About Nice and the French Riviera

Nice is the largest city of the French Riviera (or Côte d'Azur), located in the southeast corner of France, which extends from the Italian border to Saint-Tropez and includes the principality of Monaco. This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas. It began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. With the arrival of the railway in the mid-19th century, it became the playground and vacation spot of British, Russian, and other aristocrats, such as Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales. In the first half of the 20th century, it was frequented by painters and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edith Wharton, Somerset Maugham, and Aldous Huxley, as well as wealthy Americans and Europeans. After World War II, it became a popular tourist destination and convention site. With a total population of over 2 million, the French Riviera is a culturally rich and cosmopolitan area: officially, it is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents, although estimates of the number of non-French nationals living in the area are often much higher. It is home to a high-tech/science park at Sophia Antipolis (north of Antibes). It is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. As a tourist centre it is blessed by a wonderful climate, enjoying 300 days of sunshine per year, and it benefits from 115 km of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts, 3,000 restaurants and France's third-busiest airport.

The Château de Valrose, SUM 2016's Venue

The SUM 2016 Conference will take place in the Château de Valrose, in the central campus of the University Nice Sophia Antipolis.

Located north of the center of Nice, on the foot of the hilly district of Cimiez, Château de Valrose is the headquarter of the University Nice Sophia Antipolis. The entire complex (which consists of the castle as such, the park, and a smaller neighboring castle) was built between 1867 and 1870 in neo-gothic style by order of the wealthy Baron Paul von Derwies, counselor of Tsar Alexander II. The property was purchased by the city of Nice in 1950 and given to the university when this latter was established in 1965. The building was declared a historical monument in 1991.