How to get there

1) Coming by Air

Once arrived at Brussels airport, you can easily reach Ghent (‘Gent’ in Dutch) by train. The train station is located at the lowest floor of the airport building. Each hour, there are both trains that stop at the train station ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ as an intermediate or final destination (until 22:07h), as well as trains that go to the train station ‘Brussel-Noord/Bruxelles-Nord’, where there are direct connections to ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’.If you’re flying on Charleroi airport, take one of the (blue) shuttle buses that depart just outside the airport terminal every 30 minutes. The shuttle brings you to the train station ‘Brussels South’ (‘Bruxelles- Midi in French) in approximately one hour. Tickets for the bus can be bought online,  or at the vending machines located at the bus stop. From ‘Brussels South’ there are up to five trains every hour with ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ as an intermediate of final destination. A cheaper alternative for the shuttle bus is to make use of public transport.

For more information on the timetables of the trains, consult the route planner of the Belgian Railway Company.

2) Coming by Train

Most international trains (including both the Thalys and the Eurostar) arrive at the train station ‘Brussel-Zuid/Bruxelles-Midi’. Each hour, there are several trains that pass this station and stop at ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ as an intermediate destination (until 00:29h). Indifferent of which of these trains you take, the trip takes about 35 minutes. For more information, consult the route planner of the Belgian Railway Company. On how to get from ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ to TIL2014 and the CLW, see section 4.

3) Coming by Bus

Eurolines offers a direct bus connection to the train station ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ from nearly every big town in every European country. Moreover, in those cases where they do not offer a direct connection, they most probably do offer a direct connection to Brussels, more specifically to the train station ‘Brussel-Noord/Bruxelles-Nord’. From there, simply take a train to the train station ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’. Each hour, there are several trains that stop at ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ as an intermediate destination (until 00:20h). Indifferent of which train you take, the trip takes about 45 minutes. For more information, consult the route planner of the Belgian Railway Company. On how to get from ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ to TIL2014 and the CLW, see section 4.

4) From ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’ to SWAMPLANDIA

Once arrived in station ‘Gent-Sint-Pieters’, the easiest way to get to Swamplandia2016 is to take a taxi in front of the station. The Swamplandia conference will take place in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Ghent University. The address of the faculty is Blandijnberg 2. This information should be enough for the taxi driver to bring you there.Another possibility is to take tram 1 towards the city centre. In this case, after leaving the main entrance of the station (on the right if you look in the direction the train was going), go to the left. There, you can take tram 1 (destination ‘Wondelgem/Evergem’) towards the centre of the city (every 6 minutes). Get off at the fourth stop (the stop is called ‘Verlorenkost’). Normally, each stop is displayed electronically in the tram.

The whole trip takes about 10 minutes. When leaving the tram, turn right at the first corner (at which there is a sandwhich bar) and simply follow the street ‘Sint Kwintensberg’ on your right (between the coffee-bar ‘Illy’ and the sandwich bar on the corner). This street goes up a hill called the ‘Blandijnberg’. The building of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is located on the top of the hill, on your left (the nearest entrance to the building of the faculty is next to the university flag poles).

Because of public works in the city center of Gent, the tram route could change. We advise you to consult this information regularly.

Tram1

 

5) Coming by Car

The most important highways that bring you to the city of Ghent are the E17 and the E40, which intersect near the city.

Highway E17

  • When coming from The Netherlands or Germany: go via ‘Antwerpen’, then follow the direction ‘Gent’, and later on ‘Gent Centrum (B401)’.
  • When coming from France: go via ‘Kortrijk’, then follow the direction ‘Gent’, and later on ‘Gent Centrum (B401)’.

Highway E40

  • When coming from The Netherlands or France: go via ‘Oostende’, follow the direction ‘Gent-Antwerpen’ (E17), then follow the direction ‘Gent’, and, finally, follow the direction ‘Gent Centrum (B401)’.
  • When coming from France or Germany: go via ‘Brussel’, next, follow the direction ‘Gent-Antwerpen’ (E17), then follow the direction ‘Gent’, and, finally, follow the direction ‘Gent Centrum (B401)’.

In both cases, the elevated highway (B401) will take you directly to the centre of Ghent. When you are about to drive over the river Schelde, follow the direction `Alle richtingen’. When the highway reaches ground level, turn left at the first traffic lights (under the bridge). Next, go right at the second traffic lights and then straight on. After passing a roundabout, a large square becomes visible on your right. It is called the ‘Sint-Pietersplein’ and under it you can find a large parking lot where you can park your car. When leaving the parking lot, you will see a large tower (called the ‘Boekentoren’) a bit further down the road. Walk towards it following the road, and enter the street in front of you called the ‘Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat’. Next, take the first left. The large building now on your right is the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Ghent University (in Dutch: ‘Faculteit Letteren en Wijsbegeerte’), where Swamplandia takes place.