How to reach Institut d’Optique Graduate School in Palaiseau (91 – France)

Location: 2 avenue Augustin Fresnel 91127 Palaiseau France

Bus stop: Fresnel

Institut d’Optique is located around 20km South / South-West from downtown Paris, on the Paris-Saclay plateau:

First, take RER B line (the blue line going South on the map) to Massy-Palaiseau station. Make sure your train actually goes to or through Massy-Palaiseau (refer to displays on the platform). From downtown Paris, it takes around 30 minutes.

Massy-Palaiseau is also reachable by RER C line (the yellow line), convenient if you are coming from Versailles or Orly airport. It is also reachable by national train (TGV) since Massy-TGV station is very close to Massy-Palaiseau.

Massy-Palaiseau is now organized as an interchange station, with many bus bays. After alighting from RER, make sure you exit towards the main interchange. The exit side is refered as Atlantis. If you exit on the Vilmorin side, just go back across the pedestrian overbridge to the other side: Atlantis.

Vilmorin

Atlantis Bus stops

On the Atlantis-side interchange, proceed to the bus stops for lines 91.06B, 91.06C or 91.10. These stops are the one in the bottom left-hand corner on the map above.

91.06B and 91.06C are always stopping at Fresnel bus stop, in front of Institut d’Optique. Make sure not to take 91.06A or 91.06D as they are not stopping at Fresnel.

91.10 has two versions, an express one skipping all the Polytechnique area bus stops (no good…) and a slower one stopping at Institut d’Optique. You are advised to board 91.10 only if you made sure it will stop at Fresnel bus stop, which you may need to check with the driver directly. In case of doubt, you are advised to take 91.06B or 91.06C instead.

Please note that local bus line Mobicaps 14 also goes from Massy-Palaiseau to Fresnel, but this line will take you on a full tour of Palaiseau... This option is not advised unless you really want to see the each and every district of Palaiseau city before arriving at Institut d’Optique (buses are not frequent and journey is more than 30 minutes long).

The bus stop for Institut d’Optique is called Fresnel (7th stop from Massy-Palaiseau). It takes a little less than 15 minutes from Massy-Palaiseau to Fresnel.

Once you alight from the bus, you are right in front of Institut d’Optique. Please proceed to the reception counter after the revolving doors.

An alternative for the trekkers…

Alternatively, you can take RER B to Lozère stop (3 stops after Massy-Palaiseau) and walk up the stairs to Ecole Polytechnique campus and then walk to Institut d’Optique. Please note that stairs between Lozère (in the valley) and Ecole Polytechnique (up on the plateau) are steep and require a good physical condition. It is a 2km walk, with +80m ascending. The path up the hill is nice and scenic, but this trail can be uneasy and no-that- enjoyable in adverse weather conditions (slippery, no shelter). On top of that, you will need to check that your RER B train actually stops at Lozère, as it is a smaller station. An option for the adventurous only!

Stairs