Sophia Antipolis

Sophia Antipolis is a 2,400 hectare technology park in southeast France, and as of 2021 home to 2,500 companies, valued today at more than 5.6 billion euros and employing more than 38,000 people counting more than 80 nationalities. The park is known to be Europe's first science and technology hub. The technology park is also a platform, cluster and creation-hub for start-ups.

The " technopole" houses primarily companies in the fields of computing, electronics, telecommunication, pharmacology and biotechnology. Several institutions of higher learning are also located here, along with the European headquarters of W3C, ETSI, European Society of Cardiology, etc.

The park is supported by the ''Sophia Antipolis Foundation'', which aims to support "technological and scientific innovation and research projects at the service of mankind and our environment." The foundation’s honorary chairman is Pierre Laffitte and its president is Jean-Pierre Mascarelli, who is also president of SYMISA, the ''Sophia Antipolis Joint Association'', which is "responsible for managing land, equipment, marketing and upkeeping the park and is involved with coordination activities for harmonious development of the technology park."

Naming

Sophia Antipolis is named after Sophie Glikman-Toumarkine, the wife of French Senator Pierre Laffitte, founder of the park, and incidentally, Sophia, the Greek word for wisdom, and ''Antipolis'', the ancient (Greek) name of a nearby seaside town Antibes. Many of the roads within the technology park have Greek names. There is a giant sculptured Greek urn as a centre-piece on one of the roundabouts.

The park is also termed a "technopole".

History

Gérald Hanning was the consultant advisor to the DATAR for this industrial/scientific complex created 1970 to 1984.

French Senator Pierre Laffitte conceived the idea of Sophia Antipolis, calling for decentralization and "rural branch of the capital".

In 2016, the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy was relocated from Montreuil to Sophia Antipolis.

The year 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the park.

Agenda 2040

An agenda named "Sophia 2040" was created to "restore the former glory of the technology park's historic centre".

Further novel investments e. g. into intelligent vehicle technology have been initiated.

Location

The technology park lies over an area that stretches into 5 municipalities or communes, much of it falling within the commune of Valbonne, which lies northwest of Antibes and southwest of Nice.

Residential community

Several neighborhoods within the park area exist, which make the area attractive to live: Garbejaire, Haut-Sartoux, Saint-Philippe and the Place Sophie Laffitte. The locations include typical public services such as a post office, shops, hairdressers, a primary school, sport complexes, hotels, church, children play areas, etc. The area is also surrounded by multiple golf courses and located north of the science park lies the large Regional Natural Park of the Préalpes d'Azur.

Public transport

Several bus routes (27 urban routes and 64 school bus routes) cover the vast area of the technology park. The main bus route (Ligne A, formerly known as Ligne 1), that was redesigned in 2020, connects the central bus station of the park (Gare Routière Valbonne - Sophia Antipolis) with Antibes railway station and Juan les Pins, with bus stops at main universities such as Polytech Nice Sophia and SKEMA. Antibes railway station provides access to the Riviera coastal railway ( TER Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur) with eastbound trains to Nice and Ventimiglia, or westbound trains to Toulon and Marseille.

The technology park also has special express lines directly connecting the park with neighbouring cities:
* Ligne 230 (Nice - Sophia Antipolis)
* Ligne 232 (St. Laurent du Var - Sophia Antipolis)
* Ligne 530 (Grasse - Sophia Antipolis)
* Ligne 630 (Cannes - Valbonne)
* Envibus Ligne A (Antibes - Valbonne)

The nearest international airport for the general public is the Nice Côte d'Azur Airport

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