Travel & Visa

Nancy is easily accessible by train from Paris, Luxemburg, Frankfurt, Strasburg, and Amsterdam:

One hour and 16 minutes via TGV (express train), the train from CDG (Charles De Gaulle) Airport in Paris to Lorraine TGV, 20 minutes from Nancy. Check the SNC (train) site in France: https://en.voyages-sncf.com

You can use the same SNCF site as above and make another reservation from Lorraine TGV to Nancy central train station in the heart of the city. Direct train takes about 20 minutes.

One hours 38 minutes by TGV from Gare de l’Est train station in Paris with 20 connections per day to the mail train station in Nancy.

3 hour train ride from Brussels.

1 hour fifteen minutes from German border & 3 hours from Frankfurt –by train

1 hour fifteen minutes from Strasbourg –by train

1 hour from Luxembourg –by train……

Visa Matters

Some visitors to France may require a Schengen visa. For more information, please check with the French Embassy in your respective countries. The Conference Secretariat will issue Letters of Invitation for the conference (once registration and payments have been completed), which can be used for obtaining visas. However, the Institute will not be able to provide any further assistance with visas. If a visa is not granted then delegates will obtain a full refund of any fees paid.

About Nancy, France

Here are some vignettes.
Historic city center
Duke Stanislas redeveloped the area linking the old and new towns of Nancy, building his three famous squares (places in French) on the esplanade that had replaced part of the city’s ramparts. From north to south they are the Place de la Carrière, Place Royale (today’s Place Stanislas) and Place d'Alliance, the last two being raised in honour of King Louis XV, the son-in-law of Duke Stanislas, former King of Poland. UNESCO drew up its first World Heritage List thirty years ago. It now includes 370 sites and monuments all over the world. More than 20 sites in France have been awarded this honour. The magnificent 18th Century group of buildings in Nancy has been on the list since December 1983 when it was chosen as being of “truly outstanding interest and representing universal values".

Place Stanislas.
Considered the most beautiful royal square in Europe and high point of Nancy’s outstanding collection of 18th Century monuments, on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the city of Nancy is known all over the world thanks to Place Stanislas. A magnificent example of Classical French architecture built by Emmanuel Héré, it is surrounded by the wrought-iron worker Jean Lamour’s finely worked railings with gold highlights. The Square’s majestic fountains are by Barthélemy Guibal. Famous buildings surrounding the square include the City Hall, the Theatre-Opera House, the Fine Arts Museum...

Place d'Alliance.
This tiny square, smaller and more intimate, is part of Nancy’s UNESCO-listed, 18th C architectural ensemble. It was named in honour of the alliance between the Hapsburg House of Lorraine and the Royal House of France. A magnificent fountain occupies the middle of the square, Cyfflé’s copy of Bernini’s famous fountain in Piazza Navona in Rome. This square originally called Saint Stanislas Square is part of the architectural unity commissioned by Stanislas from Emmanuel Héré, to be built on the site of the Duke's kitchen garden. A baroque fountain by the sculptor Cyfflé, which to begin with, was originally stand in the centre of the semicircle on Carrière Square was finally installed here. It is a symbol of the alliance in 1756 between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and France and is the origin of the name of the square.

Place de la Carriere.
The third square forming part of the UNESCO-listed 18th Century ensemble of buildings and monuments in Nancy, this square was originally laid out in the 16th Century when it was used for jousting and tournaments, hence its name Carrière. It was redeveloped in the 18th Century to create a more symmetrical perspective. Two mansions face each other at the entry to the square: Hôtel de Craon (today’s Court of Appeal) and the Bourse de Commerce (today’s Administrative Tribunal). The Palais du Gouvernement lies across the other end, framed by two semicircular colonnades decorated with antique gods.

Triumphal Arch.
A copy of Septimus Severus’ Arch in Rome, it glorifies King Louis XV through its ornamentation: bas-reliefs, inscriptions …. It is topped by an acroterium celebrating Louis XV as Victor and Peacemaker and decorated with a medallion of the King. The triumphal arch was built to honour Louis XV at the same time as Stanislas Square. This impressive gate was built in the middle of the ramparts separating the Old Town from the New Town. It is a reminder of the Triumphal Arches set up by the Roman emperors to glorify themselves and in particular the one for Septimius Severus in Rome. Elegant columns on plinths frame the three arches on both sides while an attic storey with reliefs crowns the whole edifice, itself topped with statues situated vertically above the columns. The decorations are centred on the theme of war and peace (referring to the victory of Fontenoy and the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle). A gilded medallion of Louis XV in profile dominates the entire structure.