Getting to Utrecht

Utrecht University is based in the city of Utrecht, conveniently located in the center of the country. Utrecht is easy to reach by train, car and bus, and is close to Schiphol Airport Amsterdam. On Utrecht University’s website you can find more detailed information for your travel to Utrecht: Travelling to Utrecht – International Staff and Guests – Utrecht University

The preferred mode of transport to come to Utrecht is the train. There is a direct train connection between Schiphol airport Amsterdam and Utrecht. Utrecht Central/Utrecht Centraal station is conveniently located in the city centre and the conference venues (Johanna Hudig building and Janskerkhof 15a) are within walking distance (10-15 minutes).

All public transportation in the Netherlands can be accessed and paid for directly by using a contactless payment method (card or smartphone). Accepted cards include Maestro, V Pay, Mastercard and Visa. You must ‘check in’ and ‘check out’ when you enter and leave public transportation by tapping your card against the payment terminals. Alternatively, you can:

• Buy train or tram tickets from station ticket machines using a non-contactless card, or;
• Buy train tickets online via the NS app or website 

Some useful information:

• Return tickets in the Netherlands require a return the same day
• If you prefer an e-ticket, it will have to be printed or loaded in the NS app. Showing a pdf on an electronic device is not allowed.
• Direct trains between Schiphol airport and Utrecht Central have a frequency of 4 per hour and take about 30 If you need to travel between 22:00 and 07:00, please make sure to check your train schedule. Frequency drops during these hours and the schedule is slightly different from day to day.
• If you want to take a taxi from or to Schiphol, we recommend UTC (utc.nl, 030-2 300 400). Note that trains are as quick, are environmentally friendlier and don’t get stuck in traffic jams (especially relevant around rush hour), and they’re MUCH cheaper than taxis.

Navigating in Utrecht

Google maps/Apple maps works quite well. We consequently focus on the things they’re not particularly good: telling you how to leave the station, giving you a general idea of the layout of the city, warning you about which buildings you cannot enter from the street side.

Perhaps the most important challenge when arriving in Utrecht is to find the exit of the station. In the explanation below, we assume you’re either heading for the conference venues or a ho(s)tel in the city centre. If you’re staying at the NH hotel in the station neighbourhood or the Park Plaza, you’ll want to leave the station at the exit that is opposite the one we’re indicating below. The description will however also be useful to you given that the trajectory we’re describing below is probably the one you’ll be following to go to the conference venues. All venues and ho(s)tels are within walking distance.

The station has several exits. You want to choose the one that is located on the City Centre side. The easiest way to decide is to look at the shops: it’s the exit closest to tracks 1-4. Once you are past the small gates, take a left and leave the building. Cross the square to enter a building complex called ‘Hoog Catharijne’. The entrance of the complex is squeezed between ‘Douglas’ (a perfume shop) and JD (a sneaker shop). At the entrance, head right, walk along the sneaker shop. Keep walking on the right until you get to the end, near a Chinese restaurant called Tai Soen. Go out the door, go down the stairs and turn left. You will see the Dom Tower: walk towards it. Once you’re outside, you can navigate to the conference venues or your hotel using Google maps.

Conference venues

The conference takes place between the  Johanna Hudig building and the Janskerkhof, both in the city centre:

Johanna Hudig building – Campus – Utrecht University

• The main entrance of the Johanna Hudig building can be found through the courtyard of Kromme Nieuwegracht 47E (so, put this in your navigator, not Achter Sint Peter 200, which is the official address). The conference room is called Alex Brenninckmeijerzaal.  When you enter the courtyard, the Johanna Hudig G is straight ahead on the left. Enter the building, turn right, and walk until you reach a staircase on your right: the Alex Brenninckmeijerzaal is upstairs.

Janskerkhof 15a

• room 0.04

Lunch and dinner options

As the conference takes place in the city center, there are many restaurants and lunch rooms to have lunch and dinner. You can walk along the Domstraat and the Korte Jansstraat (very close to both venues), or walk around the center and pick a random place. Here are some quick and easy suggestions close to the venues:

• Anne & Max Domstraat
• Poké Perfect, Korte Jansstraat 17-19
• The Street Food Club (serving all-day breakfast), Janskerkhof 9

Furthermore, on the Janskerkhof  you will find two small kiosks selling Dutchified Italian-like sandwiches. There are also many bars/lunch rooms around the Dom square.

Utrecht has plenty of restaurants. We recommend to walk along the canals and try one of the restaurants on the water, for a full Utrecht experience!

To have a good overview, please take a look at https://www.thefork.com/. Here you can find several options

Accommodation

Utrecht hotels are quite expensive, unfortunately. The hotel closest to the Johana Hudig is The Court Hotel. That’s where university guests usually stay, but we don’t have any special pricing for that.

We recommend the usual:

1. Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/
2. City hostels: https://www.stayokay.com/en
3. Or any of the many of hotels in Utrecht, by using search engines such as www.trivago.nl or www.booking.com

Internet access

Those who have an eduroam account can connect directlyto eduroam. For all others, you can connect to the (safe) network ‘UU-visitor’ (no password required).

Visa

If you need a visa, please contact us immediately

Contact

If you need help with anything or have any special requirement, feel free to contact us.

Please note that we can’t offer help with finding accommodation. Since Utrecht is quite expensive, we recommend booking your room largely in advance.

We look forward to seeing you all in Utrecht!

The Going Romance organizing committee
Marco Bril and Luisa Meroni (chairs)

Fabienne Martin, Gert-Jan Schoenmakers, Roberta D’Alessandro, Sergio Baauw, Silvia Terenghi