Venue
Conference venue
The conference will be held at the Real Fábrica de Armas de Toledo (Royal Arms Factory) at the Technological Campus of the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Toledo. Please, refer to this map to locate the different buildings in the Campus. The Royal Arms Factory was created in 1761 by order of King Carlos III. The Royal Factory brought together all the sword-makers guilds of the city and it was located in the former mint. In 1777, recognizing the need to expand the space, Carlos III commissioned the architect Sabatini to construct a new building on the outskirts of the city. This was the beginning of several phases of expansion. Its importance was such that it eventually developed into a city within the city of Toledo. In the 20th century, the production of knives and swords for the army was reduced to cavalry weapons only, and after the Spanish Civil War, to the supply of swords to the officers and NCOs of the various military units. Following the closure of the factory in the 1980s, the building was renovated to house the Technological Campus of the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Toledo. If you are curious you may have a look at some 360° photographs of the Campus.
The Real Fábrica de Armas de Toledo (Royal Arms Factory) at the
Technological Campus of the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Toledo
The Sabatini building
Please refer to the following
interactive map
for the conference location, Hotel Beatriz (see
accommodation), other hotels and hostels (see also accommodation) and
both Toledo railway and bus stations (see more details far below in this page).
How to arrive in Toledo
The city of Toledo, capital of the province with the same name,
is one of the top tourist destinations in Spain.
Its historical quarter, the largest in our country,
has more than a hundred monuments, providing ample reason for Toledo's being named
a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987. Toledo is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula,
only 70 km from Madrid (80 km from Barajas International Airport).
Toledo doesn’t have an airport and the closest one
is Barajas International Airport in Madrid. From there, the fastest way to get to Toledo
is by high speed train, while the cheapest is by bus.
By road: From Barajas International Airport, in less than an hour, one arrives by road to Toledo
taking the M-40 (Madrid's first outer ring-road) towards A-42 (Highway Toledo). Another alternative
to the current A42 highway, providing a trip without traffic back-ups and at a low cost, is the
new Madrid-Toledo (AP-41) toll road. The route begins at the Madrid M-40 by-pass and
after running its first 14.5 km on the current R-5 radial motorway,
it connects with Toledo via 57 km of new construction. Please, refer to this
roadmap.
By train: Regular trains depart daily from Atocha railway station in
Madrid (Glorieta de Atocha; Tel.: +34 91 328 90 20) for Toledo about every two hours,
starting at 7:05 a.m. until 8:25 p.m. The trip
takes approximately one hour and a half. The new high-speed train link (the AVE train)
between Atocha railway station (Madrid) and Toledo
takes just 35 minutes to complete the journey and there are 10 trains per day.
The ticket costs around 10 euros per person, one way (tourist class, the only one available).
The schedule and details can be found at RENFE web page.
Toledo railway station address: Paseo de la Rosa s/n, Toledo; Tel.: +34 925 22 30 99.
Note on the subway: if you need to get from Barajas airport to Atocha railway station, the
metro ticket
costs about 1 euro per person, one way and the taxi costs little over 30 euros. You should board the metro either in "Aeropuerto T4" or "Aeropuerto T1-T2-T3" stations in line 8 (fucsia line). Take the metro towards "Nuevos Ministerios". There you should change to the "circular" line (grey line) towards "Cuatro Caminos" (only one stop). In "Cuatro Caminos" take line 1 (light blue line), direction "Valdecarros", down to "Atocha Renfe" the metro station where the Atocha Railway station is located. You may download the metro map of Madrid in PDF format.
By bus: Buses depart daily every 30 minutes for Toledo from the
Bus Station in Madrid (C/ Mendez Alvaro, Tel: +34 91 468 45 11 / +34 91 468 45 00), starting at 5:30 a.m until 10 p.m.
The trip takes approximately one hour fifteen minutes by Continental Auto, the company that provides the service.
Unfortunately the Continental Auto website doesn’t work if you want to find out the schedules or
to purchase tickets. The bus ticket costs around 5 euros per person, one way.
The schedule and details can be found at the
bus station web page (the website is in Spanish so follow the steps: 1. click on Horarios Nacionales;
2. Choose “Toledo” from both drop down lists;
3. Choose the date or leave “ninguna” to get the general schedule).
The station in Toledo is near the river, about three-quarters of a mile from the
centre up a steep ascent, although it is possible to take a local bus (numbers 5 or 6). Toledo bus station address:
Avenida de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo; Tel.: +34 925 21 58 50.
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