AILA 2008—two venues, one line and one ticket.
The AILA 2008 conference will help you to discover the South of Essen as well as the center. The venues are located right next to Essen's biggest park (the Gruga) and next to the city center and are linked by one underground line, the U11.
The University of Duisburg-Essen is the result of the recent merger of the universities of the two neighbouring cities: Duisburg and Essen. AILA will only take place on the campus Essen (Buildings T03, S03, S04, S05, S07, R09, R11, R12) and in the Congress Center Essen.
The second spot you will discover during your stay at AILA 2008 is the Congress Center Essen, CCE or Messe Essen. Situated in the South of Essen it neighbours Essen's biggest park, the Gruga - a wonderful place to be especially on warm summer evenings.
It is easy to get from the University Essen to the Congress Center Essen/Messe Essen: The Underground U11 links both venues within few stops. The AILA Conference ticket will include the ticket for public transport within Essen (and also within most of the neighbouring cities)—hence you can just sit back and enjoy the rides.
A map providing details on public transport can be downloaded here.
Using public transport in Germany is easy especially since you do not have to buy your ticket when travelling within Essen and the Ruhr Region. Within Essen the extensive net of public transport services covers undergrounds, trams and buses. Trams and undergrounds run usually every ten minutes—less in the evenings—buses run less frequentely. Timetables are located at every stop. People are not used to queuing, for trams and the underground you just get onto the vehicle, buses usually have the entry at the front. Please remember to always have your ticket on you—in case of being checked by a ticket inspector and not having your ticket on you you will have to pay 40€.
You will recognize the German public transport by the follwing icons:
sign for bus and tram stops
sign for underground stops
logo Essen's public transportation service
Maps and plans providing detailed information on the Congress Center Essen and further details on the Underground U11 will be made available as soon as possible.