Venue
The University of Namur, founded in 1831 by the Jesuits, is located in the heart of Namur, within easy walking distance of the train station. Namur is the capital of Wallonia (the French-speaking part of Belgium), and sits at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers, where it is dominated by the historic citadel built by Vauban. Read more about the University of Namur online.
We will be using rooms in the Pedro Arrupe buildings accessed via Rue de Bruxelles 65 - 67. From the train station, this is about a ten minute walk via Rue Godefroid straight in front of the station building, and a right turn at its end onto rue de Bruxelles. From the car park at Rue Henri Lemaitre, it's a less than 15 minute walk. At the Rue de Bruxelles 65 - 67 entrance, signposting will be in place.
Travel
If travelling from abroad...
International delegates arriving at Bruxelles-Midi train station (via Eurostar, ICE, EuroCity (Direct), or other connections) can take a direct train from Bruxelles-Midi to Namur (journey time typically between 1h10min and 1h14min).
Anyone arriving by plane is likely to arrive at Brussels National Airport, which has a train station on level -1. There are direct train connections (1h11min journey time) to Namur once per hour from 6:17 am until 9:17 pm [see P.S. 1 below]; there are also other connections involving a change at Bruxelles-Nord train station, from where there is then a direct train to Namur (total journey time around 1h20min). On the ticket machines, website or app, use 'Brussels Airport' and 'Namur' as station names.
Regional airports, with less convenient local travel connections, include Charleroi Airport (optimistically referred to as "Bruxelles South") and Liège Airport. From both, you can get a bus to the train station, and onward trains to Namur (some more info is available here).
P.S. 1: Due to planned maintenance in the airport's train tunnel, the direct connections from Brussels Airport to Namur will not run from 15 November until 9 December, so if you arrive before or on that day, your route will necessarily involve a change at Bruxelles-Nord.
P.S. 2: From 12 October, the EU is gradually starting to roll out its new Entry/Exit System (EES) for registering non-EU nationals at the borders, so some new forms of checks might take place at the border.
If travelling within Belgium...
To look up train timetables and itineraries, check the Belgian Railways website, where you can also buy tickets, or use the SNCB app, available for Android and iPhone devices.
Should you be travelling by car, Namur is at the crossroads of the E411 (Brussels-Luxembourg) and E42 (Liège-Mons) motorways. The UNamur visitor car park is located on rue Henri Lemaître (for more details, please see the relevant section on here) and is accessible by means of an access token (which you can request via the Registration form).
Accommodation
Good options that are within easy walking distance, and which the organizers have positive experiences with, include the ones listed below (in alphabetical order). Many other options are, of course, available: for inspiration, see the Visit Namur website. (Please note: we were made aware phishing emails have been doing the rounds, sent on behalf of "Global Travel Team". These are scamming attempts. Please ignore these emails.)
Local recommendations
If you have a little time to spend in Namur, and/or are looking for dinner or lunch spots, do take a look at our list of local recommendations (lunch, brunch, dinner, sugary treats, drinks, museums and cultural attractions)!
Staying on?
Belgium boasts a number of historical cities well worth visiting aside from Namur including, but not limited to, Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Dinant, Ghent, Leuven, Liège, Mechelen, Ypres. A useful starting point for explorations might be the WikiTravel section on Belgian cities. Given Belgium's complex federal structure, there are several official tourism websites you can turn to for further inspiration: Visit Wallonia, Visit Flanders, and Visit Brussels. Thanks to its central location, Belgium is an ideal hub from which to explore other cities and regions in Europe. For high-speed international rail connections from Brussels to all of our neighbouring countries, see the B-Europe website; for travel help and inspiration for departures from Brussels, see also the Man in Seat 61 website.
