________________DIRECTIONS TO VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT________________
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
From Airport
- The most convenient, fastest and cheapest way is using the train.
From the arrival hall, follow signs to the trains. There is a ticket
counter in the station or tickets can be bought in machines. At the
counter one can also buy the 'strippenkaart' which is useful for
public transportation within Amsterdam.
There are trains leaving for three directions:
- Leiden, the Hague and Rotterdam (including the Thalys to Brussels
and Paris)
- Amsterdam Central Station
Take this train for hotels in center of Amsterdam.
- Amsterdam Zuid/WTC, Amsterdam RAI and Duivendrecht and further to
destinations like Almere/Amersfoort/Enschede/Groningen.
Take this train to go to the Vrije Universiteit (VU)
- There are shuttle busses to various hotels downtown
Within Amsterdam there is a dense net of trams, metros and busses. They all
work with a common fare-system using the 'strippenkaart' (although single
more expense tickets can be bought from driver, conductor in some trams
or vending machines in some trams or metros).
A strippenkaart can be bought from a tabacconist, in a post office, at
railway stations (including the Airport) or at the GVB office in front
of Central Station. They cost about 7 Euro for 15 stripes. You stamp
them yourself, selecting the number you need, which is one + the number
of zones you travel. Most common is one zone (two stripes) for travel
within center of Amsterdam, two zones (three stripes) for travelling
from the center to the Vrije Universiteit or back. To validate two stripes
on the strippenkaart, leave one stripe blank and stamp the second
one in a machine before entering the platform for metros or within
the trams, to validate three leave two blank, stamp the next, etc.
How to reach the Vrije Universiteit
-
From the airport
See the general directions above and take the train to Amsterdam Zuid/WTC.
This train runs about every 10-15 minutes. From the station you can
walk (about 10 minutes) or take tram 5/51 in direction Amstelveen.
- Walking from Amsterdam Zuid/WTC
Leave the platform on the open end (directions VU/Parnassusweg), go down
the stairs and turn left (this is the Buitenveldertselaan; note that work
is going on, so you may have to make a small detour). After
passing a gas station you are at the crossing with the Boelelaan.
Continue along the Buitenveldertselaan till the end of the
tramstop (VU/Boelelaan). Turn right onto the VU Campus, follow the
bike/foothpath rounding a pond, turn left towards entrance '1081'.
This is the Physics Building with corridors labeled
by letters. The secretariat of Theoretical Physics is in Rm T2.24
(second floor, corridor T). Rm KC137 can be reached from this entrance
or one of the entrances further down the building, 1083 or 1085.
-
Coming from downtown
Take tram 5 in direction Amstelveen (running from Central Station via
Leidseplein, Rijksmuseum, Station Amsterdam Zuid/WTC to VU and Amstelveen)
or the metro 51 in direction Poortwachter (running from Central Station
to Station Amstel underground and then aboveground via Stations RAI and
Zuid/WTC to the VU and Amstelveen). For both trams the stop is
VU/Boelelaan (next after Zuid/WTC). The fare from downtown is three
stripes on the strippenkaart
-
Coming from direction Germany/Utrecht by train
Buy a ticket to Amsterdam Zuid/WTC and change trains in Duivendrecht
(also the EC-trains from Koeln to Amsterdam stop here). From Zuid/WTC
take tram 5/51 to Amstelveen or walk (see above).
-
Coming from direction the Hague/Rotterdam/Brussels/Paris by train
After possibly switching trains in Schiphol (e.g. if travelling by
Thalys from Brussels), take train to Amsterdam Zuid/WTC and from
there take tram 5/51 to Amstelveen or walk (see above)
-
Coming from direction the Amersfoort/Groningen/Enschede/Berlin by train
If your train is scheduled for Central Station, switch trains in
Amersfoort and continue to Amsterdam Zuid/WTC and from there take
tram 5/51 to Amstelveen or walk (see above)
OTHER USEFUL SITES
P.J. Mulders / mulders@nat.vu.nl