Traveling to Vienna
From and To the Vienna International Airport
The Vienna International Airport (VIE) in Schwechat (about 20 km away from Vienna) is the most convenient airport for a trip to Vienna from most parts in the world.Train lines S7 and S2 connect the city center with the airport. You need a single ticket for two zones (or two single tickets validated together, € 3.60) between the airport and any place in the city - see information about public transport in Vienna. To go to the Austrian Academy of Sciences you have to change at Wien Mitte (which is the same station as Landstraße) to the underground line U3 (direction Ottakring) until Stubentor or Stephansplatz (some minutes longer to walk, but possibly more impressive).
The City Airport Train (CAT) is a more comfortable line connecting the airport with Wien Mitte/Landstraße (€ 9 when booked online). You need an extra ticket for public transport within Vienna, or you can take a taxi. There are combined fares CAT+CAB for the City Airport Train together with a taxi within the city (up to 4 people for € 24 or € 28 depending on the destination in Vienna).
A taxi fare directly from Vienna International Airport to Vienna is about € 30 or more depending on the destination and quality of service.
Furthermore, there are bus services to and from several places in the city (€ 6). Schwedenplatz is the destination closest to the conference location.
From and To the Airport Bratislava
The Airport Bratislava (BTS) in Slovakia is only about 60 km away from Vienna. Several cheaper airlines prefer the Airport Bratislava over the Vienna International Airport. Some of them also offer tickets that include the transfer from Bratislava to Vienna.There is a bus service from Airport Bratislava to Südtirolerplatz in Vienna (€ 7.70 one way, € 14.30 return ticket, 105 to 115 minutes). To go from Südtirolerplatz to the conference location you can take the underground line U1 (direction Leopoldau) to Stephansplatz or Schwedenplatz. Another bus service is from Airport Bratislava to Erdberg in Vienna where you can use the underground line U3 to Stubentor.
There are also trains and a fast river boat on the Danube (Twin City Liner) from Bratislava to Vienna. However, you have to organize the transfer from Airport Bratislava to Bratislava by yourself.Train Connections
Train connections are in general quite good. However, the Südbahnhof that was one of the most important railway stations in Vienna does no longer exist and will be replaced by the Hauptbahnhof in 2012. During this large-scale construction work trains coming from the east will end in a temporary Ostbahnhof and intercity trains from the south in Wien Meidling. Most regional connections are only insignificantly affected. All provisional stations have good connections to other means of transport, but the usual quality of service cannot be ensured.Driving by Car
In Vienna there is no specific ban on driving to the city center (except of pedestrian zones). However, long-term parking in the city center is almost impossible. The entire area is short-term parking zone. You must fill in a prepaid parking voucher (Parkschein) for a maximum duration of 90 minutes, but you will still hardly find a free parking lot. Usually there are free places in parking garages even in the city center, but long-term parking can be very expensive. It is much cheaper and even more convenient to use Park & Ride facilities in the outer districts of Vienna.
