Preparing your stay in Saint-Quentin
You find below all information needed to prepare your venue at Saint-Quentin. If you need more, do not hesitate to contact us. Our purpose is to make your stay as pleasant as possible.
Saint-Quentin is a small town. So, very few services and shops have English speaking people, and it may become troublesome when you arrive in an unknown place. We hope that this page will help you to organize and enjoy your stay in our nice city.
Note: before doing any reservation on the internet, note carefully the name of the city. Some other towns in France hold the same name with little differences. To be sure to select the right city, choose: Saint-Quentin (or St Quentin) [the city], Aisne (postal code: 02) [the province], Picardie [the region].
Location
The GeopolymerCamp is held at the local university: Campus Universitaire de Saint-Quentin, University of Picardie, 48 rue d’Ostende, 02100 Saint-Quentin.
GeopolymerCamp FREE Parking: 2 rue Jean Cocteau, 02100 Saint-Quentin
You will find in this page all detailed information needed to come to our place from the airport, by train or by car.
Hotels
We provide a list a selected hotels. You can reserve your rooms on the internet.
There are 2 categories of Hotels. The ones near the main Shopping Center, and the others in the city center closer to Geopolymer Camp / University.
Hotels at the city center
Hotels at the city center are convenient because of the GP-Camp location and every services and shops are at a walking distance. Hotels in the city center are at around 5 to 15 minutes walk from the train station and 10 to 20 minutes to the University, or 3 minutes ride with any Bus lines to center stop “Basilique”. When arriving at the train station, you can either take a taxi or take the bus number 3 (the one in front of the station) and get out at the city center stop (called Basilique) (5 minutes ride). See the map at Google Map
| Hotel Name | website | price | services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ibis Budget | website | 57€ | good choice because new and very convenient low-cost hotel in the city center-railway station, located 10 minutes walk to GP-CAMP. Air-Conditioning, Free wifi, not free car park, breakfast 6.00 €. When searching on the Internet, type Saint-Quentin, Aisne. Bus lines 1, 5 and 6. |
| Ibis Basilique | website | 88€ | best choice because all bus lines connection, stop “Basilique”, good quality, famous hotel brand. 20 minutes walking distance to GP-CAMP. International standard. Air-Conditioning, Free wifi, breakfast 8 €, not free car park. Bus lines 1, 5 and 6. |
| Le Florence | website | 58€ | New rooms. 25 minutes walk GP-CAMP, free wifi, breakfast 6.5 €, free car park. Bus line 6 and 2. |
| Mémorial | website | 75€ | High quality independent hotel at the city center, a good choice in terms of quality and service, larger rooms, 25 minutes walking distance to GP-CAMP, free wifi, breakfast 9 €, staffs speak english, free car park, weekends discount (see hotel’s website). Bus lines 1, 5 and 6. |
| Picar’Appart | website | 65€ | Perfect for groups. Fully equipped new apartments with kitchen, 10 minutes walking distance to GP-Camp. Good choice for long stay, 3 days and more. Free wifi, free car park. Bus lines 1 and 5. |
| La Filature | website | 130€ | High quality independent hotel at the city center, fancy design in an old textile factory, large new rooms, free wifi, free large breakfast included, staffs speak english, not free car park on the street. Bus line 6. |
Hotels near the Shopping Center, Highway A26 / A29
They are built in modern buildings, most of them are low-cost hotels but with all the comfort you need. However, because it is a bit far from the city center and then Geopolymer Camp, it is best to rent a car, or if you don’t mind taking the bus or a taxi to go to the city center (less than 5 € per course). You will walk 30 minutes to go to the city center. See the map at Google Map
| Hotel Name | website | price | services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyriad | website | 65€ | Price for 1 or 2, good quality, new rooms, free wifi, breakfast 9 €, free car park. Direct bus line 6 to the GP-CAMP. |
| B&B Hotel | website | 57€ | Price for 1 or 2, good choice, free wifi, Air-Conditioning, breakfast 5.9 €, free car park. |
| Campanile | website | 80€ | Price for 1 or 2, good choice for higher quality, larger rooms, free wifi, restaurant, breakfast 8 €, free car park. |
| Première Classe | website | 44€ | Price for 1 to 3, low-cost hotel, free wifi, breakfast 4.8 €, free car park. |
Bus:
Download here the bus lines map.
Buses number 1, 5 and 6 are all going from the city center to the university campus.
The bus line number 6 is the best to go to the Geopolymer Camp at the stop called “CAMPUS UNIVERSITAIRE“, it is scheduled every 20 minutes. The bus line number 1 and 5 are another alternative, they stop close by at one block of the university (3 minutes walk), the stop is called “SAINT ELOI” and is scheduled every 12 to 20 minutes.
If you don’t have a car, it is convenient to take the bus from your hotel located at the city center to the university or to shopping centers. The stop for the city center is called “BASILIQUE” (the big church). All buses stops there. Check the hotels tables above to see which bus line serves your hotel to the university campus.
