The European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) is the ESA center that specializes in astronomy and space science. It is located in Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, close to Madrid in Spain, and hosts the science operation centers for all ESA astronomy and planetary missions together with their scientific archives.

Access to ESAC
Please, be aware that ESAC is not easily accessible with public transportation. Refer to the ESAC access web pages.

Bus transport (free of charge) will be provided on the meeting days between Madrid and ESAC

**For those of you that have requested to use the bus, these are the times, pick up locations and destinations for 1-3 December. Please note that the bus on Wednesday 3rd December will be going directly from ESAC to Barajas airport, and not via the hotel:

1/12 08.30 from Hotel Principe Pio to ESAC.
1/12 19.00 from ESAC to Hotel Principe Pio.

2/12 08.20 from Hotel Principe Pio to ESAC.
2/12 18:45 from ESAC to Hotel Principe Pio.

3/12 08.00 from Hotel Principe Pio to ESAC.
3/12 13:45 from ESAC to Barajas Airport Terminal 1.

Hotel Principe Pio is a short walk, and approximately 600m, from Hotel Santo Domingo. The location of Hotel Principe Pio can be found here under the link titled Map.

Terminals 2 and 3 at Madrid/Barajas airport are walking distance from Terminal 1. Terminal 4 is a short journey on the metro, or in a taxi, from Terminal 1.

Arriving in and departing from Madrid
Madrid can be reached by air through Barajas International Airport. Useful references are:

* Madrid/Barajas Airport (Courtesy of AENA)
* Information about transport to and from Madrid (Courtesy of SoftGuide Madrid)
* Transports Information System of Madrid (Courtesy of the Consejería de Transportes e infraestructuras)
* The Madrid Metro Map (Courtesy of the Metro de Madrid)

There is a Metro Station at the Barajas Airport that will connect with the hotels

By Metro
Airport to Hotels: Metro line 8 from "Barajas Aeropuerto" to "Nuevos Ministerios".
Metro Line 10 from Nuevo Ministerio to Principe Pio

A taxi is always a good (but more expensive) alternative.

Taxis

Airport/Hotels : 35€
ESAC/Airport: 50 - 60€