Les Pensières is a residential conference center in Veyrier-du-Lac, on Lake Annecy, built for seminars, conferences, training days and board meetings of 2 to 180 people. It has eight meeting rooms, 59 bedrooms on site, a kitchen team and equipment for in-person, hybrid and online sessions. It belongs to the Fondation Mérieux and is open first to organizations in the health field.
Seminars and company events
The center welcomes training courses, conferences, seminars, symposia and meetings. Its stated priority is health: international organizations, NGOs, foundations, professional federations, universities, health companies and biotech firms. It also accepts philanthropic actors and associations for non-profit events, and local companies that share its values for work and reflection meetings. Check your event against these criteria before applying.
The equipment allows sessions to run in person, in a hybrid format or fully online, with video conferencing, webinars, streaming and podcasts. The team can also help design and run the event, and the center lists team building among its services.
Rooms and capacities
Groups range from 2 to 180 people, in theater, classroom, rectangle or U layouts.
Salle Charles Mérieux is the plenary room. It was fully renovated in 2020 and has a control booth and a translation booth. It seats 120 in classroom style or 180 in theater style, across two levels. Salle Nicole Mérieux opens onto the park with a view of the lake and takes up to 80 people in cabaret style, which suits working lunches and dinners. Salle Pr Ogobara Doumbo, on the first floor, faces Mont Veyrier and seats 32 in a rectangle. It can also serve as a dining room. Salle Simone Mérieux is a historic room, usually set in a U for 28 people on the lower level plus a row of 6 above.
Four smaller rooms handle workshops and committees. Salle Chavoires, under the rafters, takes 14 around a square table. Salon du Docteur, the former office of Dr. Charles Mérieux, takes up to 10. Salle Mandallaz takes 8 around an oval table, and Salle Semnoz takes 7. Break areas, a relaxation space, a library and a computer room complete the site.
Accommodation
The center has 59 bedrooms, arranged in a family-house spirit. When a group needs more beds, additional rooms can be arranged in partner hotels near the center. Staying on site lets participants move between sessions, meals and rooms without leaving the property.
Catering
The head chef and team prepare varied menus all year, made on site from seasonal products. Formats include classic meals, buffets, cocktails and barbecues, adapted to the event.
History and setting
Dr. Charles Mérieux created the place as a site for global public health, convinced that knowledge should be shared, especially with the countries with the fewest resources. Alain Mérieux later reaffirmed this mission. The first conferences in the 1980s dealt with rabies, poliomyelitis and HIV/AIDS, and more recent ones with Ebola, Zika and MERS-CoV. The center says it receives more than 8,000 health professionals every year. It sits in a park open to nature, with views of the lake and the Mont Veyrier massif.
Getting there
The center is at 55 route d'Annecy, Veyrier-du-Lac. It is about 40 minutes from Geneva international airport, according to the site.
