The meeting will take place at the University of Utrecht in the "van Lier en Egginkzaal" in the "Bestuursgebouw" at the University Campus "De Uithof". https://www.uu.nl/en/bestuursgebouw
The Bestuursgebouw can be easily reached in about 15 minutes by public transport from the main train station or from the city centre.
Travel information
By plane
The Netherlands are easily accessible via the international airport Schiphol. This is the largest airport in the country and from there you can reach any city by train. There are some other airports (e.g Rotterdam, Eindhoven) but they are used mostly by budget airlines or holiday flights. But they could be an alternative depending where you travel from.
By train
From Schiphol Airport it takes half an hour to reach Utrecht Central Station (“Utrecht Centraal”) by train. There is an intercity train every 15 minutes. These trains have as a final destination either “Nijmegen”, or “Venlo”.
Utrecht Central station is the third stop of the train, it stops first at “Amsterdam Zuid” and “Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena”. You can find the schedule of the trains on https://www.ns.nl/en/journeyplanner#/
There you can also buy a ticket online, which saves you 1 euro, compared to the price at a ticket machine.
Trains in the Netherlands have first and second class compartments. There is no assigned seating otherwise and one cannot reserve a seat. It is first come first serve. Which is why everyone clusters around the doors of the train as soon as it stops at the platform. The ticket price is fixed and does not depend on the time of day or on when you purchase your ticket.
By bus
The University Campus can be reached by bus. It takes about 15 minutes from Utrecht Central Station. For the meeting venue you should exit at the bus stop that is named “Heidelberglaan”.
From the train station bus 12 (destination: De Uithof), will take you there. It leaves from bus platform C8 and goes very often (every 5 minutes or less) because it is the main bus taking students to the university. It can therefor be extremely crowded in the morning and afternoon.
Here you can find a map of the bus terminals: https://uov-prod.cdn.prismic.io/uov-prod%2Fd12c5a67-91df-4380-bf02-2b03f12a2f3b_101+-+201812+-+website+-+halte+c+en+d.pdf
You can check the public transport schedules here: https://9292.nl/en
If you are staying in one of the hotels in the city centre, you can take a bus from e.g. the bus stop named “Neude” to the “Heidelberglaan”. This is either bus 27 (destination: De Uithof) or bus 28 (destination: De Uithof).
Tickets
The Netherlands uses a national electronic ticket system with a rechargeable card, called “OV-chipkaart”. One has to register the card when boarding a train or bus or tram which is called “check in”, and one has to register the card when leaving the transport again, called “check out”. The distance of your travel is then calculated and the money subtracted from your charged credit. For trains you have to do this check in and out when accessing the platforms already. In busses this is done when you enter , and for trams this differs a bit dependent on the city. The card has to be purchased and costs 7,50 euro. Luckily, one can still buy paper tickets (although they are more expensive) for the occasional visitor to the Netherlands. For trains they can be bought at the counter or ticket machine, or before your trip online. For busses you can buy a ticket from the driver ONLY with a debit card (no cash accepted).
Utrecht offers a 3-day travel pass, called “U-OV 3-dagenkaart”, which we recommend you to buy when you first arrive at Utrecht central station. You can then use it on the days of the meeting. Such a card will make the travelling much easier. The 3-day pass costs 11.85 euro and can be bought from the U-OV ticket office at the Utrecht Central Station. A single ride to the university costs 2,90 when bought from the driver, making the 3-day pass also a cheaper option for those who do not have the OV-chipkaart.
Visa information
If you need a visa to enter the Netherlands and need an invitation letter, please contact us directly.
Information on the visa application procedure can be found here: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/netherlands-visa/
Hotels
We recommend that you find a hotel in the city centre. From there you can easily reach the University Campus, there are many restaurants and bars and you get to experience the canals with their many dock cellars that make Utrecht unique. The Oudegracht is the most famous canal in Utrecht. You will find many restaurants and cafés with a water-side terrace in the dock cellars. However, as it seems that spring is a popular time to visit the city, it could be worthwhile to look a bit further from the centre as well, as there might be less expensive options. Utrecht has a good public transportation system, and if you buy the 3-day travel pass, some extra travel time is all it costs.
You will be able to find a range of hotels via e.g. booking.com. Below are some suggestions in the city centre. We would advise you to book as soon as possible, as some hotels in Utrecht are already fully booked.
- Apollo Hotel Utrecht City Centre (very central, often used by visitors of the university)
https://www.apollohotels.co.uk/apollo-hotel-utrecht-city-centre/ - NH Centre Utrecht Hotel (close to the main train station, often used by visitors of the university)
https://www.nh-hotels.com/hotel/nh-utrecht - Exploris Hotel Utrecht (very central on the Neude square)
https://www.explorishotelutrecht.nl/en/index.html - Inntel Hotels Utrecht Centre (a new hotel opening in January right at the main train station)
https://www.inntelhotelsutrechtcentre.nl/en/ - Court Hotel City Centre Utrecht (slightly less central in the museum quarter, the area of the city centre where one finds many musea)
https://www.courthotel.nl/en
And a few examples of cheaper hotels further from the city centre (these are just some examples and you should of course check if the quality is sufficient for your taste):
- Hotel Chao (reachable by bus, direct bus nr. 27 to the university) http://www.hotel-chao.nl/en/
- Hotel Holland Lodge (reachable by bus, direct bus nr. 27 to the university) booking.com
- La Loggia (reachable by bus) booking.com
