Ō LAC takes conventions, seminars, study days, trade shows, product launches, afterworks and company parties, from a meeting of a few dozen to a dinner for 2,000 guests. The venue, formerly the Palais des Congrès Sud Rhône-Alpes, offers 6,000 square meters of modular space in a 10-hectare park around a 4-hectare lake at Châteauneuf-sur-Isère, in the Drôme, about 10 minutes from Valence and between Lyon, Grenoble and Avignon.
Seminars and company events
The plenary room is an amphitheater of 905 seats, used for conferences and conventions as well as shows. Six meeting rooms of 110 square meters each, within 2,000 square meters of modular space, take breakout sessions in U-shape, classroom, theater or table layouts. Two multipurpose zones of 1,100 and 700 square meters hold exhibitions and trade shows. The offer is turnkey: furniture, technical equipment including Wi-Fi, projectors and screens, catering, entertainment and coordination are handled by the venue team, so an organizer deals with a single contact. Private concerts and shows can be added to an evening program, and the Cultur'Entreprises club gives member companies access to shows through the year.
Rooms and capacities
The amphitheater seats 905 in a theater layout. The six meeting rooms of 110 square meters each can be set in U-shape, classroom, theater or around tables. The two multipurpose zones, of 1,100 and 700 square meters, take stands, exhibitions and large cocktail setups. The restaurant and bar area, with a view of the lake, receives up to 2,000 people for cocktails or banquets with round or rectangular tables. Outside, the 10-hectare park and the lake can host outdoor events in the warm season. A covered car park offers 700 spaces.
Accommodation
There are no bedrooms on site. The venue works with partner gîtes and hotels that together offer about 2,000 beds, among them Hôtel Kyriad Valence Nord, Maison Chabran and Des Branches et Vous, which lets a multi-day convention lodge its delegates nearby.
Catering
Meals are served by partner caterers in the restaurant area overlooking the lake. Formats range from a seated banquet to a standing cocktail, and catering is part of the turnkey package along with furniture and coordination.
History and setting
The lakeside site was first known for a water sports base and for the cabaret Les Folies du Lac. It then became the Palais des Congrès Sud Rhône-Alpes. In 2012, event specialists Mylène and David Frauciel took it over, and it now operates as Ō LAC, with a program of music, comedy, dance and theater in the amphitheater and the Ō LAC Festival, a three-day electronic music festival held each summer on a stage by the Lac d'Aiguille.
Getting there
The venue lies near the A7 motorway and the historic Route Nationale 7, and close to the high-speed rail line between Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Valence TGV station is the nearest high-speed stop. Delegates arriving by road use the covered car park of 700 spaces.
