IASIM-2024

Conference on spectral imaging

June 14–17, Umeå, Sweden
Click here to register
registration form is on partner's website.

The conference will take place at Umeå University in the city of Umeå, located in the north of Sweden. Umeå is famous for its vibrant university town atmosphere, a center for culture and music in the north, and for being the European Capital of Culture in 2014.

Umeå University (founded 1965) is one of Sweden’s largest universities with strong reputation in biotechnology and medicine (the famous CRISPR gene-editing technology was co-discovered here). For this reason Umeå is sometimes nicknamed “Sweden’s northern Cambridge.”

Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4 Photo 5 Photo 6
Photos of Umeå by Federico Marini.

Paying for things in Sweden

Sweden is a cashless society; many places may not even accept cash. It is recommended to use a credit card that does not have exchange fees for currency, or a digital bank card like Revolut and Monzo, which have lower exchange rates than traditional banks.

Traveling to Umeå

Plane

If you are arriving by plane, please know that all flights must go through Stockholm. There are a minimum five flights into and out of Umeå a day. You may choose any airline to fly to Umeå, but the Stockholm flight to and from Umeå will be operated by SAS or Norwegian. You do not need to schedule a separate flight; the airlines will transfer your bags.

To travel from the airport to your accommodation you may choose to order a taxi or take a bus. There are no hotel shuttles that go to the airport. The airport bus is Line 80, and its last stop is in Vasaplan, which is the central bus station in Umeå. The bus is a 10-minute ride. The bus schedule is here with buses leaving the airport every 20 minutes between 8:30 am and 7:30 pm M-F. The service is limited on weekends.

For exact times, check the Ultra App under Stops. You can track the bus in real time.

To take a taxi, there are several taxi companies that operate in Umeå, including:

Train

Umeå has two train stations: Umeå Centralstation, a short walk from downtown, and Umeå Östra, located closer to the university campus (though further from main amenities). Northern Sweden is serviced by Norrtåg and SJ.

Accommodation

There are many places to stay in Umeå that are all around Vasaplan, the main bus station.

Here are some suggestions: the Comfort Winn Hotel and the Elite Hotel Mimer, which are closest to the main bus station downtown, Vasaplan. Traveling to and from the conference venue from these two hotels can be done via walking (35 minutes), bus (11-minute bus ride, including 3 minutes walking), or taxi (8 minutes).

Other options downtown, but slightly further from Vasaplan, include the Comfort Hotel Umeå City, the Scandic Plaza Umeå, and the Clarion Hotel Umeå. The closest bus stop to these hotels is Renmarkstorget (in Skolgatan). Traveling to and from the conference venue from these two hotels can be done via walking (39 minutes), bus (19-minute bus ride, including 7 minutes walking), or taxi (8 minutes).

Closest to the main train station, there is the Scandic Go Hotel and the Norrland YMCA Hostel Umeå. At this hostel, you have the option to book your own room with a private bathroom, and you have a kitchen available to cook meals and store food if preferred. The closest bus stop to these hotels is Vasaplan. Traveling to and from the conference venue from these two hotels can be done via walking (37 minutes), bus (16-minute bus ride, including 9 minutes walking), or taxi (8 minutes).

Public transportation in Umeå

The closest bus stop to Aula Nordica (a short two-minute walk) is “Universum”. From downtown, catching a bus at Renmarkstorget or Vasaplan, you have the following options: Line 5 towards Strömpilen, and Line 8 towards Tomtebo, which are the quickest, but you can also catch Line 2 towards Ersboda handelsområde, and Line 9 towards Carlshöjd, though these bus stops are not located in the main Vasaplan area.

You can download the map of local buses here.

You may buy a bus ticket ahead of time or just before catching the bus using the Ultra App , the company that operates the bus lines in Umeå.

We can help with any questions about the bus lines if you are in an accommodation further away from Vasaplan or elsewhere in Umeå.

How much does a bus ticket cost (adults, 26-64 years-old):

If you buy 10-day ticket each day ticket needs to be activated individually and it lasts for 24h. Student discounts only apply for 30-day season tickets

You may take the buses on and off as many times as you would like during the ticket period

Useful links