You can buy your pass with your smartphone. All you need is to scan the QR Code in front of the stamping machine when you get into the bus. You don’t need to speak french !
Download the App “M-Ticket PASTEL” for Android phones and Apple iPhone and iPad. The App is available in English.
A one way ticket (“TICKET UNITE”) costs 1.30 € and is valid for 1 hour. A one day pass (“TICKET JOURNEE”) is sold 3.10 €. Buy the ticket with the App and show the QR-Code to the validation machine. You can buy tickets from the driver (payment in cash only).
You can buy a set of 10 tickets (“CARNET 10 VOYAGES”) for 10,30 € (called in French: “carnet dix tickets de bus”). You buy them with the App, or at the train station café, or at the main bus office called “AGENCE PASTEL” at BURIDAN street, just behind the Ibis hotel at the city center, or at the information booth (look for “information – Accueil” panel near the entrance, at the Auchan or Cora Hypermarket and Intermarché Supermarket and Monoprix in the city center, at the café “Carré d’As 2” in the city center, the “Balto” café near the Ibis Budget hotel (See Google Map).
Car renting companies:
There are renting companies in Saint-Quentin: Europcar, Avis, Rent A Car, Sixt, Ucar, Ada.
Taxi:
You will find them in front of the train station, or ask at the hotel reception desk.
Mobile phone, internet access, pre-paid cards:
In France, there is a free Wifi access in most restaurants, hotels, public buildings and many cafés.
Special Voice and Data plans for tourists are available for France, including Europe, with a SIM chip or eSIM. We have selected the company Orange which provides the best coverage. Check their website here. You can also find other solutions available online. We have selected this provider LeFrenchMobile.com who will send a french prepaid SIM card to your country for a very good price.
List of selected restaurants
We have selected some restaurants where you can find a menu in English or where the waiters are willing to welcome you and translate the menu for you. There are other restaurants, but the staff may only speaks French, you will have to ask. The average price at a French restaurant for a full course meal (starters, main dish, desert and drinks) is around 12 €. The Flunch restaurant, at Auchan shoping center, is the cheapest, around 6 € for one dish (self service, take only one main dish and get unlimited vegetables for free and free tap water).
Shopping
The biggest shopping center of the Region is called “Auchan”. People living in hotels near the Shopping center will not miss it. There is another big shopping center called CORA (see the map).
The city center is full of small shops. There are two small supermarkets for your everyday needs: Super U and Monoprix. There are also many banks so you can take money at any ATM machine with your credit card. All major international cards (Visa, Mastercard, sometimes Amex) are accepted everywhere.
If you want to buy some local specialties, there is a fine grocery and chocolate store called “Jean Trogneux” on the right of the city hall.
Tourism information:
The weather:
| Months | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temp. | 6°C | 6°C | 10°C | 15°C | 22°C | 24°C |
| Months | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Temp. | 27°C | 27°C | 23°C | 15°C | 10°C | 7°C |
Tourist Office:
For more information about your stay in France, visit in Paris, and in the city of Saint-Quentin in particular, please, ask the Tourist Office. They are at your disposal to help you for a pleasant stay, and they speak different languages!
Tourist Office of Saint-Quentin
3 rue Émile Zola
02100 Saint-Quentin, France
Tel.: +33 (0)3 23 670 500
Website: www.destination-saintquentin.fr/en
A trip to Paris:
Saint-Quentin est à 150 km north of Paris by train or highways. You can take the train to Paris, and spend the whole day there. Paris is at 1:17 hour from Saint-Quentin. See this website parisinfo.com . If you wish to stay the weekend in Paris, good quality hotels are usually between 90 – 120 € per night, with few chances to find cheaper.
Please, check the train timetable at the SNCF website (the national train company): French Railway Company’s SNCF web site or Trainline website .
The name of the station is “Paris, Gare du Nord”. Once you arrived, you can take the Metro (subway) to any places. The Metro is very convenient. When you come back to Saint-Quentin, if you are coming from the Metro (subway), go upstairs to the ground level, and follow the signs “Trains Grandes Lignes – Mainline services”.
The price of a round trip ticket is around 56 €. But, there are many opportunities to get a reduced fare depending on the schedule. If you buy your train ticket at least 2 weeks in advance, there may be a discount.
Check the National railway website or Trainline to buy your online ticket in advance and save the bar code in you mobile phone.
DO NOT FORGET TO STAMP YOUR TICKET BEFORE BOARDING THE TRAIN. There are yellow stamp machines everywhere. Electronic tickets are available if you buy them online.
Emergency Call:
Dial 112 everywhere in Europe (Police, Emergency Rescue, Fire fighters…) and speak in one of the 23 official languages of the European Union. There is always a translator at disposal. Toll free number with any phones, even mobile phones.
In case of trouble:
We will give you the name and phone number of someone in charge of the organization. If you have any trouble with the local authority, health problem (need some medicine), you will call this person first.
