© Paris Tourist Office - Jacques Lebar > 1 0 0 1 WAYS TO M E E T 1001 WAYS TO MEET GIVEN ITS INTENSE AND VARIED ECONOMIC AND SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES, PARIS SEEMS TO BE THE PLACE TO BE WHEN IT COMES TO HOSTING ASSOCIATION CONGRESSES. WHAT PARIS HAS TO OFFER TO CONGRESS DELEGATES IS SIMPLY OUTSTANDING, NO MATTER THE REQUIREMENTS OF YOUR BUDGET OR THE NATURE OF YOUR EVENT. FROM PURPOSEBUILT TO ATYPICAL VENUES, FROM CONFERENCE HOTELS TO SCIENTIFIC VENUES, THERE’S LITERALLY 1001 WAYS TO MEET. AND BETTER: THE OFFER IS CONSTANTLY RENEWED. In an ever-more competiting market, congress centres are being refurbished, new venues open, and strategic alliances see light of day. In Paris, no less than 18 conference centres are homogeneously spread out all over the city and the Paris Ile-de-France region, each being surrounded by almost 8,000 bedrooms in all categories. Besides the 10 venues managed by VIPARIS (see pages 8 & 9), three venues stand out. In the north of Paris and at the heart of the ‘Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie’ museum, La Villette Conference Centre gives your event a scientific, cultural dimension, for up to 1,450 people theatre style. One of France’s oldest conference centres, the Maison de la Chimie enjoys a prime location on the left bank, close to the Boulevard Saint-Germain: it boasts three conference halls and 27 conference rooms, for up to 914 delegates. Just 30 minutes from the city centre by suburban train and with an on-site international TGV and Thalys railstation, Disneyland® Paris Business Solutions offers two convention centres, 95 meeting rooms for 10 to 4,000 delegates, and one amphitheatre with seating for 570, surrounded by 7,800 hotel rooms. Strategically located and very affordable, an unexpected category is getting more and more committed to welcoming congresses, namely scientific venues. La Villette In 2008, almost 90 universities, hospitals and research institutes such as Institut Pasteur, La Sorbonne or the René Descartes University have hosted over 200 congresses. As an example, the Centre Universitaire des Saints-Pères boasts 6 auditoriums and 67 meeting rooms next to the Louvre. Add to that hundreds of meeting spaces and many Parisian conference hotels among which 25 with over 300 bedrooms and you will wonder why your event has never been to Paris yet or how soon you will return! And the good news is that there’s even more to come. Just to name a few… New business districts will emerge close to the two Paris international airports. In 2010, next to Orly Airport, Coeur d’Orly will offer office space, a conference centre and a 4-star hotel. In 2012, close to Paris CDG airport, Airapolis will feature 3 new 4-star hotels totalizing 631 rooms,a congress centre with a 3000-seat auditorium and 50,000 sq.m of exhibition space. In 2015, the tourist and business district of Paris La Défense will be fully modernized: in addition to hotels openings, such as the Radisson Blu Paris La Défense, eco-friendly skyscrapers will arise a mere 10-minute ride from downtown Paris. HEADQUARTERS 7
