Travelling to and around Nijmegen

Travelling to Nijmegen

• By air
• By train

Travelling around Nijmegen

• By bike
• By bus
• To the campus
• To the Town Hall for the tour and reception (TBC)

Travelling to Nijmegen by air

Both Schiphol (near Amsterdam) and Weeze (just across the border in Germany) airports are well located for Research Sessions participants intending to travel by air.  The travel time from Schiphol is roughly 1hr 45 mins by train; and from Weeze 45 minutes by bus.

Travelling to Nijmegen from Schiphol airport
The best way to travel from Schiphol airport to Nijmegen is by train. Trains run frequently from the airport to Nijmegen Central Station.  Although this is a large airport, the trains can be easily found by following the signs.  Tickets can be bought at ticket machines, the ticket office (for which you have to pay a small transaction fee), and online.  Please note that travelling without a valid ticket incurs a fine.  During the day, direct trains to Nijmegen depart every half hour from the airport.  If you are unable to catch one of these (or are travelling after 21.00), you will need to change, usually at Utrecht Central Station.  You can plan your journey here.

Once you have arrived at Nijmegen Central Station, it is just a short walk to the Mercure hotel.  When standing in the station hall, go right to the taxi stand just outside the station.  Pass the taxi stand (and all the bikes) and you will walk straight up to the hotel.

You will find a video explaining about travelling to Nijmegen here.

Travelling to Nijmegen from Weeze airport
The best way to travel from Weeze airport to Nijmegen is by bus.  The bus costs €30 for a return journey, stopping at the Mercure hotel where all Research Sessions participants are staying.  Tickets must be reserved in advance online here.  It is also possible to catch a taxi shuttle to Nijmegen; this is more expensive but a good option if you are travelling at night.

Travelling to Nijmegen by train

The city of Nijmegen is easily accessible by train.  Thanks to a well-developed and efficient public transport system, major European cities such as Brussels and Paris are only a few hours away by train.  The ICE from Frankfurt, for instance, stops at Arnhem Central Station - from which it is ony a short train hop to Nijmegen Central Station.  More information and journey planners can be found here.

Travelling around Nijmegen

By bike
Nijmegen is extremely bike-friendly, and the old downtown area is compact (every place in the downtown area can be reached within 20 minutes from the Central Station by foot).  you can rent bicycles at the underground bike storage facility beneath the Central Station.

By bus
For those hesitant to rent a bike there is a good bus transportation system in place in Nijmegen.  If you expect to travel a lot in the Netherlands (and not just for this conference), it might be an option to purchase a public transport card (similar to the Oyster card in London but valid for the whole country), otherwise you can buy a single ticket in the bus.  Travelling before 09.00 in a bit more expensive than travelling after 09.00.

To the campus
Various buses travel from the Central train station to the University campus.  There is a bus stop close to the hotel (for bus number 10).  Other bus stops can be found by walking back towards and then past the Central train station, and then towards the bus station.  Once on the bus you can either disembark at bus stop 'Erasmus gebouw' which is closest to the venue, or one of the other campus bus stops which are around a seven minute walk or less to the venue.  Below are some examples of buses frequently going to the campus.  For more detailed and up to date information, please check the journey planner.

• Bus 10: (Universiteit HAN also known as the Heyendaal shuttle) is a bus for students, staff, and visitors to the campus of both the university and the college. The bus only heads in one direction, following a loop from the station to the university and college campuses and back again. The bus stop is very close to the hotel (if you exit the hotel, just a few steps to your left) as well as the conference venue (bus stop: Erasmus gebouw). Note that because of the summer break, the bus does not operate as frequently as usual.
• Bus 11: Beuningen Aalsterveld. Exit at Spinozagebouw/Tandheelkunde and walk to the Erasmus building.
• Bus 13: Wijchen. Exit at Spinozagebouw/Tandheelkunde and walk to the Erasmus building.

To the Town Hall
The entrance of the town hall is located at Korte Nieuwstraat 6 (zip code: 6511PP Nijmegen).  You can either walk to the city centre from your hotel or take a bus (bus stop Burchtstraat). Note that the entrance of the town hall is located a bit from the main street (Burchtstraat). So you have to enter an alley leading towards the town hall.

To walk to the town hall take the following route: upon exiting the hotel go left for a few meters. On your right hand, you will see two newly paved streets with greenery in between. Cross the road (watch out for buses and bikes!) to these two streets.  Take the left street of these two and walk down till you are at a huge roundabout.  Go left, following the roundabout, while crossing a couple of streets. Take the street to your left, located between ABN AMRO and a bike parking lot. Just walk straight ahead for a while (you will be walking respectively on the Bisschop Hamerstraat; Molenstraat; and Broerstraat). When you have passed the second McDonalds, go to your right into the Burchtstraat.  After a couple of meters, you will see a very old building on your right consisting of two small stairs leading up to a single door located above the ground floor (wedding room of the town hall).  Once you have passed these stairs, you will come across an alley to your right.  This alley leads to the main entrance of the Town Hall.