Venue and logistics

• Meeting venue

The city of Nice, in southeast France, between the Mediterranean Sea and the French Alps, will host the 2025 Pristine Science Meeting. The Bibliotheque within the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, at the Mont Gros hill summit, is already booked, allowing up to 30 people to be in the same meeting room and have a native Zoom connection.
The Observatory contains several buildings dedicated to allocating astronomers, engineers, and administration teams in parallel to several telescopes built almost 150 years ago.

• Logistics: arriving in Nice

By air: The Aeroport NICE Côte d'Azur (NCE) is the third busiest airport in France and the most common way to arrive in Nice from abroad. From the airport, the easiest to get to the city center and to the hotels that are close to the meeting bus pick-up places is the tram T2 (or B + T3) to Jean Medecin (city-center) or Port Lympia (hotels). 

Attention: from the airport ticket machines, it is only possible to buy one-way/return tickets from/to the airport at a rate of 10€. Be prepared in order to avoid this high fare. This infographic is located at the airport, promoting the "Lignes d'Azur" phone app in which you can purchase individual tickets (1.7€ each).

An alternative to the airport is to take the tram to Gran Arenas (or walk if you arrive at Terminal 1) and take the regular train at Nice-St Augustin to Nice-ville (city center) or Nice-Riquier (hotels). You can use the tram between the Airport (Terminal 1 or 2) and Grand Arenas (where Nice-St Augustin station is located) free of charge.

By train: Alternatives involve arriving at the central station (Gare Thiers, also called Nice-Ville). There are two smaller stations: one close to the airport (Nice-St-Augustin) and one at one of the meeting bus pick-up places (Nice-Riquier).

Taxis: The cost of taxis from the airport to the city centre is ~40€ (airport taxis) or ~25€ using transport apps.

Public Transport: Nice has a vast web of public transport (Lignes d'Azur), with trams and buses covering all the points of interest of the city. Validation of a transport ticket (either physical card or phone+app) is mandatory each time you board a tram or bus.
Physical cards can be bought at any tram stop (or by talking with the bus driver with cash; 2€ + 2€ per trip), or a virtual card can be used to validate your travel. Both methods allow you to top up the card with the desired amount of tickets.
Note that an infinite amount of connections is possible within 74 minutes, starting from the first validation.

• Logistics: departure from Nice

When planning your departure, consider that on the last day, the shuttle bus will be scheduled at 16h (May 7th). Additionally, note that Nice Airport recommends arriving at least one hour before the boarding gates close.

Here, we have prepared a minimal timetable to give approximate and base travel times for you to calculate how much time is needed to arrive at your destination:
 - Observatory to Riquier train station: 15m (shuttle bus) or 12m (taxi).
 - Observatory to Port Lympia train station: 20m (shuttle bus) or 17m (taxi).
 - Riquier train station to Nice Airport: ~ 1h (tram), ~20m (train) or 25m (taxi).
 - Port Lympia tram station to Nice Airport: ~ 40m (tram) or 20m (taxi).

In any case, check the timetables to ensure you reach your destination on time.
The airport is not huge, and gates are concentrated over one building; however, you can expect longer security queues, especially before holidays or weekends.

So, in a perfectly spherical ideal world with no bus/train/tram/plane delays, without waiting time or traffic congestion, no weekends nor holidays, and no check-in luggage, you can reach the airport from the Observatory in under ~1h (15m bus Obs-Riquier + 20m train Riquier-Nice St. Augustin + 10m tram Grand Arenas-Airport).

• Logistics: bus to the Observatory

To arrive at the venue, a small bus will be hired to transport in-person participants from/to the town to the Observatory. A schedule will be shared at a later date. The gathering point is usually in front of the Nice-Riquier train station (here), and the travel time is around ~15 minutes (bus route).
If you are brave enough and want to experience the local bus commute, "Line 84 (map)" buses pass through the Observatory entrance every ~30 mins. Direction "Riquier" towards the city centre. Bear in mind that the Observatory entrance is closed to external visitors, and you cannot go through the gates without an ID badge.

• Logistics: hotels

Given the numerous tourist activities in Nice, the variety and distribution of hotels, hostels, and Airbnb are extensive to fit your budget. We recommend the Port, Riquier (squared distribution on the map), or the south part of Saint Roch quarters, given their proximity to the bus gathering point.
Let us know if you need support while looking for hotels, but based on previous visits, we can certify that these places are recommended:

1. Hotel Adagio City Centre
2. Appart'City Classic Nice Acropolis
3. Nice Pam Hôtel
4. easyHotel Nice Old Town
5. ibis Styles Nice Vieux-Port
   

• Logistics: miscellaneous
  

In France, there are two associated plug types: types C and E (see a small guide with photos here).

In the city, there are many places to visit, to eat (eat 2) or just to have a walk. If you need it, we will happily recommend some places to visit and help you have a great time in Nice!