Friday 20 September 2013

A CONFERENCE ON LOVE AND ROCK MUSIC - Montpellier, April 16th and 17th, 2014 - Frequently Asked Questions


This page will be updated with answers to frequently asked questions about the April 2014 rock music and love conference in Montpellier...


Where is the Conference happening?

The conference will be held at the Saint-Charles Centre. It is located in the city centre on the Rue du Professeur Henri Serres, 34080 Montpellier:



How do I find the site of the conference site (Saint-Charles Center)?

By tram: take the tram from the TGV train station or from Place de la Comédie, the heart of downtown Montpellier (both stations are five minutes away):

• Take line #1 (the blue tram, with white sparrows), direction “Mosson”

• Get off at “Place Albert 1er.” You can access the Saint-Charles Center directly from the tram platform (roughly a 12 minute journey, including waiting time).

On foot: you can also walk to the Center from the train station or Place de la Comédie (15 to 20 minutes). Click here for more information.

Comment se rendre à la conférence en tramway au départ de la gare TGV ou au départ de la P-place de la Comédie, au cœur du centre-ville (à 5 minutes à pied de la gare) :

• prendre la ligne n° 1 (bleue, avec des hirondelles), direction « Mosson »

• descendre station « Place Albert 1er », l’accès au site « Saint-Charles » se trouve directement sur le quai de la station (comptez 12 minutes environ, attente comprise).

Il est également possible de se rendre à pied au site Saint-Charles de la gare comme de la place de la Comédie (comptez 15 à 20 minutes).


Which airport should I use?

If you intend to fly straight into the region, use Montpellier Méditerannée airport.

You can also travel by train. There is only one train station in downtown Montpellier: Saint-Roch. TGV, the very fast trains, take 3h 20 mins from Paris. The earlier you book, the cheaper the rates. Click here to to arrange a booking. 

If you travel by car, there are a few parking spaces available at the Saint-Charles Center. Please let us know well in advance.


Where do I find accommodation?

Please note that there is a major conference in Montpellier (450 participants) at the same time as ours, which is unfortunately why we could not get preferential rates from the hotels. We strongly advise you to book accommodation as early as possible as there are few hotels in downtown Montpellier. 

Attention: il y aura à la même période que le colloque un très important congrès à Montpellier (450 participants !), nous vous conseillons de réserver votre hôtel le plus tôt possible.

List of hotels located in the town center, within walking distance from both the TGV train station and the location of the conference:

Liste des Hôtels du centre ville, à proximité du lieu du colloque et de la gare:








Also see / voir également:



When must I arrive at Saint-Charles Center on the Conference day?

We will be starting in “Salle des Colloques” 1 and 2 at about 9.30am and running through until late afternoon. Get there a little earlier on the first day if you can for registration.


Are we reading our papers in some order?

To accommodate everyone on the day we'll have two streams of papers. We are planning to group similar subjects and to avoid putting two sessions on the same subject head-to-head. We shall provide a detailed program of the conference as we get nearer the starting date. We shall also try to supply a booklet for each participant with a summary of the different presentations. If you cannot make certain times of the conference, please let us know immediately so that we can reschedule the papers.


How long is each presentation?

Each paper will be twenty minutes long (including music or video excerpts) followed by thirty minutes for questions from the audience after each set of 3 papers. Please rehearse your paper so that we stay strictly to time as the schedule will be so tight that there will not be room for over-running.


What about the audio-visual requirements for my paper?

You will have at your disposal a sound system, video projector and Internet connection. A laptop (PC and Mac) will be available, so that you need only bring your intelligent stick, USB flash drive, pen drive, etc.


Will there be any social activities on Wednesday and/or Thursday nights?

To be confirmed: we are planning to have some sort of a concert on Wednesday night, free of charge for participants, in the mythical downtown Rockstore (recently refurbished to celebrate its 25th anniversary). 

We also hope to screen a movie for participants on the Thursday late afternoon/evening in a private downtown theater.


Claude and Mark