER map below). Trains run every 5 to 10 minutes. From Orly airport, you can take the RER B, but it is better to take the airport bus that goes direct to Denfert Rochereau. If you arrive elsewhere please let us know.

If you are staying at the Hotel du Midi or Hotel du Lion, get off at Denfert-Rochereau (all trains have a stop there). This is a 45 minute ride from CDG airport and 15 minutes from Gare du Nord. Both hotels are next to the Denfert station (see Denfert map below).

If you are staying at the Hotel d'Orsay, get off at Le Guichet, but beware: not all trains stop there. If you are coming from CDG airport, you may have to change trains. Check the sign on the platform to see where the next train stops. If it does not stop at Le Guichet, take it anyway, get off at Denfert-Rochereau and wait for the next train that stops in Le Guichet. The ride from Denfert to Le Guichet is about 25 minutes. The hotel is very close to Le Guichet station (see Orsay map below). You should never have to wait more than 15 minutes for the corrrect train.

RER map:

(click to enlarge) - PDF version

Denfert area :

(click to enlarge)

• Hotel du Midi: 3, avenue René Coty.
  Phone: +33 (01 43 27 23 25 - Fax: +33 (0)1 43 21 24 58
• Hotel du Lion: 1, avenue du Général Leclerc.
  Phone: +33 (0)1 40 47 04 00 - Fax: +33 (0)1 43 20 38 18
• Apollo restaurant (7:30 pm Friday night): 3, place Denfert-Rochereau
  Phone: +33 (0)1 45 38 76 77
• Michel & Wendy (6:30pm Thursday night): 1, rue Ernest Cresson - ring 611+bell
  Phone: +33 (0)1 40 44 90 57 - Cell: +33 (0)6 86 84 17 85 (Michel)

Orsay :

(click to enlarge)

• Hotel d'Orsay: 2, rue François Leroux
  Phone: +33 (0)1 64 86 17 47 - Fax: +33 (0)1 64 86 17 48

Schedule

For those of you arriving on Thursday night, Wendy and Michel invite you to their place (see Denfert map above) from 6:30 pm to 8 pm. You will be on your own for dinner. There are many cafes and restaurants nearby. The easiest one is probably Café Daguerre, right across the street from Hotel du Lion, at the corner of the pedestrian street Rue Daguerre.

On Friday morning, we will meet in the lobby of Hotel du Midi around 8:30am and we will all take the RER train and go together to LRI in Orsay where the meeting takes place.

If you prefer or have to get there by yourself, get on the RER B line towards Robinson-Saint Rémy-les-Chevreuses and get on any train that stops at Orsay-Ville (check the signs on the platform). These trains run approximately every 15 minutes. Once in Orsay-Ville, walk towards the tail of the train and traverse the pedestrian tunnel that goes under the railroad track. Then refer to the Orsay map above: keep walking downhill until you cross a small river, then enter the campus and walk uphill. You can either follow the windy road or go straight up, following the pedestrian path marked on the map. You end up in front in Building 490: this is the lab. Once in the building, the meeting room is Room 79: turn right and go to the end of the long corridor. (We will put up a sign.) If you get lost, call Michel on his cell phone at +33 (0)6 86 84 17 85.

The meeting will continue at LRI all day Friday. We will have wireless and wired access to the Internet and a printer, as well as coffee, soft drinks and light snacks.

On Friday evening, we invite everyone to dinner at the Apollo Restaurant, next to the Denfert RER station. They have a diverse menu, including vegetarian items.

On Saturday, we will go to LRI again for the second day of the meeting.

Local sights

If you arrive a bit early or stay later, these are a short walk from Denfert-Rochereau:

• Fondation Cartier (Boulevard Raspail): modern art museum and exhibits
• Catacombs (Place Denfert-Rochereau): an amazing display of bones collected...
• Rue Daguerre: the pedestrian part of rue Daguerre is a market street
• Tour Montparnasse: the highest building in Paris, great view (and expensive cocktails!)
• Stop on the Montparnasse - St. Germain Paris Sightseeing tour
• Jardin du Luxembourg: the most famous garden in Paris