Conference Venue

EAS 2020 will be held in Leiden, the Netherlands at the Event & Convention Center (ECC Leiden), Haagse Schouwweg 10, 2332 KG Leiden, The Netherlands.

Due to Holiday Inn Leiden, a four-star hotel, situated in the same building as ECC Leiden, they boast 14 meeting rooms (with A/C), but also 200 hotel rooms, a spacious restaurant, a comfortable bar and leisure facilities (fitness, sauna and swimming pool).

The city of Leiden is the perfect destination for a conference. The city is situated at the shortest distance from Schiphol International Airport and is easily accessible by plane, train or car and offers an pittoresque old town with canals, courtyard communities and city windmills. Leiden is situated close to the Bollenstreek flower fields (Keukenhof) and the North Sea beach, houses the oldest university in the Netherlands and has a strong tradition in leading academic research and discussion.

Getting to Leiden?

Travel

We encourage all European participants to consider traveling by train to EAS 2020 in Leiden. A train ride to Leiden takes less than 8 hours from almost all cities in the UK, France and Germany. This time can be used very productively and 1st class tickets are often not more expensive than the equivalent plane ticket, if booked early. For a quick overview of train connection times, please see below a map which we specifically created for train travel to Leiden. It also includes some more distant train travels and night train options, e.g. from Austria, Italy, Slowenia, the Czech republic, and Hungary. Trainline.com has a good overview of ticket options and allows to book international trains easily.

Please have a look at the map of the fastest train connection for a number of cities within Europe:

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Carbon offset

Schiphol airport (AMS) is well connected to many major cities of the world by direct flights. If you do need to take an airplane to EAS 2020, please consider to offset the carbon emissions from your trip. Carbon offsetting is the way for you to take full responsibility for your residual carbon emissions.

To offset follow this link and use the following code: R05, so that we can track all contributions to this offsetting campaign; we will report on it.

For more information please see the sustainability page.

How to reach the venue ?
By train
  • Amsterdam/Rotterdam to Leiden: approx. 35/40 minutes
  • The Hague to Leiden: approx. 20 minutes

    • For travel recommendations and information, please visit 9292ov.nl.

    By public transportation from Leiden Central Station

    EAS would like to request that participants take advantage of the city's public transport system to travel to/from the venue.

    Think about OV chipkaart public transport card OV chipkaart is a ready-to-use travel card that provides seamless access to all public transport in The Netherlands: train, metro, bus, tram and even. It is the only pay-as-you-go public transport card with nationwide coverage.

    Click here for more information.

    You can also have additional information on the OV chipkaart website.

    By road

    ECC Leiden offers 400 parking spots located on the private parking lot of ECC Leiden and Holiday Inn Leiden. There you'll find 6 charging points for electrical cars as well. Please download the directions.

    Visa information

    Do you need a visa to stay in the Netherlands?

    Foreign nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland are exempt from the visa requirement. For some nationalities outside the EU there is no visa requirement either. Full details can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken). Click here for the list of countries whose nationals require a visa (visumplichtige landen) for a stay of up to 90 days.

    Schengen area visa

    A Schengen visa allows a foreign national to stay and travel in the Schengen area for up to three months within a six month period. If you have a Schengen visa for the Netherlands, you will also be permitted to travel in the other countries belonging to the Schengen area. A handy short-stay calculator (and a user's guide for it), which can be used to calculate the period of allowed stay, can be found on this page.

    Where to apply for a visa ?

    Foreign nationals need to apply for Schengen visas at the Dutch embassy or consulate in their country of origin. Click here for a list of Dutch missions that issue short stay visas. A visa is a sticker issued by the embassy or consulate which is pasted into your passport.

    Where can I find my invitation letter?

    EAS's team is happy to issue an official letter of invitation to registered EAS attendees who must obtain a visa for travel to The Netherlands. Please note this letter does not constitute any financial commitment on the part of the conference. During the registration process for EAS you will be asked if a visa is needed for your country and a visa letter will be sent to you later on only by e-mail.

    European Astronomical Society