COSMO'23
Transportation
The workshop will be located at the Institute of Theoretical Physics (IFT, UAM-CSIC) at the Cantoblanco Campus of the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 20km north of Madrid city centre. Note, however, that there are not restaurants opened at night in campus. Madrid is a safe city to move around in public transportation.
How to get to Madrid
By plane (most viable if not coming from Spain)
Airport
Madrid has one single airport, Madrid-Barajas (MAD), with numerous destinations around the world, and it is among the largest airports in Europe. It has 4 terminals, with T1, T2 and T3 very close one to another and the modern T4 slightly separated. There is a free bus that connects the different terminals.
Airport to the City
Taxi. There is flat-rate of 30€ from the airport to the city center (or back): this is inside the M-30 road (e.g. Atocha, Sol, Nuevos Ministerios, Chamartín), which does not include the UAM campus.
Metro. Excluding taxi, this is probably the easiest, most versatile and frequent. All terminals are connected to the metro line 8, connected to the wider metro network. This connects to the Nuevos Ministerios transportation hub, from where one can easily (but not directly given the ongoing construction work) reach UAM campus and to metro lines L10 and L6. A single ticket is 5€.
Cercanías Train. Only connected to Terminal 4. Low frequency, but fast moving. Two stops minimum are necessary to get to the UAM campus given the construction work during for the conference week.
Bus. There is a 24h bus to the airport from the city center (Atocha). Single ticket is 5€.
Airport to the UAM campus
Taxi. This will only be 15min, but the flat-rate does not apply here.
Bus. Check the timetables and the trajectory for bus 827 and 828.
Cercanías Train. The C-4 train line connects Nuevos Ministerios to UAM. From the Airport you can get to Nuevos Ministerios using the train (C1, C10 from Terminal for) or the metro (L8, from all terminals).
By Train
If you are travelling from elsewhere in mainland Spain, there are many connections with high-speed and conventional trains.
For example, you can connect with Barcelona in 2.5h. Most trains are operated by Renfe, the national trainline company. But, recently, other low cost companies started operating some of the main lines (avlo, ouigo).
UAM campus
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More details (and one example) on how to get to campus from the Atocha Station (the closest one to the Mediodia Hotel):
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Reaching Cantoblanco (i.e. the UAM campus where Cosmo 2023 will take place).
This info is being written in the knowledge that most people will be staying at the Mediodia hotel.
The best place to take the train if you are staying at the Mediodia Hotel is the Atocha Cercanías station. The “Cercanías” train system is part of the national rail company Renfe, independent of the Metro and Bus system of the city of Madrid.
The most convenient Cercanías stop where to get off in order to reach the IFT is called “Cantoblanco Universidad” (from there, the IFT is reached after a 20 min’s pleasant walk through the wooded campus). This stop is both on the lines C4a (direction “Alcobendas / San Sebastián de los Reyes”) and C4b (direction “Colmenar Viejo”).
Due to construction work, trains of the C4a&b lines can only be caught at the train station Chamartín, which is somewhat central but still rather north of the city centre (e.g. Sol). Unless your hotel is within walking distance from Chamartín, you will likely be traveling there from the city centre, meaning that you will need to use public transport to first reach Chamartín. This can be done with the same Cercanías system, via lines C1, C2, C7 and C10 from the train station Atocha or the station “Nuevos Ministerios” (the latter can be reached e.g. by Cercanías line C4 from “Sol”), or other stations. You can also reach Chamartín via the city Metro network, but then you will need a different ticket as the companies managing Cercanías and Metro are different.
On the way back, you should take the first train at “Cantoblanco Universidad” towards Chamartín station. Once there, you should either use the Metro or look for Cercanías trains towards Atocha. If Atocha is your destination you can simply get off there. If your destination is Sol you should get off before that, specifically at the Nuevos Ministerios station where you can catch the C4 for Sol.
Careful! On your way to campus Google Maps may suggest you get off at an alternative Cercanías station near the “Cantoblanco Universidad” one, which is called “Universidad Pontificia Comillas”. We recommend AGAINST using this last station as it will require you to go over the highway via a bridge and then cross hills through a tough trail to reach the IFT.
One Example of how to reach the IFT from the Mediodia Hotel in the morning:
8:25AM Mediodía Hotel Pl. del Emperador Carlos V, 8, 28012 Madrid. Walk About 10 min, 650m, to Estación Madrid - Puerta de Atocha
8:35AM Estación Madrid - Puerta de Atocha, Take the C10 Train towards Aeropuerto T4 for 15 min (3 stops)
8:50AM Get off at Madrid-Chamartín-Clara Campoamor station
8:56AM From Madrid-Chamartín-Clara Campoamor take the C4a Train towards Alcob.sseb for 10 min (2 stops)
9:06AM Get off at Estación de tren Universidad CantoBlanco 28049 Madrid. From there walk to the IFT (Calle Nicolas Cabrera 13, 28049).
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A map of the UAM Campus can be found below.
The Instituto de Física Teórica, is the number 41 on the map. The 15 minutes walking route from the train station is indicated with a red line.
The bus to Plaza Castilla stops near the (P) sign next to 36.
Around the City
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Metro
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Madrid has an extensive and convenient metro system (see map) connecting most places in town including the Airport. But it does not reach the UAM campus. You need to purchase a metro transportation card (2.5€), unfortunately, not valid for the cercanías train. You can top this up with single tickets (1.5€-2€), 10x tickets (12.20€), airport ticket (5€) or airport supplement (3€). More information here. The prices might vary (in fact much lower) due to the recent financial support measures by the government.
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Cercanías Renfe
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Local trains, running regularly within the province of Madrid (see map). Tickets can be bought at stations either from a machine (accepting cash, including notes, bank and credit cards) or from a ticket office. There is a zone system, most of the center is in zone A, the university in B1, the third zone. If staying at the city, a 3-zone 10-Journey ticket is reccomended. Single tickets (for 3 zones) are €1,85 and 10 trip cards €13,70, see here.
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Taxis:
Taxi's are numerous and for European standards, reasonably priced.
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Buses:
There are two type of buses, the local ones of the EMT (red or blue) and the Interurbanos (green). For the EMT buses you can use the same ticket as the metro. The interurbanos use separate tickets, which can be bought on the bus. Most bus drivers don't like notes bigger than €5.
© 2012-2013 Institute for Theoretical Physics UAM - CSIC
