Venue
POLITECNICO DI TORINO
The conference will take place at the Politecnico di Torino and, except when stated differently, all the activities will be organised in the Castello del Valentino (see map below).
Politecnico di Torino is known both in Italy and worldwide as a leading institution to study technical sciences (engineering, architecture, design, planning) and to seek the contribution of human sciences as well. Politecnico has around 32.000 students, 50% from outside the region and 15% from abroad, the highest percentage among Italian universities. Politecnico di Torino is a research university, where education and research are combined to meet the needs of both the local area, a global competitive scenario and, most importantly, the students' expectations.
The conference will take place at the Politecnico di Torino and, except when stated differently, all the activities will be organised in the Castello del Valentino (see map below).
Politecnico di Torino is known both in Italy and worldwide as a leading institution to study technical sciences (engineering, architecture, design, planning) and to seek the contribution of human sciences as well. Politecnico has around 32.000 students, 50% from outside the region and 15% from abroad, the highest percentage among Italian universities. Politecnico di Torino is a research university, where education and research are combined to meet the needs of both the local area, a global competitive scenario and, most importantly, the students' expectations.
TORINO*.
Don't expect the typical Italian city. Torino has often, whether correctly or not is up to you to say, been compared to Paris and French cities in general. You will find tree-lined boulevards, stately art nouveau cafes, a baroque galore and architectural whims that won't look out of place in a XVIII or XIX century Las Vegas.
Torino may be still known for the FIAT car factory (yes, the owner of the Chrysler Group) and as the Italian Detroit, or the Italian one company town, but that past has gone and the city has tried to come out of a deep economic and social crisis. Today brands like Eataly, Grom, Lavazza mark the renaissance of the city in the international scenario and we can assure that food lovers won't be disappointed here (hey, even Nutella is a Piedmontese invention and don't forget our wines!).
Together with food, you may choose among its unique cultural offer: one of the biggest Egyptian art collections outside of Egypt, Leonardo da Vinci's self- portrait, public and private modern art galleries, the Polo Reale (3 Kms of exhibitions within 5 museums in the same area), 5 UNESCO Heritage royal palaces within the urban areas (and one of them is the venue of the conference), the car museum, ...
Of course there are also some of the nicest urban parks and 4 rivers, but we don't want to spoil the surprises you will find here. We strongly suggest, though, to consider planning a longer stay in Torino and surrounding areas (the wine hills of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato are close to the city, as the Alps that make one of the most beautiful background for the city skyline) for a bit of tourism while you are here for the conference.
* this is an enthusiastically non-scientific mini-guide to the city.
TRAVEL TO AND FROM TORINO
TRAVEL WITHIN THE CITY
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is not included in the conference registration fee and delegates are responsible for making their own arrangements. The conference organising committee cannot recommend or book accommodation for delegates. A large range of hostels, bed & breakfasts, self catering apartments, university rooms and hotels are within a 10 or 20 minutes walk from the main venue (the Castello del Valentino), so we recommend to search for accommodation in the San Salvario neighbourhood, in the city centre, in the Porta Nuova area or along the Metro line.
Hotel booking websites such as: booking.com, tripadvisor.com, trivago.com, hotels.com, etc. will allow you to search for accommodation by area and price range.
We also recommend websites as airbnb.com and the like, to have more accommodation opportunities.
Accommodation nearby includes:
2 stars
3 stars
4 stars
Hostels
Don't expect the typical Italian city. Torino has often, whether correctly or not is up to you to say, been compared to Paris and French cities in general. You will find tree-lined boulevards, stately art nouveau cafes, a baroque galore and architectural whims that won't look out of place in a XVIII or XIX century Las Vegas.
Torino may be still known for the FIAT car factory (yes, the owner of the Chrysler Group) and as the Italian Detroit, or the Italian one company town, but that past has gone and the city has tried to come out of a deep economic and social crisis. Today brands like Eataly, Grom, Lavazza mark the renaissance of the city in the international scenario and we can assure that food lovers won't be disappointed here (hey, even Nutella is a Piedmontese invention and don't forget our wines!).
Together with food, you may choose among its unique cultural offer: one of the biggest Egyptian art collections outside of Egypt, Leonardo da Vinci's self- portrait, public and private modern art galleries, the Polo Reale (3 Kms of exhibitions within 5 museums in the same area), 5 UNESCO Heritage royal palaces within the urban areas (and one of them is the venue of the conference), the car museum, ...
Of course there are also some of the nicest urban parks and 4 rivers, but we don't want to spoil the surprises you will find here. We strongly suggest, though, to consider planning a longer stay in Torino and surrounding areas (the wine hills of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato are close to the city, as the Alps that make one of the most beautiful background for the city skyline) for a bit of tourism while you are here for the conference.
* this is an enthusiastically non-scientific mini-guide to the city.
TRAVEL TO AND FROM TORINO
- There are several ways to reach Torino, including:
- High-speed trains (45 to 50 mins from Milano) and regular trains also: trenitalia.com, italotreno.it, sncf.com. Torino has two main stations, both connected by the metro line
- Torino international airport: aeroportoditorino.it/en
- Milano International airports: milanomalpensa-airport.com/en, milanolinate-airport.com/en, orioaeroporto.it/en/
- All airports are connected to Torino city centre by a bus service operated by SADEM: sadem.it/en/home.aspx
TRAVEL WITHIN THE CITY
- Buses, tram lines, metro: gtt.to.it/cms/en
- Taxi: dial +39.011.5750 or +39.011.5737
- Bike: Torino has a bike-sharing system but ... the website is only available in Italian: tobike.it. Plenty of information in English available here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ToBike
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is not included in the conference registration fee and delegates are responsible for making their own arrangements. The conference organising committee cannot recommend or book accommodation for delegates. A large range of hostels, bed & breakfasts, self catering apartments, university rooms and hotels are within a 10 or 20 minutes walk from the main venue (the Castello del Valentino), so we recommend to search for accommodation in the San Salvario neighbourhood, in the city centre, in the Porta Nuova area or along the Metro line.
Hotel booking websites such as: booking.com, tripadvisor.com, trivago.com, hotels.com, etc. will allow you to search for accommodation by area and price range.
We also recommend websites as airbnb.com and the like, to have more accommodation opportunities.
Accommodation nearby includes:
2 stars
- Hotel Bologna (website only in Italian, you may book via Google; close to Porta Nuova and the city centre)
3 stars
- Hotel Genova (close to Porta Nuova and the city centre)
- Hotel Genio (close to Porta Nuova and the city centre)
- Hotel Crimea (on the other side of the Po river but at walking distance from the Castello del Valentino)
- Hotel Gran Mogol (in the city centre)
- Hotel Piemontese (in San Salvario, 10 min from the Castello del Valentino)
4 stars
- Hotel Majestic (in the city centre)
- Hotel Concord (in the city centre)
Hostels
- Tomato (in the San Salvario area, quite a good position in a mixed area where nightlife)
- Ostello di Torino (not close to the city centre and the venue but in a post-olympic redevelopment area)
- Bamboo eco hostel (in an area where there is now an ongoing regeneration project, close to the city centre)
- Open 011 (their website seems to be only in Italian. You can write to: info@open011.it)
