2005-06-08

Places to stay at W3C meetings in France:

W3C Offices in Sophia-Antipolis

Citéa Sophia-Antipolis is less than 30 min walking distance from INRIA and ERCIM if you take the footpath through the park behind it.1

Citéa's rooms (even the single-person ones) are well-sized, well-lit, and have decent bathrooms, a kitchenette, a nice desk with a bright lamp, a drying rack for your clothes, a balcony, and free wifi access (look on the back of the directions for the passcode). There are laundry facilities available and you can borrow an iron for free. Price for a single room is under 50 euros/night

1Take the stairs from the road behind Citéa down, and then take another set of stairs right alongside a house to get to the woods. Take the short connecting path to the left before the path you're on makes a full 90 degree turn to the right, and continue straight on the other path, which leads a short distance to a wood bridge. The path ends in a parking lot across the street from Hotel Ibis: you go uphill to Carrefour Albert Caquot from there and turn left onto Route des Lucioles. INRIA and ERCIM are a good ways down the street.

Sofitel in Mandelie-la-Napoule

For people, like me, who can't afford the Sofitel's exorbitant prices, Hotel La Calanque is a charming, small hotel about 10 minutes walk on the main Boulevard de Henry Clews that runs along the sea. It's a block away from the station and the village center, and across the street from both the port and the Château of Henry Clews. The rooms are not fancy, but the bathrooms are shiny new and clean. As with most hotels in the area, there's no wireless, but the prices are very reasonable.

Reservations at +33 4 93 49 95 11

Other notes

Cannes to Mandelieu is a long walk. Take the train.

Seek and ye shall find — Proverb