The course is held on the campus of the Ecole Normale Supérieur, Lyon, with its state of the art laboratories and access to nearby cutting-edge restoration projects, and at Institut Beaumont, a restored 18^th century farmhouse situated in a rural valley near Mt. Ventoux in northern Provence, near preAlpine tributaries of the Rhône.

The spacious conference room has stunning views of limestone mountains, with a long-distance footpath to the top of Mt. Ventoux adjacent to the building. The valley is agricultural: cherries, apricots, and vineyards of the Côtes du Ventoux appellation. Only 10 km away distant are vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône, 20-40 km to the celebrated appellations Gigondas, Vacqueras, and Châteauneuf du Pape. The course is structured to provide some free time in which to hike through the extraordinary landscape, visit (and taste) at a Gigondas winery established in 110 AD, visit Roman traces, and otherwise explore the region.  Participants may wish to come early or stay on after the course to better explore the region. The course includes four afternoon field trips, and with an optional full-day field trip to rivers near Lyon the Saturday after the course concludes.

The conference site is in this hamlet.

View from classroom looking East