General information

Registration

Reception desk will be open during all the congress.
The official language of the ISCE meeting is English. Simultaneous translations are not provided.

Coffee Breaks and lunches

Access to coffee breaks and lunches is only open to registered participants.
Please note that no meal will be sold on site.

A number of restaurants, bistros, low price sandwich shops are within walking distance of the meeting.

Badge

For security reasons, all participants must wear their badge during all the Conference.

Congress venue

The congress will take place at :

Palais des Congrès Vinci
26 Boulevard Heurteloup
B.P. 4225
37042 TOURS CEDEX 1
FRANCE
Location of the Vinci

Access

By train :

08 36 35 35 35
www.sncf.com

  • TGV from Paris Montparnasse (0:56)
  • TGV from Roissy CDG (1:35)
  • TGV from Lille (connections with London and Brussels) (2:30)
  • TGV from Bordeaux (2:16)
  • TGV from Lyon (3:00)
  • TGV from Strasbourg (connections with Frankfort, Munich and Zurich) (4:30)

By plane

Aéroport International de TOURS - VAL DE LOIRE (business airport)

By car

  • Motorway A10 from Paris
  • Motorway A10 from Bordeaux
  • Motorways A11, A85 from Nantes, Angers
  • Motorway A28 from Le Mans
  • Motorways A71, A85 from Clermont-Ferrand, Vierzon

5 car parks are located nearby:

  • Vinci Gare (650 spaces),
  • Champ Girault (178 spaces),
  • Heurteloup (140 spaces),
  • National (288 spaces),
  • Orangerie (200 spaces).

By bus

On this page you will find general informations about the urban transport services available in Tours and its suburbs.

Emergency telephone numbers

  • SAMU / Medical Emergency: 15
  • Police: 17
  • Fire brigade: 18

Passport and visa

Every person entering France should be in possession of a valid passport and/or identification card. Some countries require a visa. Please contact the nearest French Embassy or Consulate to your home for further information. The conference organizers will send out an official letter of invitation upon request to help overcome administrative difficulties in certain countries. This invitation will not imply any obligation from the Organization to provide any kind of financial contribution. Requests should be made by fax or e-mail and should include the participant's complete mailing address, fax number, e-mail address and/or professional or student status proof.

For more information, please click on this link:
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/venir/visas/index.html

Insurance

The conference organizers cannot accept liability for personal injuries sustained, or for loss of or damage to property belonging to congress participants, either during or as a result of the conference. Please, check the validity of your own insurance.

Language and currency

The official language spoken in France is French. According to the Monetary Union, the official currency is the EURO (€). Other currencies will not be accepted during the conference.

Telephone

For international calls to France, dial the international code followed by 33 and the correspondent's number without the 0. For international calls from France, dial 00 followed by your correspondent's international code and number.

Electricity

Electricity used in France is 220 Volts; frequency is 50 Hz and the plugs have two male contact points. Plan to bring an adaptor for your electrical appliances or electronic equipment using different voltage.

Tourism information

Tourism Office in Tours:

www.ligeris.com
78-82 rue Bernard Palissy
BP 4201
37042 TOURS Cedex
Tel +33 2 47 70 37 37
Fax +33 2 47 61 14 22

You can find some information at : www.ligeris.com/index_en.php

To help prepare, organise or facilitate your stay in Touraine, the Tourist Office in TOURS can offer you a wide range of services :

  • Going round the city of Tours in a mini-train or a barouche ;
  • Exploring the Touraine by minibus or taxi ;
  • Flying over the Loire châteaux in a hot-air balloon or a helicopter ;
  • Guided tours of Tours ;
  • Hotel reservations ;
  • Organising themed holidays such as exploring the Loire châteaux ;
  • Booking flights by plane or by microlight ;
  • Providing tickets for châteaux, shows, concerts and son et lumière events ;
  • Organising stays in Touraine for groups and works councils...

Museum

Musée des Beaux Arts (Fine Arts Museum)

18 Place F. Sicard
02.47.05.68.73
Hours: 9.00-12.45 am and 2.00-6.00 pm
Open all year every day except Tuesday
Closed on 1st January, 1st May, 14 July, 1st and 11 november, 25 december

Formerly the Archbishop's Palace (17th and 18th c.). Fine pieces of furniture and considerable collection of French and foreign paintings from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.

Hotel Gouin (Formerly Hotel Gardette, 16th c.)

Touraine Archeological Museum
25 rue du Commerce
02.47.66.22.32
The museum is being renovated.

Touraine Archeological Society collection: prehistory, Gallo-Roman and medieval archeology, medieval, Renaissance, 17th and 18th century arts.
The most beautiful example of Renaissance domestic architecture in Tours.

Château Royal de Tours

25 Avenue André Malraux
02.47.64.90.52
Wednesday and Saturday: 2.00-6.00 pm
Open from 1st January to 31 december

Permanent display of the history of the city and temporary exhibitions - Cycle "to live in TOURS", all year round, on request for teachers, students and groups.
The organization of guided visits for exhibitions is possible.

