Venue(s)
All sessions will be in the Department of Languages and Cultures at the University of Aveiro. This is Building 2 on the Map of the main campus of the University, at the City end of the campus. Exact rooms will be announced in the Programme.
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, unless you are combining the conference with a beach holiday first. There are two services a day which link Faro to Aveiro without changing trains; cost around €45-€65 one way.
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 Railway Station (direction Estádio do Dragão). This is the main railway station in Porto, but it is not in the centre of the city. Local trains (Urbanos) take around an hour from Campanhã Station to Aveiro, and there is at least one every hour. The cost is €3.55 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 – €20 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 (you also choose between first and second class). 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 to buy tickets off and get explanations, as well as machines, but there are often confused queues at both.
Three stops away from the airport, Oriente Railway 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 go to the ticket windows, finding the right one for long distance services. Don’t just join any queue as you might be at the ticket window for suburban trains. 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 €22 – €40 one way roughly (you also choose between first and second class).
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. Uber also operates in the city.
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 10-15m 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 20-25m to walk to university. The Moliceiro has been consistently praised by visitors, but there are large-scale works taking place across the road in what used to be a nice canalside park. From the Salinas Hotel you can walk to university in 5m. The Mercure and the As Américas will also take 25 – 30m to walk to university. Neither hotel is in a particularly attractive 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.
Before Covid, Aveiro had become an extremely popular tourist destination, as indeed had the whole of Portugal, and given that it is already swiftly taking off again, it is recommended that you book accommodation as soon as possible.