Most of you will either arrive by train or plane. If you are staying near the University, then the easiest way to travel from the airport is to take a Tram (10) from outside the airport building. Follow the signs "tramway" through the terminal and the airport shopping center to find the tram stop outside of the building.
For all other locations, it is simplest to take a train to Zurich HB (the main station). The train station is in the building, with platforms underground.
In both cases you need a ticket to the city, which you can buy at a ticket counter at the airport by the train station or from machines, including at the tram stop (cash only!). Note that a one-way ticket is good until the time indicated on the ticket, on all trains, trams and buses in both the airport and city zones.
Always travel with a ticket - inspections are frequent, and not speaking German will not save you from an expensive fine. In town, the cheapest way to get around is with a Tageskarte - a 24-hour ticket valid from the time of purchase for the whole city for the next 24 hours. These cost 8.00 SFr and can be used on trains, buses, trams and even boats inside Zone 10.
Note that the airport is not in Zone 10! You can find a Zurich travel network plan at http://www.zvv.ch/export/sites/default/common-images/content-image-gallery/linien-zonen-pdfs/Stadt_Zuerich_08.pdf.
Trams are every 10 minutes or so.
Weather and things to do
The weather in Zurich is changeable. So, plan for it hopefully being warm and sunny, but possibly also being rainy and cold! Our conference dinner venue will involve some walking, whatever the weather. We recommend bringing comfortable shoes (and rain gear) for walking, as Zurich is highly walkable, weather permitting of course. Look here on the conference web site for some ideas to get you going.
Conference Registration
Registration will be open on Wednesday, Sep. 15th, from 8.30am (and on Tuesday from 8.30am for those of you attending workshops and tutorials).
To get to the conference take a tram (7,9,10 or 14) or a bus (69,72) to either the Milchbuck or Irchel tramstops and walk through the park to the University (signposted). When you reach the campus you will find signs directing you to the registration desk (at the main entrance to the University), and you can find a map here.
Conference Events and Facilities
There will be an ice breaker event on Wednesday evening (drinks and snacks) and the conference dinner will be on Thursday evening. The conference dinner will be traditional Swiss food, with a vegetarian option, in a restaurant on top of Zurich's "house mountain". Travel to the restaurant will be by public transport, and include a walk through the woods of around 10 minutes. We will travel there together. Find out more here.
IMPORTANT: If you are a vegetarian, have other dietary requirements, or will find the walk to the dinner location difficult, please make an entry in the following poll by the 9th of September (http://www.doodle.com/cdnwcc2nrktsuptn).
Conference Facilities and Refreshments
During the conference there will be two coffee breaks per day and lunch will be buffet style on site. There will be wireless access to the Internet in University buildings, through accounts which we will provide on arrival. Speakers are asked to copy their talks onto our network in advance of their sessions - further information will be provided on registration. Note that to keep to schedule and prevent technical problems, we would prefer that you used the insitu laptops for presentation. These all have Powerpoint 2007, Acrobat and internet access. You can check your slides beforehand in our speakers room.
Workshops
If you have signed up for a workshop or tutorial, you will receive detailed information about your workshop separately. Please get in touch directly with the workshop or tutorial organisers if you need any last minute information. You will be able to register on the day of the workshop.
Conference Programme
The conference programme is available at:
http://www.giscience2010.org/uploads/GIScience_Program_Draft.pdf
Please check back in regularly to get last minute updates.
If you have any questions about the conference then please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail (giscience2010@geo.uzh.ch).