DI Workshop on Delivery Context Sophia-Antipolis

4-5 March 2002
Room E006 (E = Euler building)
W3C/INRIA
2004 route des Lucioles
06902 Sophia Antipolis
France

Transport

Also see INRIA's info (in French) and map of Sophia-Antipolis, as well as general info about Sophia-Antipolis.

The nearest airport is Nice-Cote d'Azur (15km). It has two terminals: terminal 1 (international) and terminal 2 (France) connected by a free bus shuttle.

The nearest town is Antibes (7km, to Antibes centre).

• A taxi from the airport to Sophia-Antipolis or to Antibes will cost about € 45 and takes about 25 minutes (longer in rush hour, i.e., 8:00-9:00 and 17:00-19:00). We can also arrange for a taxi to wait for you at the airport (and/or to bring you back to the airport), which is slightly cheaper ( € 34.60), but there is a good chance you will have to share the ride with somebody else.
• A bus from the airport to Antibes costs about € 6.75 and takes 45 minutes. Two buses per hour. Last bus around 21:00. The bus is numbered "200" and labeled at the bus stop as "Cannes par RN7" (which means it goes to Cannes via the provincial road RN7, as opposed to via the highway A8). You'll probably want to get off at Place Charles de Gaulle, which is the centre of Antibes.
• A bus from the airport to Sophia-Antipolis costs about € 6.75 and takes about 35 minutes. Only available on weekdays. Be careful: the bus takes different routes at different times. The bus stops at INRIA about 2 out of 3 times. Last bus 18:50. The bus is labeled "Nice-Sophia Express."
• The train is the cheapest option to get to Antibes, about € 3.75. But you'll have to walk 10-15 minutes from the airport to the station. Antibes station is about 5 minutes walk from the centre. To the hotels is 10 minutes more, but of course there are taxis at the station as well.
• All the major car rental agencies (Avis, Hertz,...) are represented at Nice Airport. By car, the easiest option is to take the highway (autoroute A8) at the airport. The direction is variously labeled as Cannes, Aix-en-Provence or Antibes. It'll cost you about € 1.1 in toll. Exit at Antibes: for Antibes turn left (south east), for Sophia right.

From Antibes to Sophia Antipolis there is a bus (number 2VB to Valbonne), but it's not very frequent: about once every 50 minutes. It starts at the Antibes railway station; exit at INRIA or Ceram (every other bus passes by INRIA).

A car (or car pooling) is more convenient. Parking at INRIA is no problem, parking in Antibes centre is more difficult. But at the hotel Josse (if you are staying there) there should be enough space. From Antibes centre to INRIA takes 15 minutes without traffic, double that in rush hour.

Sophia-Antipolis is a labyrinth, but luckily INRIA is on the edge of it. On the right half of the map you see the INRIA logo and to the right of that a dotted vertical line that connects the Route des Lucioles with the highway (autoroute). That dotted line is now a real road and I recommend you take it. Apart from negotiating some busy roundabouts, it is by far the easiest and usually the quickest way to get to INRIA.

The white double-lane road that goes south-east and is labeled "vers Antibes" goes straight to the centre of Antibes (and gets narrower along the way). There is only one thing you need to look out for on this road: at one point it is easy to forget to take the left lane. Look at the overhead signs.

Lodging

The address of the

hotel Josse

8, boulevard James Wyllie
Antibes
Tel: +33 (0)4 93 61 47 24
Fax: +33 (0)4 93 61 97 62

This hotel located on the seashore, in a residential district facing Salis beach, opposite of the old quarter of Antibes, is at walking distance from the heart of town. € 60 the single room and € 75 the double (tax and breakfast included). There are also hotels near INRIA, three of them even within walking distance (Ibis, Novotel, Omega), but if you want to go out for dinner or walk outside in your spare time, staying in Antibes is probably more attractive. The hotel Josse is actually on the beach and 10 minutes walking from the old part of town. The hotel Royal is also on the waterfront, but the sandy beach is 5 minutes away. It is 5 minutes closer to the old town, though.

Some other hotels:

• Sophia Antipolis:

  Hotel Mediathel ***
  Route des Crètes
  06560 Valbonne
  Tel. +33 (0)4 92 94 68 00
  Fax. +33 (0)4 93 65 43 41

  Located in the heart of a pine forest, the hotel is within 20 minutes of Nice International Airport and is easily accessible by car. All bedrooms are air-conditioned, have PC connection points, direct dial, automatic wake-up call and minibar. almost same price as Josse.

• Cap d'Antibes (the peninsula):

  Hotel Castel Garoupe ***
  959, bd de la Garoupe
  06160 Cap d'Antibes
  Tel. +33 (0)4 93 61 36 51
  Fax. +33 (0)4 93 67 74 88

• Antibes:

  Hotel Royal ***
  Bd Marechal Leclerc
  06600 Antibes
  Tel. +33 (0)4 93 34 03 09
  Fax. +33 (0)4 93 34 23 31

  The Hotel Royal seemed to please some participants to former meetings. The hotel is semi-pension (i.e., one of the meals must be taken at the hotel.)

  Facing the sea, the hotel is located within walking distance of the heart of Antibes. It is very near the beautiful Cap d'Antibes, and directly on the beach. Telephone, mini bar, air conditioning, television.

  Fares: Room with a shower facing the sea: € 60 ; Room with a tub facing the sea: € 92 ; Room at the rear facing the town: € 57 (shower only)

More hotels:

• "Riviera Magazine"
• "Antibes Hotels"
• "Les Hôtels d'Antibes Juan-les-Pins par Etoiles"

Food

There will be croissants in the morning (which count as breakfast in France; I mean: they are delicious, just not very filling), coffee and tea at the appropriate times, and lunch.

Weather

The water is still too cold to stay in it for long (12C), but the beach ought to be OK. There is always some chance of rain during end of winter (on average 1 out of 5 days has some rain) but don't worry about it. Temperature is about 16C and normally doesn't change much from one day to the next.

Tourism

See some hints that Bert Bos collected earlier.

Miscellaneous

Don't forget to bring some photo-ID when you come to INRIA (passport, driver's license,...), because the guard will ask for it.

Voltage is 230 V ~ 50 Hz; plugs have two round pins spaced 19 mm apart, sometimes a 3rd pin for earth. Phone plugs are huge and have a T-shaped part with several metal strips on the sides. But in fact most hotels either provide RJ11 (male or female, so be prepared for both) or have their phones soldered to the wall (in which case you lose).

Contact info for Coralie or Stephane:

E-mail: Coralie Mercier <coralie@w3.org> Stephane Boyera <stephane@w3.org>

Snail mail: W3C/INRIA
B.P. 93
06902 Sophia Antipolis Cedex
France

Telephone: +33 (0)4 92 38 75 90
Fax: +33 (0)4 92 38 78 22

That is: 0033 4 92... from most countries, 04 92... from France.