Practical information

You will be housed in single rooms with your own bathroom/toilets. Towels, shampoo,  soap, shower gel and hair-dryer are provided.

The school also provides you with:

• a library with the main scientific journals (paper or online) and some reference books
• three working rooms with blackboards
• projectors for standard slides and for transparencies
• a video projector
• a photocopy machine
• a fax
• Internet (wifi + hubs to connect laptops to the local network)
• desktop computers (10 PCs + 2 Macs) and a B&W Laser Printer
• 3 washing machines and 3 dryers.

Please note that pets cannot be accepted.

Meals are taken at the school dining room. Drinks are not included.
Free coffee & tea is available in the bar and in the main building.
Breakfast: 7:45 am to 8:45 am ; Lunch: 12:30 am ; Dinner: 7:30 pm
Accompanying persons who have registered can take their meals at the restaurant (15 euros per meal).
The cafeteria has a piano, baby-foot and table tennis.

Participants are housed in "chalets" in individual bedrooms (electricity: AC, 50Hz, 220V).
A flashlight is handy at night ; the school chalets are scattered on the mountainside and outside lights may be poor (power failures, storms,...).

The altitude of the school is 1150 m. Temperature may range from -15 to 5°C in winter and from 5 to 25°C in summer. Sport clothes are preferable. Warm sweater(s), rain gear, good walking shoes and home shoes are necessary. weather forecast for the next days

(check updated links in the "Venir aux Houches" page on our french site)

By plane: Geneva Airport is 1 hour drive from les Houches.

The simplest way is to use a shuttle service (approximately 40 euros up to the school, book at least three days in advance). If you already have your return date, we would recommend to book a return trip.  Click here for a complete view of the different companies. Beware: We do not recommend the Alpybus company (they do not reach the school). Price discounts are available with Mountain Drop-Offs by clicking on this link: MDO discount. Find Mountain Drop-Offs' meeting point easily in the Geneva Airport please click here.

There is also a regular bus service between Geneva and Les Houches (only once or twice a day): http://www.coach-station.com. One should then take a taxi for the last 5 kms from the Les Houches village to the school (the total cost is similar to that of the limousine). One can also travel from Geneva to Les Houches by train (+ taxi from the train station to the School), but it is quite complicated (3 connections) and long (go through Annemasse on the French side or through Martigny on the Swiss side).

By train: arrival at the Les Houches station, with one change at Saint-Gervais (from France), or at Martigny (from Switzerland). There are about 10 trains per day between St Gervais and Les Houches (schedules, 20mn trip). Then we strongly advise you to take a taxi (tel. +33 (0) 6.12.35.30.72 or +33 -4-50 54 41 09) to go up to the school (5km).

By road: Les Houches are easily accessible from France (A41 highway), from Switzerland (Martigny and Col des Montets) and from Italy through the Mont Blanc Tunnel.

From Geneva and Le Fayet: 8km before Chamonix, 300 m after passing under the tunnel, bear right by the first road out for "Les Houches Bellevue". When arriving at the cable car station "Bellevue", turn right and continue upwards (roughly 2 km starting from the teleferic). 500m after the cable car station "Prarion", turn left and follow small arrows at crossroads. Continue up to the end of Route de la Côte des Chavants. Here you are! From Chamonix: bear right for "Les Houches-Chef-Lieu", turn right in Les Houches, go ahead at the cable car station "Bellevue". Then proceed as above.

Cars may be rented from Geneva and from Chamonix, it is useful to make a reservation.