Transportation

Reaching the Institut Pascal

The So-Star program is hosted by the Institut Pascal located on the Paris-Saclay University campus in the town of Orsay, about 25 km south-west of Paris. The Institut Pascal can be reached from Chatelet (center of Paris) in 50-60 minutes.

The Paris-Saclay campus is connected to the city center, to the two Paris airports (Charles de Gaulle and Orly) and to two major train stations (Gare du Nord and Massy TGV) through the RER B, one of the lines of the Paris area local train system (RER - Réseau Express Régional).

There are several ways to reach the Institut Pascal. All of them are described on this page. Coming from Paris, one good route is the following:

  • Once on the RER-B, take a train that terminates at Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse or Orsay-ville. Check the electronic boards on the RER plateform.
  • Get off at Le Guichet.
  • Walk to the IPa (15-20 min walk) : Google plan

Getting on the Paris RER-B line

  • By air
    • Charles de Gaulle airport. Connected to RER-B line
    • Orly airport. Take the Orlyval light rail line to Antony (on the RER B line).
  • By train
    • Gare du Nord (Eurostar, Thalys). Connected to RER-B line.
    • Gare de l'Est, Gare Saint-Lazare, Gare Montparnasse, Gare d'Austerlitz. Take the subway to reach the RER B line. See RATP.
    • Massy TGV train station. Connected to the RER B line.
  • By subway
    In the city center, the RER is interconnected with the subway system (look here if you dare !). The two systems can be combined with a single ticket.

What transport ticket to buy ?

For the commuting, we advise you to buy a Navigo pass, which you could already purchase upon arriving the airport. Unfortunately we cannot reimburse these Navigo passes or other ways of commuting fares.

Lodging

The IPa administration strives to reimburse the lodging costs of the invited guests (hotel, apartment and AirBnB are allowed). There are various possibilities for accommodation, either in Orsay or in Paris (40-60 min commute by RER-B, depending where in Paris). You can either choose the convenience of one of IPa's partner hotels or to organise your lodging yourself. Participants that come with their family are invited to contact us as early as possible to organise their lodging : institut-pascal@universite-paris-saclay.fr.

Hotels partner of IPa

If you choose one of the three following lodging options (two walking distance to IPa and one in Paris) the IPa will do the booking and paying directly for you! In this case, please contact institut-pascal@universite-paris-saclay.fr

  • Hotel d’Orsay - Orsay
    • 53 rooms
    • 1.3 km from IPa, 20 minutes walk.
    • Located in small village-center with multiple restaurant options and next to the Le Guichet RER station (40 minutes to Paris-center).
  • Residhome La Guyonnerie – Bures-sur-Yvette
    • 146 studios and appartments
    • 1.3 km from IPa, 20 minutes walk.
    • On university campus and 1km to the village center, with a few restaurants and RER station to Paris (Paris-center in 40 minutes).
    • Shuttle service takes you directy to and from the "Le Guichet" RER-B station.
  • “Solar hotel” - Paris
    • Located in the Denfert-Rochereau area.
    • Walking distance to the RER B line
    • 50 minutes commute to the IPa
    • Warning : rooms are with, but also without wifi, please indicate us your preference

Do your own booking

One could also choose to book a lodging – Airbnb permitted. Participants should contact hotels directly to arrange for accommodation. We would then recommend you to choose a location not too far from the RER-line B stations, so the daily commute will not cost too much time.

In this case participants have to pay for their accommodation. They will be reimbursed after the program. We warn you that, depending on the time of the year, rooms could be more expensive than what IPa can reimburse. Please contact the IPa to know what level of reimbursement you are allowed to.

When booking a lodging yourself, to be reimburse properly, please make sure to :

  • Keep the maximum reimbursable amount in mind (including breakfast and daily traffic fares).
  • Save the booking confirmation for reimbursement purposes.
  • Save the invoice for reimbursement purposes.