Escape 15

ESCAPE-15 will take place in the “Palacio de Congresos de Barcelona” -Fira de Barcelona- (Avda. Reina Maria Cristina 1; about 150 meters on the left comming from Plaza de España), well communicated with any place in Barcelona Metropolitan area by bus, metro and train, and at 8 km from the Barcelona International Airport.

Please, see "Congress Centre" for the detailed location of Congress Rooms and Halls.
Also please refer to http://www.ub.es/escape15/venue.htm

— Cancellation, refunds and substitution
Written requests for cancellation and refund of registration fees should be addressed to Escape-15 secretariat. A deduction of EUR 75,00 for administrative costs will be made for registration cancellations received before 11 May 2005. For cancellations after 11 May 2005 no refund can be made.

A registered participant who is subsequently unable to attend may nominate a substitute by informing Escape-15 Secretariat.

— Congress Centre
The Congress Centre different levels, where Room numbers and Hall letters are identified with circles, is shown in the maps below:

— Gala Dinner
An optional Gala Dinner is organized. Please, refer to the corresponding Web Page http://www.ub.es/escape15/galadinner.htm.

— Internet Points
During the conference there will be available 8 computers, situated at the Room 1 (Secretariat Office), which can be used for connection to the internet.

— Meals
The Conference fee includes the Monday to Wednesday lunches and all coffee breaks. The tickets for these meals can be found inside the conference bag. People who wish to buy additional tickets (€25 per lunch) can do so at registration until 11:15 Monday, 30 th of May.
The conference lunches will be served (Buffet) at the Self Service of the restaurant facilities, just a short walk from the Congress Centre.

— Registration
The registration of the conference participants will start on Sunday afternoon, May 29, at 16:00, at the Main Hall of the “Palacio de Congresos de Barcelona” (Fira de Barcelona) . It will close on Sunday at 19:30 and reopen Monday morning at 08:00 .

— Welcome Party & ESCAPE-15 presentation
All the participants are invited to a Welcome Party which will take place at the first floor of the Congress Center “Palacio de Congresos de Barcelona” (Fira de Barcelona).

Additionally to a valid passport (or identity card for EU nationals), a VISA may be also required. If you are in any doubt as to whether or not you may need a VISA to enter Spain , you should contact the Spanish Embassy in your home country.

Barcelona International Airport located 12 kms. from the city centre, and linked to it via bus and train services. It is served by all major international airlines from all over the world.

The official languages are both Spanish and Catalan. English and French are widely spoken in touristic services.

Mainland Spain is the Central European Standard Time [Paris – Roma – Berlin -....]

Major credit cards are accepted in most hotels, shops and restaurants. Traveller cheques and currency can be changed at hotels or at a bank - these are open Monday to Friday from 08h30 to 14h00. Automatic changing and cash dispensing machines linked to international networks are also widely available.

Accommodation in Barcelona is available in all price categories, but early booking is highly recommended as Barcelona is a main tourist destination. If you wish to arrange your accommodation, you may contact Grupo Pacifico, who is in charge of the booking services during the ESCAPE15 Conference.

For further information concerning accommodation and tours, please contact directly to Grupo Pacífico (e-mail: escape15@pacifico-meetings.com ).

Because the service charge is normally included in most bills, tipping is not compulsory.
If the service you receive is particularly good, however, it is customary to leave a small additional amount. With regard to taxi drivers, it is usual to round the payment up.

Automatic direct dial telephone service is available to and from most countries in the world. Spanish International CountryCode is (+34); International access code dialling from Spain is “ 00” (then dial CountryCode, AreaCode, etc.). Additionally, to make a phone call from Hotels, etc. you may need to dial first specific codes to get external line.

Public phones accept either a pre-paid card, or coins. Credit systems such as AT&T are also available in specific places like airports, etc.

Barcelona Central Post office is located in Pza. Antonio López and it is open to the public from 08:30 to 21:30 from Monday to Saturday.

Spain has reciprocal health care agreements with EU and many other countries. Please, check that you carry the corresponding documents with you.

Barcelona boasts a very comprehensive public transport network made up of a metro system plus trains, buses, cable cars and funicular railways. Please, refer to http://www.tmb.net/en_US/home.jsp for complete information about transport in the metropolitan area... and notice that you can take profit of several multi-journey combinations.

Trains and express bus services also link the main towns of the country. Please refer to your travel agency and/or to the Tourist Information Services.

In Barcelona , as in the rest of Spain , people normally have their meals later than in other European countries. People sit down for lunch between 13:00 and 15:00 in and for dinner between 21:00 and 22:00 .

Shops in Barcelona open their doors between 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning, and generally close for lunch at 13:30 or 14:00 . They open again in the afternoon between 16:00 and 17:00 and remain open until 20:00 or 20:30 in the evening. Nevertheless, it should be noted that many shopping centres and larger establishments do not close at midday . Many shops and all department stores and shopping centres open Saturday afternoons, while all shops close Sundays, except for a few dates when they are permitted to open.

Sales tax [VAT] is included in prices quoted. For non E.U. residents, tax free shopping schemes are available in many shops, which gives substantial savings to visitors.

Barcelona is a touristic city. Although it is very unlikely to suffer from any act of violence (crime rates are lower than in most populated cities in the EU http://w3.bcn.es/V04/Home/V04HomeLinkPl/0,2687,394566_7854881_3,00.html ), logically, you have to be aware about pickpocketing. Please take care of your personal belongins and documents, specially in the most touristic areas.

Being located on the shores of the Mediterranean , Barcelona enjoys a warm, welcoming climate and pleasant temperatures all year round.

MUSEUMS, PARKS, GARDENS, REMARKABLE CHURCHES AND PALACES, CULTURAL ACTIVITIES, etc.

Barcelona 's reputation as a world centre for art, architecture and design is growing yearly with a plethora of cultural activities on offer.

Once you are in Barcelona , Barcelona 's main tourist offices can be found in Plaça de Catalunya, Plaça Sant Jaume and in Barcelona International Airport . Opening hours vary, but are generally between 9:00-20:00 . English speaking staff will always be available. There is a cultural information desk at Palau de la Virrena , La Rambla 99 (tel: (+34) 93 301 7775).