Travel Info-HPCS2018

The International Conference on High Performance Computing & Simulation

(HPCS 2018)

The 16th Annual Meeting

July 16 – 20, 2018

Lab’O, Orléans Val de Loire Technopole

Orléans, France

http://hpcs2018.cisedu.info/ or http://cisedu.us/rp/hpcs18

Technically Sponsored by IEEE

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION INFO

THE VENUE:

The conference will take place, in Orléans city center, at the LAB'O buildings, which is one of the largest incubator of start-ups in France. Lab’O was designed to support companies to develop new projects and new ideas in digital business. (address: 1 Avenue du Champ de Mars, 45100 Orléans, France)

Orléans is a relatively small historic city on the banks of the River Loire, about 110 km south of Paris, and is the capital of Centre Val-de-Loire region and the Loiret Department. Orléans is associated with Joan of Arc. The Cathedral of Sainte-Croix was built in the Gothic style between 1278 and 1329.

The region is known for its medieval castles (Chateaux de la Loire).

How to reach Orléans:

Orléans, located about 70 miles south of Paris, is connected to the rail network connecting the main cities of France. Therefore it is very easy to reach Orléans from many Western European cities by train.

There is no airport in Orléans. However, you can reach Orléans easily from all Paris international airports: Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly airports.

There are several choices a traveller will have to reach Orléans: by air, train, bus, rental, ...

By Air

Whatever airport (Roissy-Charles de Gaulle CDG airport or Orly airport) you use, there are two main options to reach Orléans:

1. Use an Airport Shuttle: This is the easiest and less tiring way to come to Orléans, especially if you have a lot of luggages. The cost varies from 65 to 100 € depending on the company. It takes about 1H30 minutes from Orly airport and 1H50 minutes from CDG airport to reach Orléans city.

Warning: you have to reserve the shuttle before your arrival. The main shuttle companies are:

Routair: http://routair.fr/orleans/

Transpers: http://www.transpers.fr/navetteAeroport.htm

Air Evasion: http://www.airevasion-orleans.fr/

2. Use the public transports (train): There are two steps: first reach "Paris-Austerlitz" railway station from the airport and then use the train to arrive in Orléans.

* From CDG airport to Paris-Austerlitz railway station:

Option 1: Take RER B to Saint Michel then RER C to Paris Austerlitz (duration: 1hour, price about 11€)

Option 2: Taxi (duration: between 30 min and 1 hour, price: about 55€)

More Info can be found at https://en.parisinfo.com/practical-paris/getting-to-paris/from-paris-charles-de-gaulle-airport.

* From Orly airport to Paris-Austerlitz railway station:

Option 1: Bus Go C then RER C to Austerlitz (duration: 45 min, price about 7 €)

Option 2: Taxi (duration: between 25 min to 1 hour, price: about 30€)

By Train from Paris

From Paris, you need to go to Paris-Austerlitz railway station to reach Orléans. There are many trains (duration about 1h, price about 24€).

Warning : There are 2 railway stations at Orléans: Les-Aubrais station and Orléans city center.

If your train does not stop at Orléans city center station, you have to take the shuttle or the Tram A (direction Hopital-La-Source) to reach Orléans city center (about 2 minutes).

Traveling to Orléans By Bus

Many bus companies can be used to reach Orléans, with very competitive costs, from many cities in France and Europe.

Please refer to http://www.comparabus.com/fr/ for more details if interested in this option.

Car Rentals

Most car rental companies serve Paris CGG or Orly Airports.

Avis, https://www.avis.fr/

Budget, https://www.budget.fr

Europcar, https://www.europcar.fr

Hertz, https://www.hertz.fr

Sixt rent a car, https://www.sixt.com

TRANSPORTATION WITHIN ORLEANS

There is a good network of public transportation that covers much of the city of Orléans metropolitan area.

Bus and Tram

Public transportation in Orleans is mainly organized by the TAO company: http://www.reseau-tao.fr.

Orleans has two Tram lines (Line A and Line B) and a good bus network. Frequency of trams is 5 to 7 minutes during peak hours. Bus connections are well established, except for very late hours. Most buses and Trams are connected to Orléans city center.

Tram line A connects the municipalities of Fleury-les-Aubrais to Orleans-La-Source via Orléans center. It serves the stations of Orléans and Aubrais as well as the majority of the areas of dense housing. It is the busiest line of the network.

Line A Downloads

The tram line B West-East axis connects the municipalities of La Chapelle Saint-Mesmin, Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle and Saint-Jean-de-Braye. Orléans. It serves the city center of Orléans without going through the station and offers a connection to line A at the De Gaulle station (the busiest station in the network).

