General information
Location - Travel information- Accommodation - Social events - Climate - Currency - Touristic information/About Neuchatel
Location
University of Neuchâtel, Faculty of Sciences, Uni Mail, Chemistry building (G)
The meeting is held at the site Uni Mail, faculty of Sciences, University of Neuchâtel.
Registration and all lectures are held in the Chemistry building (G).
Poster sessions will be held in the main building of the Faculty of Sciences (Uni Mail, 2nd and 3rd floor) on the evenings of August 24 and 25 and be accompanied by a drink (apéro) (sponsored by CLF Plant Climatics).
Travel information
Switzerland is situated in central Europe with connections to all major European cities.
Neuchatel is located on the shore of the lake of Neuchatel within easy reach from Geneva, Zurich and Basel-Mulhouse airports.
By train
Take the train main line from Geneva, Zurich, or Basel; direction Neuchâtel.
Site map from station to university (Uni Mail) and hotels.
Swiss railwaystimetable
Direct train Geneva airport - Neuchâtel: 1hr20
Direct train Geneva - Neuchâtel: 1hr10
Direct train Lausanne - Neuchâtel: 40 min
Direct train Zurich airport - Neuchâtel: 1hr55
Direct train Zurich - Neuchâtel: 1hr45
Bus and direct train Basel Euroairport - Neuchâtel: 2hr00
Direct train Basel - Neuchâtel: 1hr25
Direct train Paris - Neuchâtel (TGV): 3hr50
By car
Highway A5: Geneva-Neuchâtel (125 km)
Highway A1: Zurich-Bern-Morat then major road to Neuchâtel (150 km)
or via Solothurn - Biel/Bienne
http://www.mappy.com/
By air
Fly to Geneva international airport or Zurich international airport, then travel by train or car to Neuchatel following the previous instructions.
Flight schedule information: http://www.swiss.com/web/MACIE5/
Social events, excursions
A programme for accompanying persons will be organised. An informal meeting will take place during the welcome drink (tickets in registration pack) on Wednesday evening.
Accommodation
There are two possibilities for hotel registration:
You can book a room at a price that has been negotiated for the conference by Neuchatel Congress. Please use the online registration form. Deadline June 30, 2005. After this date we can not guarantee that rooms will still be available.
Or you can directly book your room. A list of hotels, bed anud breakfasts, and holiday appartments is available through this link. Please note that another congress is held at the same time. Therefore the number of available rooms will be limited.
For Ph.D. students of the 3eme Cycle Romand and NCCR Graduate School "Plants and their Environment" participants, accommodation (cat. D, reserved through Neuchatel Congress), at the Cité universitaire (single rooms) or in cheap hotel (single rooms or double rooms or appartments with common bathroom) will be reimbursed, as well as travel expenses based on the price of train ticket, half-fare card, and 2nd class. For reimbursement, please fill in the following form (pdf document) which must be signed by the organisers during the conference and sent back together with the original hotel bills and train tickets to Mrs. Christiane Bettinelli, no later than September 5, 2004. No reimbursement will be made after this date.
Climate
It is summer in Switzerland. Day temperatures can vary from 15-30 C. You should bring light clothes as well as a warmer sweater for the evening. Thunderstorms in the evenings are frequent at this time of the year.
The Neuchâtel lake has temperatures arround 20-24 degree Celsius and free beaches are easily accessible. It is very nice for swimming. There is also an outdoor olympic swimming pool.
The weather in Switzerland
http://www.nzz.ch/wetter/index.html
http://www.letemps.ch/meteo/
Currency
Currency in Switzerland is the Swiss franc (CHF). Currency converter.
(August 9, 2004, approx.: 1 CHF = 0.80 USD, 1 USD = 1.26 CHF, 1 CHF = 0.65 EUR, 1 EUR = 1.54 CHF)
Euros are frequently accepted, but the change is generally returned in Swiss francs.
About Neuchâtel/Touristic informationA lot of useful information on Neuchâtel is available on the web site of the Neuchâtel tourism office.
Some museums:
Latenium in Hauterive-Neuchâtel: The Laténium, Neuchâtel Archaeology Park and Museum, invites you to discover prehistory and history. Located in the commune of Hauterive, on the edge of Lake Neuchâtel, the park covers three hectares of shore land at the foot of the Jura Mountains facing the Alps. A beach is nearby.
Neuchâtel: Guided visit of Neuchâtel's Old Town. Tel: Tel. +41 (0)32 889 68 90.
Dürrenmatt Center: The Dürrenmatt Center of Neuchâtel, designed by Mario Botta, consists of an exhibition space dedicated to literature and the visual arts. Lectures, debates and contemporary music concerts ensure that the writer's spirit lives on. The CDN is run by the Swiss National Library and the Federal Office for Culture.
Museum of Art and History: Over twenty permanent and temporary exhibition rooms: the plastic arts, applied arts, history and numismatics. Various events. Models of Neuchâtel from the year 1000 to our day. Demonstration of the Jaquet-Droz automatons (presentation of three creations from the 18th century).
Museum of Ethnography: Permanent exhibitions: ancient Egypt, Himalaya (Bouthan and Tibet collection), general Daniel de Meuron's 18th century natural history room and the 21st century curiosity room
Natural History Museum: Temporary exhibitions (Price Expo2004). Permanent presentation of mammals and birds from Switzerland in their environment (slide show with sound effects for birds). Vivariums. Giant fossils. Pedagogical animation, workshops upon reservation.
Towns:
La-Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle with 2 watch museum of international reputation:
International Watchmaking Museum: Dedicated to the history of time measurement, the MIH has over 4,500 exhibits, out of which 2,700 watches and 700 clocks. Lively institution focusing on technical, artistic, social and economic history of watchmaking. Temporary exhibitions, often itinerant; catalogues; films; videos; multimedia area.
Château des Monts Watch Museum: This splendid residence of elegant proportions, refined good tastes and a Louis XVI décor, is an enchanting world of tick-tock and magic.
Some excursions:
Papiliorama - Nocturama: Swiss Tropical Gardenset à Chiètres. Access by train (Neuchâtel-Kerzers) or car (main road Neuchâtel-Berne).
Time Path (4.5km): Discover the evolution of life on Earth, on a distance of 4'500 meters. A big step represents a million years on this scale. Move forward on the time path and discover the main points of Evolution thanks to 17 wooden sculptures and the final board. Access: Panoramic funicular railway, La Coudre / Chaumont.
Isle of St-Pierre - Lake of Biel: Rousseau lived there for some time. Acces by boat from Neuchâtel or by car.
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