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.