VENUE INFORMATION

The Meeting will be held in the Hotel San Juan de los Reyes, located in downtown Toledo, within the area surrounded by the Middle Age Walls.

We have negotiated discount prices with the hotel for the period Dec 8-14 (just in case you want to stay in Toledo for a few days after the meeting), and the individual room will cost 78.50 € per night (including breakfast, 7% taxes not included). Most probably the venue won't be able to accommodate all participants, but there is another hotel from the same company and of similar quality and price (even a bit cheaper, they offer individual rooms for 64.49 €/night) just 200 meter away from the venue: Hotel Pintor El Greco.

We request the participants to make their own hotel reservations. For your convenience, the hotels have asked us to give you a form which should be filled and faxed to the chosen hotel to confirm your reservation (form in Word 2007 format, form Word 2003 format, form in PDF format). Be aware that the hotels will only guarantee the discounts and room availability for reservations made before November 20th.

We recommend to make the reservations as soon as possible. If you are planning to arrive much earlier, please consider that the Dec 5-8 period is a long weekend in Spain (similar to Thanksgiving in USA) and hotels will be more expensive than usual (including our Venue) and hard to book unless you make your reservations well in advance. If you need help, please tell us.

GUIDED NIGHT VISIT TO TOLEDO AND SPECIAL DINNER

We have booked a guided visit to Toledo on Wednesday night. It will be a nice walk around the city to see the main buildings. This tour will be paid by the LOC, but please tell us in the registration form if you wish to attend to have a head count.

We will celebrate a special dinner on Thursday December 10th at 21:00 in the restaurant El Cardenal. It will cost 60 € per person. If you are interested in coming and you did not register for it, please tell us when you arrive so we can have the final head count. The restaurant has also asked each of us to choose among 4 main dishes (filet mignon, stewed partridge, cod, or their famous roast suckling pig). We will get your choices and the payment on Wednesday December 9th.

HOW TO GET TO TOLEDO

Toledo is a small city with a population of nearly 80,000 people located 74 km South of Madrid. Being the former capital of Spain, Toledo is a fortress city with striking gates all around the city.

The best way to travel to Toledo is flying to Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) and then taking either a car, the High Speed Train (AVE), or a bus.

Madrid-Toledo By Car

You will find several rental car companies at Madrid Barajas Airport, including Hertz, Avis, Europcar,...

The trip to Toledo takes about one hour and a half, although the frequent traffic jams in the road to Toledo may slow you a bit. Please find below the Google Maps directions from Madrid Barajas Airport to Toledo.

Toledo is a small city with a history of more than 2,700 years. The center of the city (where the Venue is located) is a mess of very narrow streets not thought to be used by cars. So we would like to warn you that using a car inside the city is highly unrecommended for non-locals. If you want to get to Toledo by car, you will end up parking it outside the city or in a public parking lot and leaving it there for the whole duration of the meeting. In any case, you can take beautiful short walks to anywhere in the city.


View Larger Map

Madrid-Toledo By High Speed Train (AVE)

You can get to Toledo by train from the Atocha Train Station in downtown Madrid. You will have to first get to the Station by taxi or metro (underground). The High Speed Train is called AVE and it has its own Section and platforms within the Atocha Train Station.

The Train Company is called RENFE. There is an office at the airport (Terminal 1), where you can obtain further information about trains. Also visit RENFE webpage.

The taxi to the AVE Terminal in Atocha will cost about 25 euros, and it will take about 30 minutes to get there. Just say to the "Terminal del AVE en Atocha".

If you prefer to take the Metro, the price is about 2 euros and it takes 60 minutes. Follow the signs at the airport to get to the Metro Station, travel to the "Nuevos Ministerios" Station (it is the only destination possible). From there, you will have to change trains to get to "Atocha Renfe" Metro Station, which is in the cyan line. "Atocha Renfe" is the metro station connected to the railway station. From "Nuevos Ministerios", you can take the gray line to "Cuatro Caminos" and then the cyan line (other combinations also work). Note that there is an "Atocha" station and an "Atocha Renfe" station in the metro cyan line. The first one is on Atocha Street, the second is the one connected to the Railway Station. In "Atocha Renfe" Metro Station, you will see signs to walk to the Renfe Railway Station (without getting out of the building). There are 2 terminals in Atocha Railway Station: "Cercanias" and AVE. You have to go to the AVE station.

In Atocha Railway Station (AVE Terminal), you will have to buy an AVE ticket to Toledo for about 20 euros (you can also buy it in the RENFE webpage). It is a very busy route, so please reserve your tickets at least one month in advance. You will arrive to Toledo in 35 minutes. From the Toledo railway station, take a taxi to the hotel.

More information in: Barajas Airport, Metro de Madrid.

Madrid-Toledo By Bus

Continental buses connect Toledo with Madrid and run every 30 minutes. They depart from Méndez Alvaro Station at Madrid and arrive at Toledo's bus station. The simplest way to reach Méndez Alvaro Bus Station from Barajas Airport and your Hotel from Toledo's Bus Station is by taxi. There are also buses from bus station to Toledo's downtown ("Plaza de Zocodover"), typically every 10 or 15 minutes. The price is lower than 2 euros, and they take 5 minutes to arrive to "Plaza de Zocodover".

Madrid-Toledo By Taxi

According to Madrid Radio-Taxi Company (phone no. +34 915478200), a taxi from Madrid Barajas Airport to Toledo should cost about 70 € plus highway tolls, adding a total of about 85-90 € (depending on the traffic). In any case, you should ask the taxi driver first about the approximate cost of the trip. He/she should use the taximeter and you should not have any problem except if he/she does not know the hotel address (very probable).

OTHER HOTELS IN TOLEDO

If you want to make reservations in other hotels in Toledo, here is a selection:

Hotel Carlos V, Calle Trastamara, 1. Cheap hotel (50 € per night) close to the Alcázar.

Hotel Alfonso VI, Calle General Moscardó, 2. Similar to the previous one, also close to the Alcázar.

Hotel Abad Toledo, Calle Real del Arrabal, 1. Inside the walls, it is a beautiful old country house.

Parador Nacional “Conde de Orgaz”, Cerro del Emperador s/n. Luxurious, only for the big spenders.

HOTELS IN MADRID

If you are planning to spend some days in Madrid, we can recommend you some hotels:

Hotel NH Zurbano, Calle Zurbano 79-81. This hotel is normally used by people attending JWST meetings in Madrid.

NH Alberto Aguilera, Calle de Alberto Aguilera 18. It is within walking distance of everything in Madrid, as the previous. Used by Herschel Science Center meetings.

Hotel T3 Tirol, Marqués de Urquijo 4. This one is close to the University, just two stations by underground. But it is further away (a couple of km) from the center of Madrid.

Hotel HUSA Moncloa, Princesa 40. This one is also very close to the University. But it is also further away (a couple of km) from the center of Madrid.

Hotel Tryp Diana, Galeón 27. This one is very near Barajas Airport, but far from downtown Madrid. An OK hotel, ideal for a one night stay before leaving Madrid, since it also has a shuttle service to the airport.