Saclay plateau

The Plateau de Saclay, also called Silicon Valley Européenne (in English, European Silicon Valley), is located north of Essonne and south-east of Yvelines, 20 km south of Paris. It is bounded by the valley of the Yvette (Vallée de Chevreuse) to the south and east, and the valley of the Bièvre to the north.

It hosts world-class universities, engineering and management schools and research centers, such as Université Paris-Sud, École Polytechnique, HEC, ENSTA ParisTech, CentraleSupélec, IOGS, IHES, CEA, Inria, Danone research center, one Thales research facility, and national scientific instruments such as the SOLEIL synchrotron and the NeuroSpin Project. In order to create an even more attractive campus, other engineering schools and high-value centers are planned: EDF headquarters, Agro ParisTech, Telecom ParisTech, and ENSAE ParisTech for instance.

The plateau is located at about 165 meters of altitutde above sea level. It is traversed by ditches that drain water. These works, as well as the étang de Saclay, located near the town of Saclay, were intended to supply water of Versailles Castle (and in particular its fountains).

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