Registration fees
People joining remotely via ZOOM must register (free registration).
For those attending in Toulouse, the cost of conferences ranges from 90 euros (IOTA members) to 100 euros (non-IOTA members), including Friday welcome reception, Saturday and Sunday coffee breaks and lunches, and social diner.
For accompanying persons cost is 85 euros, including Friday welcome reception and social diner.
Excursions are optional.
Arriving in Toulouse
Toulouse is the third largest city in France with over 500,000 inhabitants. Toulouse is the centre of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus, the SPOT satellite system, ATR and the Aerospace Valley. It hosts the CNES’s Toulouse Space Centre (CST) which is the largest national space centre in Europe, but also, on the military side, the newly created NATO space centre of excellence and the French Space Command and Space Academy. See also Toulouse in Wikipedia.
Getting to Toulouse via Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport.
National Company of the French Railways website: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en
Flixbus website: https://shop.global.flixbus.com/
Public transport
The metro and bus network in Toulouse are managed by Tisseo.
web site & App https://www.tisseo.fr
Tisseo Apps available on Google play and Apple stores
interactive map https://www.tisseo.fr/plan-interactif ( this map is only available in French but you could use translation capabilities of your web browser to translate)
download link to Tisseo network maps https://www.tisseo.fr/se-deplacer/plans
Caution : Metro line B partially closed
This summer, the metro line B is closed between “Saint-Michel – Marcel Langer” and “Ramonville”. Replacement buses are set up, but they are slower.
Tickets & Fares
- Single Ticket (Ticket unité): Costs 1,90 €. It allows you to travel on the metro, bus, and tram networks.
- You can pay for your ticket using contactless payment with your bank card. See page https://www.tisseo.fr/acheter/tarifs/validation-avec-carte-bancaire
- 10-Journey Pass (10 Déplacements): Costs 16 € (plus a one-time 0,2 € card support fee if purchased on a new rechargeable card).
- Day Ticket (Billet Journée): Costs 7,20 € for unlimited travel over one full day.
Rules of Use & Transfers
- Metro + Bus Combination: a single ticket allows connections between the metro, tram, and buses.
- Duration of Validity: a single ticket is valid for 1 hour from the time of the first validation. You must re-validate your ticket every time you switch vehicles or lines (transfer), though this does not deduct an extra trip within the 1-hour window.
- 10-Journey card sharing: Standard 10-journey cards can only be used by one person at a time on the metro gates (you cannot pass the card back sequentially at the exact same gate for multiple people on the metro). For bus boardings, multi-validation within a short timeframe for a group using the same card can be restricted, so it is strongly recommended that each participant gets their own single tickets or individual 10-journey card.
Advice : Toulouse-Blagnac International Airport to Hotel Ibis (5 Boulevard de la Gare)
Take the airport bus shuttle and get off at the “Jeanne d’Arc” stop. At the same stop, take bus L1 (timetable attached) in direction “Fonsegrives-Entiore” and get off at “Aqueduc” (bus stop is just after the Ibis hotel).
Advice : Toulouse-Matabiau main train station to Hotel Ibis (5 Boulevard de la Gare)
In front of the station building take bus 27 (timetable attached) in direction “Ramonville” and get off at “Guilheméry” (bus stop just before the Ibis hotel).
Special Focus: Conference venue, Hotel Ibis (5 Boulevard de la Gare), and Public Transit
- ESOP Chartered Bus : Transportation between Hotel Ibis (5 Boulevard de la Gare) and the conference venue (Salle de la Marne in Quint-Fonsegrives) will be provided by a dedicated private bus chartered by ESOP.
- Options for Non-Ibis Guests : We recommend that participants without a car who are not staying at Hotel Ibis make their own way using public transport (Tisséo) to Hotel Ibis to catch there this official ESOP shuttle.
- Independent Travel via Tisséo (if not using the ESOP Bus) – not recommended:
- From the city center / hotel area, participants can access Linéo Bus L1, which runs eastward directly toward Quint-Fonsegrives (Ribaute stop and after 15 min walk or 84 bus)
- In August, the Linéo L1 operates on a frequent summer schedule (every 10 to 12 minutes during the day).
- Alternative route: Take Metro Line A to Balma-Gramont, then transfer to connecting local bus services (such as Bus 84 – Mairie stop ) heading toward Quint-Fonsegrives.
Return to the City Center / Hotel Ibis for the participants to Cité de l’Espace skipping Carcassonne
For the participants leaving the Cité de l’Espace independently on Monday afternoon (August 24th):
- Summer Schedule Note: In August, Tisséo operates on a summer schedule. The Linéo L1 bus runs very frequently (every 10 to 12 minutes), while Bus 37 runs every 20 to 30 minutes. Checking the Tisséo mobile app in advance is recommended.
- Direct Bus Route: Walk to the nearby bus stop and take Linéo Bus L1 (from the Collège de l’Hers stop near the venue) or Bus 37, which connect directly toward the heart of Toulouse.
- Reaching Hotel Ibis (5 Bd de la Gare): Taking Linéo L1 (Acqueduc stop) or Bus 37 to a connection point with Metro Line A (like Jean Jaurès or Jolimont) will bring participants right back to the central station/Boulevard de la Gare area within 20 to 30 minutes.
- Alternative (Taxi/Rideshare): A taxi or Uber directly from the Cité de l’Espace to the city center/hotel takes about 14 minutes and costs roughly 25 € (ideal if split among a small group).
Getting to the Cité de l’Espace for participants Joining the Carcassonne Trip
For the participants who are not doing the morning tour at the Cité de l’Espace, but need to meet the group there by 14:00 to catch the bus to Carcassonne:
- From Toulouse City Center / Hotel Ibis area to Cité de l’Espace:
- Take bus Linéo 1 (“Acqueduc”stop) towards Fonsegrives Entiore (200m from IBIS Hotel) – Take off at “College JP Vernant” Stop
- 15 min walk to Cité de l’Espace or take the Bus L12 toward Rangueil take off at “Cité de l’espace” stop (7 min 2 stops)
Other possibility
1. Take Metro Line A towards Balma-Gramont and get off at Jolimont station.
2. At Jolimont, transfer to Bus Line 37 (running every 20–30 minutes in August; check the Tisséo app for real-time tracking), which goes directly to the “Cité de l’Espace” stop.
- Timing: The entire journey from the center/hotel area takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes To be safely at the entrance by 14:00, they should aim to leave no later than 12h45 – 13:00