Bucharest 2024 Minischool

"Mathematical methods in Gravitation and Cosmology"

 November 13-17, 2024, Bucharest-Magurele

Practical information for those who come by plane

Getting from the Henri Coanda International Airport to the Accommodation location - google maps.

Although you can pay by card almost anywhere, you may also want to take some cash from the ATMs in the arrivals hall. 190 RON might be enough to have with you. In case you need more, there are also some ATMs in Magurele (40 EUR).

1. How to get to Union Square ("Piata Unirii"), the Center of Bucharest.

Participants arriving at the Henri Coanda International Aiport (a.k.a. Otopeni Airport), after existing the gate and entering the arrivals hall, should take the escalator one floor down to reach the airport bus stop, where they can take bus 100 (formerly called 783) to Union Square. Bus tickets can be bought at the ticket vending machine or at the ticket counter in the airport bus stop, but it may be easier to pay for the trip using your credit card at the wireless card reading machines installed in the bus. They will not issue a ticket, but will confirm that the trip fee has been paid. You can find more information here.

Participants arriving at the Aurel Vlaicu International Aiport (a.k.a. Baneasa Airport) can take any of the following buses to Union Square: 100, 205, 605.

Participants arriving at Bucharest's North Railway Station ("Gara de Nord") can take the subway to Union Square. Subway tickets can be bought inside each subway station, at the ticket vending machines or at the counter.

2. How to get from Union Square to the IFA building in Magurele, wherefrom the school accommodation is within walking distance.

The most convenient way is to take an Uber from Union Square to the IFA building.
Another method, more time consuming but much cheaper, is to continue with public transportation: take Tram 32 from Union Square to Antiaeriana station, wherefrom you can walk 5 min. to the bus station on Soseaua Bucuresti-Magurele. There, you have the following choice of buses to the town of Magurele: 426, 427, 428, 464. These buses stop across the IFA building, wherefrom the school accommodation is within walking distance.

In Bucharest for public transportation by tram and (trolley-)bus you can pay the fare by sending an SMS to 7458 with the text C (price 0.62 EUR per SMS). The trip will be covered for 90 min even if it means changing multiple lines during this time.

The most convenient means of public transport in Bucharest is the subway (here is a  subway map). Currently, there is no subway line from the airport to the city center, but there is a surface train line from Henri Coanda Airport to North Railway Station. More information about public transport in Bucharest can be found here. First time visitors to Bucharest may be interested in some of the city's landmarks.

The local currency is the Romanian leu, abbreviated "RON" (1€=5 RON).

Most people under 50 in Bucharest speak English; a compendium of useful Romanian phrases can be found here.