The social dinner will take place on Thursday 10 September at the Epicure restaurant on the puy de Dôme, the highest volcano in the “Chaîne des Puys” mountain range at an altitude of 1,465 metres. The bus will leave the conference venue (Polydome) at 18:00 and take guests to the panoramic train station, where they will board the train for a twenty -minutes climb. Arrival at Puy de Dôme will be at 19:15. There will be a short excursion around the summit before dinner, which will be served from 20:30 to 22:00. Return to the Polydome will be around 23:00
During the ascent, participants will be able to observe the giant of the Chaîne des puys, a recent volcano formed 11,000 years ago. It is a pelean volcano, corresponding to a violent eruption that built a “cumulo-dome”, a puy with a flat summit, resulting from eruptions in the form of viscous lava high silica content, of the trachyte type. They will be able to see different vegetation zones overlapping over a short distance, from the submontane belt with Fagus sylvatica and Quercus petraeae to the treeless subalpine area, as well as the importance of Corylus avellana in the dynamics.
The panorama is breathtaking, with views of more than 80 volcanoes.
At the summit of puy de Dôme are the ruins of the Temple of Mercury a Gallo-Roman place of worship dating from the second century.
Due to the harsh and windy climate, it is advisable to bring warm clothing.