Musée du Compagnonnage

8, Rue Nationale
02 47 21 62 20
16.06-15.09: 9.00-12.30 am et 2.00-6.00 pm
16.09-15.06: until 12.00, closed on Tuesday
Closed on 1st January, 1st May, 14 July, 1st and 11 november, 25 december

This museum is unique in the world. It contains the masterpieces, tools, illustrated and written records of the Tour de France journeymen since 1840.
Last visitors admitted 30 minutes before closing time.

St Martin Museum

3 rue Rapin
02.47.64.48.87
Hours: 9.30-12.30 am et 2.00-5.30 pm
Open everydays except Monday, Tuesday
Closed on 1st May , 14 July, and 25 Dec
and from mid-November to mid-March

The main events in the life of St Martin. History of the site and the various buildings erected here since the first tomb was laid.

Musée du Gemmail

Hôtel Raimbault - Vieux-Tours
7 rue du Mûrier
02.47.61.01.19
Hours: 2.00-6.30 pm everydays
From Easter to October 15th except Monday
Low season : by reservation for groups

Enamel gem museum and its 12th-century underground chapel.Museum : Exhibition of 70 "Art of Light" gems made by 20th-century glass artists.Visits for groups on appointment all year round.

Military Service Corps Museum

Rue du Plat d'Etain
02.47.77.33.07
Hours: 2.00-5.30 pm
Open Monday to Friday
from September 1st to July 31st
Closed on 1st January and 25 December

Remains of the Abbey of Beaumont; collections of arms, pennants, uniforms, insignia illustrating the history of the Service Corps since its was formed till our days.

Gardens

www.ligeris.com/fra/jardins.html

At Tours, capital of the garden of France, particular care is taken of the parks and public gardens, in total, over 630 hectares of green space :

  • The ‘Jardin Botanique’, which was started in 1843, regroups rich collections of medicinal plants, some remarkable trees, ornamental plants and bulbs as well as an orangery, greenhouses and an animal park.
  • The ‘Jardin des Prebendes d’Oe, created in 1872 by the Bühler brothers, famous 19th century landscape gardeners.
  • The ‘Square François Sicard’, designed in 1864 by the Bühler brothers.
  • The ‘Parc Mirabeau’ landscaped in 1891.
  • The garden of the ‘Musée des Beaux-Arts’, completed around 1900, where one can admire the cedar planted in 1804 and Fritz, the stuffed elephant, much loved by the locals.
  • The ‘Jardin de la Préfecture’, opened to the public in 1932.

To these long established formal gardens of Tours we can add the vast parks, ideal for Sunday walks : Sainte Radegonde, Parc Honoré de Balzac, Parc de la Source and the woodland of Larçay forest & the Bois des Hâtes.

This appreciation of nature is also shown at the flower market (Marché aux Fleurs), one of the oldest and most important of France, held every Wednesday and Saturday in the city centre.

And finally, the garden of France is honoured every year with the ‘Journée Verte’, with special events in all the gardens, on the last Sunday of April.

Detours around «alen-Tours» Tours

Although this brochure is designed to give you some keys to unlock the beauty of the city of Tours, it is important to note that the Touraine, within just a few dozen kilometres, offers an incredible wealth of sites, monuments and attractions, worthy of it’s international renown. It is impossible to list them all here, but just to whet your appetite:

The essentials

The Loire valley is world famous for its prestigious chateaux : Chenonceau, Chambord, Amboise, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau, Chaumont, Ussé, Langeais, Cheverny, Loches, Chinon...

The unusual

The Clos Lucé, museum devoted to Leonardo da Vinci, the Pagoda of Chanteloup and the Mini Chateau Park at Amboise, the Old City of Richelieu, as conceived by the cardinal Richelieu, or the Chartreuse du Liget in the forest of Loches. Boat trips on the Loire in a “gabare”(traditional flat bottomed river boat) between Tours & St Cyr sur Loire. The Dusfresne museum at Marnay with 3,000 restored ancient machines. The Petrified Caves in Savonnières, for a strange journey into the heart of the earth.

Literary lovers

The Prieuré Saint Cosme, at La Riche, where the poet Ronsard lived and is buried; the Devinière, near Chinon, birthplace of Rabelais; Saché, home and inspiration to Balzac.

And for animal lovers

The Aquarium de Touraine, at Lussault, the Beauval zoo at St Aignan sur Cher, Beaumarchais animal reserve - with bisons, ostriches and wild boar at Autrèche, snail farms at Montlouis & St Antoine du Rocher, pig farm at Betz le Chateau and goat rearing at Neuille-Pont- Pierre. All are open to visitors.

Typical food

The Touraine, where Gargantua was born, the land of good food and good living, offers excellent and varied accommodation. The visitor will also very quickly discover that this is a region of great chefs.

The Touraine table serves recipes from all over France and also the much- appreciated local specialities such as: rillettes (goose or pork pate), andouillettes (tripe sausage), geline, coq-au-vin with Chinon wine, delicious Ste Maure goat cheese, the so-called "Tours" prunes, macaroons made by the monks of Cormery, the fouaces (hearth-cakes) that Rabelais so loved and barley sugar.

And to go with all this? The great white wines of Vouvray, Montlouis, Amboise, Azay le Rideau; and the red wines of Chinon, Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas; not forgetting the red, white and rose wines certified "Touraine".