University Campus
All sessions will take place in the Department of Languages and Cultures – building 2 on the attached campus map below.
Registration will be on the ground floor, and there will be signs directing you to the registration room.
All sessions will take place in room 2.1.10, also on the ground floor.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Flying to Aveiro
Aveiro does not have an airport. The nearest airport is Porto (OPO). It is also easy to get to Aveiro coming through Lisbon (LIS). The other airport in continental Portugal is in Faro and that is too far to be practicable.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Getting to Aveiro from Porto
The metro, or light rail system, is across the road outside the terminal. It is best reached through the tunnel under the road, signposted within the terminal as “metro”.
You will need to acquire a card from a machine, and load trips onto the card. This is the weak point of the system, as there are often lines of foreigners trying to puzzle out the system, although there are always staff on hand to explain. This card needs to be touched to a verification point before going up the escalator to the platform.
From the airport you can go direct to Campanhã Station (direction Estádio do Dragão).
Local trains (Urbanos) take an hour from Campanhã Station to Aveiro, and there is at least one every hour. The cost is €3.45 one way. Again, you need to get a card and load trips onto it. You can get this from the ticket office. This card then needs to be touched to a verification point before boarding the train. If you stand near the platforms you will see people doing this.
You can also get a faster train, which takes around 30 – 40m. They cost around €12 – €14 one way. These trains are called Alfa (the best) and Intercidades (2nd best). You don’t need to touch these tickets to the verification point, and you are allocated a numbered seat.
In neither case can you get a ticket on the train, and without a ticket, you will be fined.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Getting to Aveiro from Lisbon
In Lisbon you can get the metro just outside the arrivals terminal. You will need to buy a card and load one or more trips onto it. There are booths with people as well as machines, but there are often confused queues at both.
Three stops away from the airport, Oriente Station can be used for trains to Aveiro. These are Alfa (the best) and Intercidades (2nd best). You need to buy a ticket before boarding the train. This gives you a numbered seat. The ticket booths and machines you see when you emerge from the metro are not for the overground trains. You need to go up two levels and hunt for the ticket office. Be warned that the last train in the evening leaves at 10.09 p.m. It takes between 2h20m – 2h40m to get to Aveiro. Tickets cost between €15 – €25 one way roughly.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Arriving in Aveiro
The station is at one end of a straight avenue which goes to the centre of the city. It’s about a 1km flat walk. There are taxis outside the station, and as the distances are small your trip won’t cost more than a few euros if you prefer. There are also local buses, but you need to know where you are going.
Hotels and guest houses are clustered mostly in the area about 1km from the station. This is also the most convenient area for getting to the university and for everything else. You can walk to the university in about 10m from most accommodation. Booking sites contain listings of these places, but if you want a local opinion, just ask the organisers. The Meliá is the best hotel in town, but will take you more like 15m to walk to university. The Moliceiro has been consistently praised by visitors, but you have to have breakfast at nearby cafes. From the Salinas Hotel you can walk to university in 5m. The Mercure and the As Américas will also take 20 – 30m to walk to university. The Mercure is not in as prepossessing a part of town. The numerous Guest Houses which have sprung up are mostly well-situated and cheap and have rooms with en suite bathrooms or rooms with shared bathrooms.
Aveiro has become a very popular tourist destination, as indeed has the whole of Portugal, and it is recommended that you book accommodation as soon as possible.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Getting around Aveiro
Walking will be fine for most people. There are also free bicycles here and there.
Aveiro is safe at any time, including for a woman on her own.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Near Aveiro
The white sand beaches are 8km away. Buses leave beside the canal heading out of the city. You have a choice of the more built up Barra with its lighthouse, or the less built-up, but still built-up, Costa Nova, with its picturesque striped houses. The water is cold, and the beach is often foggy and windy, so check the weather. It can be sunny and hot in town and cold and windy at the beach. Besides, you should be at the conference.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Food and Drink
Portugal is very cheap by European standards. Fish and seafood are the specialties, but vegetarian and vegan food are almost nonexistent. Most restaurants can only offer soup, a salad or an omelette to vegetarians. There are, however, a macrobiotic restaurant (but it only opens for lunch) and two vegan restaurants. Some restaurants and cafés still allow smoking, so check the sticker on the door before entering. Bars are open until late, as are many cafés in the centre.
_____________________________________________________________________________