Line B Downloads

There are 42 bus lines in the Orléans City and its vicinity. More on this will be on the Local Info page.

If you have questions, ask the driver before the bus/tram leaves. You can purchase your ticket directly at most bus/tram stations. There are tickets for 1 or 10, 30 rides, day tickets (each ticket remains valid for bus/tram transfers within an hour after ticket validation).

Tickets can be purchased using cash or payment cards at most bus/tram stations or any TAO agent shop. More info about ticket purchasing can be found at https://www.reseau-tao.fr/41-Points-de-vente.html.

You can also purchase dematerialized bus/tram tickets using TAO Orléans application available for Apple/Android smart-phones http://www.reseau-tao.fr/63-Tao-sur-votre-mobile.html.

Car

Traveling by car in Orléans is not the best choice as the city is small. Moreover, parking in the city is quite expensive (~ 2.0€ per hour). It might even be difficult to find a parking lot.

In addition to public transport and cycling, auto'tao, the short-term car rental service, allows everyone to adapt their mode of transport according to their travel habits and their need of the moment. Accessible to professionals and individuals, auto'tao operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You borrow the vehicle on one of the following 4 auto'tao stations:

Gare d'Orleans (location: avenue de Verdun)

De Gaulle (location: rue des Minimes)

Square St. Vincent (location: theater side)

St-Marceau Cross (near tram line station A Croix St-Marceau)

Registering for this service allows you to book a car in a car park near you or at your workplace. Vehicles borrowed from a station must be brought back to the same station.

http://www.auto-tao.fr/

For info about Parking rates and location in Orléans, please see https://www.stationnement-orleans.fr/stationnement-dans-les-parkings.

Taxi

Taxis are the most simple and rapid way to move around in Orléans. There are a lot of taxis parking in Orléans, and taxis are available 24/24 at Orléans railway station. Phone: 02 38 53 11 11.

Please refer to http://www.taxis-orleans.fr/taxis_h.html for any information on taxis.

Bike self service: Velo+

Velo+, a free bike service set up by Metropolis Orleans, allows you to borrow a bike from one of the 34 stations in the city. The principle is simple: I take a bike to a station and I can return it in any other bike station 24/24.

3 access service options are available:

- Registration 24 am (1 € and a credit card deposit of 400 € blocked for 24 hours)

- Registration 7 days (3 € and a credit card deposit of 400 € blocked for 7 days)

- 1 year subscription (15 € )

In any case, the first half hour of use of Velo+ is free. The following 30 minutes are 0,50€, time after 1 €, 2 € the next hour ...

At the end of the loan, make sure you hang the bike correctly on any station Velo+ to prevent that your bike will not be stolen following a bad hook fix.

Please refer to https://www.agglo-veloplus.fr/en for more information about Velo+.

BANKING & CURRENCY:

The official currency of France is the Euro. Banks are open from Monday to Friday, between 8:00am and 4:00pm. For cash withdrawal, please look for “Bancomat”, which accepts almost all credit cards. Banks in Orléans include: Société Générale, BNP Paribas - Orléans, Caisse d'Epargne Orléans, Crédit Agricole Center Loire.

BUSINESS HOURS:

Most restaurants in Orléans serve lunch from 12:30pm until 2:30pm and dinner from 7:00pm to 11:00pm.

Most shops and shopping centers in Orléans are open on weekdays from 08:30am to 06:00pm, with the exception of most grocery stores that tend to open earlier and close at 07:00pm. On Saturday, most shops are open from 9am to 6:00pm. On Sundays, some shops are open from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

The majority of bars, clubs, nightclubs and discos in Orléans are open from Thursday to Saturday from 10:00pm on. Some places open much earlier than that. Bars usually open in early afternoon. Clubs will open at 5:00-7:00pm, especially in the old part of the town.

The closing time varies from one club to another, although it is normal to stay up until 2:30 am.

ELECTRICITY:

In Orléans the norm is 220 V (230 V), 50 Hz, the European standard. A two-pin/three-pin plug systems is used.

WEATHER:

In summer, the days are long starting from the second half of May. In July, the average temperature is 27°C (80.6°F), the maximum daytime temperature is about 35°C (95°F) and the minimum nighttime temperature is 12°C (53.6°F). There are approx. 16 hours of daylight per day in July. Chance of sunny day is about 75%. Expect some periods of rain showers. More information about climate and weather in Orléans can be found at:

https://www.accuweather.com/en/fr/orleans/132608/daily-weather-forecast/132608?day=6.