Heraklion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete. It is the fourth largest city in Greece. According to the results of the 2011 census, the population of the city proper was 140,730 inhabitants, the municipality’s was 173,993 while the Heraklion urban area has a population of 225,574 and it extends over an area of 684.3 km² (264.2 sq mi). Heraklion is the capital of Heraklion regional unit. (source: wikipedia)

You can find more information about the city of Heraklion on the Municipality of Heraklion’s website and other sources on the internet.

How to get to Heraklion:

• By boat: There are daily ferry connections from Piraeus. The ships travel during the night and arrive at dawn.
• By air: There are frequent flights from Athens, and less frequent from Thessaloniki and other cities, depending on the season. Heraklion airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” is located at the edge of the city, in the area of Nea Alikarnassos. There is a bus going directly to the city center every 5-10 minutes that takes about 10 minutes to reach the center.
• By bus: Whether you are coming from another part of Crete or from northern Greece, there are buses (from 2 companies: KTEL Heraklio-Lasithi and KTEL Chania-Rethymno) coming to Heraklion. From northern Greece there are buses from Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Patras, with intermediate stops, which lead to Piraeus and include transfer with a ferry.
• By car: From Crete via the North National Road (E75) or the E.O. (national road) Irakliou-Faistou or regional roads.

Transportation inside the city is served by Iraklio Urban Buses or by car / taxi. IUB has live online information about stops as well as applications for many types of smartphones that you can consult.

Tickets for IUB can be purchased from the special machines that are available at various bus stops or from kiosks near the stops.

FOSSCOMM 2018 will be held at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Crete, at the University campus of Voutes, Heraklion. You can find photos, maps and contact information on the department’s website.

During the conference, there will be signs as well as volunteers at various points of the campus in order to guide you to the conference hall and help you.

Please note that the campus is located far from the city and there are no nearby shops except for the school’s canteen, that will be open that weekend.

How to come to the university:

• You can take bus line 8 or 11 from the city center. The route is about 20 minutes. In order to get to the university you will need to buy a ticket for the B zone (the cost of the regular ticket is 1.70 euros). You are also advised to buy a return ticket from the city center to avoid possible inconvenience on the way back.
• If you are coming by car, from the city center or from the North National Road of Crete (E75), follow the signs towards Mires / Tympaki so as to get to the E.O. Irakliou-Faistou and then follow the signs towards University and FORTH.

To facilitate your stay, we have contacted several hotels in Heraklion to let them know about FOSSCOMM. Below you can find a list with the special offers that they are making for FOSSCOMM participants. In order to book them, you should contact the hotels by phone or e-mail and inform them that you are joining FOSSCOMM 2018.

In addition, you are welcome to join FOSSCOMM’s matrix chat room, #fosscomm2018:matrix.org and contact other participants to arrange potential room sharing, hosting by locals, etc…

• Iraklion Hotel
  • Double room 55 € per night with breakfast included
  • Single room 40 € per night with breakfast included
  • (the prices do not include the stay tax of 0,50€ / room / night)
  • E-mail: info@iraklionhotel.gr | Telephone : +30 2810 281881
• Lato Boutique Hotel:
  • Superior Single room with city view 62,00€ per night with breakfast included
  • Superior Double room with city view 72,00€ per night with breakfast included
  • Superior Single / Double room with sea view 80,00€ per night with breakfast included
  • (the prices do not include the stay tax of 1,50€ / room / night)
  • Valid for 13/10/2018 – 15/10/2018
  • E-mail: reservations@lato.gr | Telephone : +30 2810 228103
• Marin Dream Hotel:
  • Standard single room (semi-double bed) 58 € per night with breakfast included
  • Standard double room (for 1 person) 62 € per night with breakfast included
  • Standard double room (for 2 persons) 68 € per night with breakfast included
  • Double room SEA VIEW 78 € per night with breakfast included
  • The prices include: buffet breakfast, free wi-fi, all legal taxes
  • Valid for 10/10/2018 – 20/10/2018
  • E-mail: reservations@marinhotel.gr | Telephone : +30 2810 300018
• Olive Green Hotel:
  • Popular Single room with city view 65,00€ per night with breakfast included
  • Popular Double room with city view 75,00€ per night with breakfast included
  • Urban Single / Double room with park view 80,00€ per night with breakfast included
  • (the prices do not include the stay tax of 3,00€ / room / night)
  • Valid for 13/10/2018 – 15/10/2018
  • E-mail: reservations@olivegreenhotel.com | Telephone : +30 2810 302900