Decision. Within 30 km of Troisgros there is no full-format IT conference happening on a weekend in 2026. The only weekend-aligned tech event is Fête de la Science / Village des Sciences Roanne on 2-12 October 2026 [21] [22]. For weekday options, the recurring Cafés numériques (Fridays 8:30) and FabLab Roannais Agglomération open sessions are the only consistent meet-ups [17] [20]. All real conference-grade IT events sit in Saint-Étienne (~83 km) or Lyon (~85 km) — outside the 30 km radius but within an hour’s drive [5].
Why the radius is thin
Troisgros (Le Bois sans Feuilles) is in Ouches, ~8 km west of Roanne [1] [2]. A 30 km circle around it covers Roanne, Riorges (Le Scarabée expo centre), Le Coteau, Mably, Villerest, Saint-Romain-la-Motte, Perreux, Renaison, Balbigny and out to Semur-en-Brionnais [3] [4] — Roanne is the only town with any tech infrastructure. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes’ actual tech mass sits in Saint-Étienne and Lyon: the French Tech Saint-Étienne Lyon Capitale formally covers Loire and Rhône, but its events and hubs are in those two cities, not Roanne [26]. The historic local cluster, Numelink (Saint-Étienne, 2002), was absorbed into Digital League — which moved cluster activity further away from Roanne [27] [28].
The one local trade fair, L’instant numérique, last ran as its 7th edition in May 2022 at Le Scarabée; no 8.0 has been announced as of mid-2026 [6] [7]. Treat it as dormant.
Confirmed events June–December 2026, inside the radius
| When | Event | Where | Format / fit | Cites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 3 Jun 2026 | FabLab open session | FabLab Roannais Agglomération, Roanne (Minimes) | Drop-in maker workshop, ~90 min | [20] [19] |
| 2-12 Oct 2026 | Fête de la Science — Village des Sciences Roanne | TBC (historically Espace Congrès / La Diana, Roanne) | Public science fair, weekend-aligned | [21] [22] |
| Mon 19 Oct 2026 | FabLab open session | FabLab Roannais Agglomération, Roanne | Drop-in maker workshop | [20] |
| Every Fri 8:30 | Cafés numériques | Espace Numérique, 53 rue Albert Thomas, Roanne | Free 90-min topic chat (AI, phishing, etc.) | [17] [18] |
| Year-round | Maison du Numérique workshops | Place Clémenceau, Roanne (opened Apr 2026) | Garage 404 trainings, kids/adults | [11] [12] |
| Year-round | Simplon Roanne cohorts | Maison du Numérique, Roanne | Dev / Cyber / Data-AI bootcamps | [13] [14] |
The Village des Sciences is the only one of these that reliably opens on Saturdays and matches a “weekend trip” cadence; format is family-oriented science fair rather than industry conference, but it covers tech (robotics, AI demos historically come via La Rotonde) [22].
2026 events that already happened (rhythm reference)
Useful only as a guide to when the local tech calendar fires, if you’re picking a future weekend.
| Date | Event | Theme | Cites |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Feb 2026 | L’instant éco-durable (Le Scarabée) | Low-tech / sustainability salon | [30] |
| 28 Feb 2026 | Garage 404 open day (Maison du Numérique) | Kids/family digital workshops | [12] |
| 19 Mar 2026 | Forum de l’Entrepreneuriat (Le Scarabée) | 20 talks, AI × entrepreneurship | [8] [9] |
| 26 Mar 2026 | Soirée Cybersécurité (Roanne) | Local cyber awareness evening | [30] |
| 28 Mar 2026 | FabLab Roannais 3rd-edition event | 3 conferences + 15 maker stands | [20] |
Pattern: most “real” Roanne tech programming clusters in February–March (winter business season). After June the only public catch is the Fête de la Science in October.
Sparse-but-real local institutions
- Le Scarabée (Riorges, adjacent to Roanne) — the only conference-grade venue in radius; hosts L’instant numérique (when it runs), Forum de l’Entrepreneuriat, eco-durable, et al. [8]
- Maison du Numérique (Roanne, opened Apr 2026) — €1M restoration of an old château at Place Clémenceau by Garage 404; consolidates training, hosts Simplon cohorts, runs public workshops. New, so its public-event calendar is still forming [11] [12] [13].
- FabLab Roannais Agglomération (7 Place des Minimes, Roanne) — 400 m² maker space, 3D printing / laser / electronics; runs the public workshop slots in the table above [19].
- Roanne’Tech — local association posting on Facebook, organises occasional conferences. No public 2026 calendar at time of search; check the FB page close to your trip date [15].
- Polytech Roanne (Technopôle Diderot) and IUT de Roanne — engineering and tech-IUT presence, but their public events are JPO/open-day style (last in Jan/Feb 2026); no public industry conferences on calendar [23] [24].
- Espace Numérique de Roannais Agglomération (53 rue Albert Thomas) — public digital space, host of the Friday Cafés numériques [16] [17].
Outside 30 km but within day-trip reach
If the trip can stretch to ~1 hour each way, the regional tech scene opens up.
| Event | Where | Date | Distance from Troisgros | Cites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIDO Lyon (IoT / AI / XR / robotics) | Lyon | annual (Sept) | ~85 km | [29] |
| Forum de l’Entrepreneuriat (St-Étienne) | Saint-Étienne | 28 May 2026 (past) | ~83 km | [10] |
| GO Fab Industrie du Futur | Saint-Chamond (Arena) | 3 Oct 2026 | ~95 km | [25] |
| Foire de Saint-Étienne (77e) | Parc Expo, St-Étienne | 18-28 Sep 2026 | ~83 km | [25] |
SIDO Lyon is the only “destination” IT conference within day-trip reach — France’s flagship IoT/AI/XR/robotics event, typically two days in September [29]. If a real conference is the reason to align the Troisgros weekend, anchor on SIDO and accept the 1h drive both ways.
Practical alignment for the weekend
- Best fit for a Saturday-dinner-anchored weekend in 2026: book the trip during Fête de la Science (2-12 Oct 2026) — Village des Sciences runs Saturday/Sunday in Roanne, ~10 minutes from Troisgros [21] [22].
- If trip date is fixed and not Oct: the most likely tech touch-points are a Friday Cafés numériques (if arriving Friday morning) plus a FabLab open session if one falls in your window [17] [20]. Maison du Numérique is worth a visit as a building/project even outside scheduled events [11].
- If a real IT conference is non-negotiable: plan around SIDO Lyon (September) and treat Troisgros as the Saturday-night anchor of a Lyon-week trip [29].
- Watch list close to trip date: Roanne’Tech Facebook for ad-hoc conference announcements, and
linstant-numerique.comin case an 8.0 is announced [6] [15].