ESSLLI 2009 in Bordeaux

ESSLLI site, accomodation, and places of interest




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Arrival and departure

The international Airport of Bordeaux (BOD) is located in the outskirt town of Mérignac, and provides direct flights to major airports in Europe, North Africa and the USA, and two-stop connections to many more destinations. To get to Bordeaux proper from the airport, you can:


The railway station, Bordeaux St-Jean, has direct TGV connections to Paris and Bruxelles. Train is also a convenient and mostly cheap means of transport throughout Europe, check with the national company for connection details. The station is conveniently located, and you can:


Accommodation locations and surroundings

Teachers lodgings are located in le Cercle des Universitaires, Cours de l'Argonne. In the immediate surroundings are a few shops and restaurants; the nearest launderette, Laveri Argonne (57 Cours de l'Argonne, tramway B stop St Nicolas) is halfway to the ESSLLI site. To get around:

Student accommodation on-campus is located in Village 5. It is near the tramway line B, stop Montaigne-Montesquieu. The main facilities around are campus cafeterias, restaurants and libraries, mostly closed in summer, and a few bakeries; in case of emergencies, the local Clinic is nearby. You can also easily get, on foot or by tramway, to the outskirt town of Pessac, with many local shops, a movie theater and a railway station convenient for getting to the coast.

Additional accommodation is provided in apartments managed by Téneo, in two different locations.

Téneo Cours de la Marne is located near the railway station (a 2-minutes walk), and the ESSLLI site (a 10-minutes walk); both places are the nearest public transportation stops. Accommodation is provided in apartments or suites for one or two persons. The nearest launderette (lavomatique Bordeaux, 203 Cours de la Marne) is nearby.

Ténéo Talence is located near the Campus, in the centre of the outskirt town of Talence. The tramway (line B) gets near the building at stop Forum. Around are many restaurants, a few shops, banks and a movie theater.


The ESSLLI site

ESSLLI is located in lecture and conference rooms of the Université Bordeaux 2 Victor Segalen, main entrance: Place de la Victoire (tramway line B, stop Place de la Victoire). In the immediate surrondings are many cafés, restaurants, kebab shops, sandwich stalls and fast-food joints. In addition of the accommodation locations, you might want to take a walk along the Rue Sainte-Catherine, claimed to be the longest pedestrian street in Europe; it begins just beyond the Victory Arch, and is also a way to get to historical sites, museums, stores and malls and other dining districts of central Bordeaux.


Public transportation in Bordeaux

Bus and tramways make the transportation network of the city and suburban areas. The same fare-system is used for both, regardless of distance traveled: a single ticket is valid for an hour, during which you can get as far as you wish using any number of buses or tramways. 5 and 10-journey tickets are available, as well as 1-day and 7-day tickets; some should be provided as part of your ESSLLI kit. This system does not include the buses or trains to the countryside or coast, nor the airport shuttle.

The three-lines tramway network is the fastest way to get around; tramways come around every 10 minutes in summer (20 minutes late in the evening or on Sundays); the network map is available here. A quick stop list:

Should you wish to get anywhere else, the bus network is extensive. The map of the full network is available here. Moreover, night buses provide transportation after midnight: map is available here.