Getting to Leicester
Air
Leicester is conveniently located in the centre of England and is within easy reach of several major airports.
- Birmingham Airport: Birmingham Airport is only one hour away from Leicester and serves over 180 destinations. Many flights from long haul destinations have a stopover in hubs such as Amsterdam, Paris or Dubai. There are convenient rail services from Birmingham International to Leicester.
- Stansted Airport: Stansted offers flights to and from over 140 destinations in over 30 countries and there is a direct rail service to Leicester.
- London Luton Airport: Luton airport has flights going to several destinations across the globe and there are convenient rail services from Luton Airport to Leicester (via Luton Airport Parkway).
- Heathrow Airport: Heathrow is the largest UK airport serving over 180 destinations in over 90 countries. It is located 15 miles to the south of London and there is a direct bus service from Heathrow to Leicester.
- Gatwick Airport: Gatwick is the second largest airport in the UK and operates flights to over 200 destinations. There is a direct bus service from Gatwick to Leicester.
- East Midlands Airport: East Midlands Airport is the closest airport to the city of Leicester; however, it only operates flights to and from a select number of countries (mainly within Europe). Skylink buses take passengers to and from Leicester every 30 minutes during the day and once an hour at night.
Train
There are direct train services from London Stansted and London Luton airports. From Birmingham International Airport you can travel by train to Leicester, but you will need to change trains at Birmingham New Street station. Information about train times can be found on the National Rail Enquiries website.
There are also direct trains from London St Pancras, meaning that you can travel from Brussels or Paris on the Eurostar with just one change of train.
Once you have arrived at the train station in Leicester, it is a short walk to the city centre and the University.
Coach
For most airports, Leicester can be accessed by a National Express coach which can be booked at: http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx.
If you are travelling to Leicester by bus or coach, you will arrive at St Margaret’s Bus Station in the city centre. Once you have arrived at the bus station, it is a short walk up to the city centre and the University.
Car, Bike, or Foot
Please see the DMU transportation page.
Staying in Leicester
The KISS2016 events will be taking place at the following venues (see map above):
- Phoenix Cinema and Art Centre
Wednesday afternoon - The Music Cafe
Saturday evening - Performing Arts Centre for Excellence (PACE)
all other times
The organizers recommend the following lodgings, in ascending order of posh-ness:
- Premier Inn Leicester City Centre, 1 St Georges Way, Leicester LE1 1AA
- Travelodge Leicester Central, Vaughan Way, Leicester LE1 4NN
- Holiday Inn Express Leicester, Filbert Way Raw Dykes Road, Leicester LE2 7FL, tel: 0116 249 4590 (not included on map above). For discounted rate, ask for the DMU Rate for the conference (£69 B&B per room per night)
- Hotel Maiyango, 13-21 St Nicholas Place, Leicester LE1 4LD, tel: 0116 251 8898
- Holiday Inn, Leicester, 129 St. Nicholas Circle, Leicester LE1 5LX, tel: 0871 942 9094. For discounted rate, ask for the DMU Rate for the conference (£77.50 [average] B&B per room per night)
- Ramada Encore, 84 – 90 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1GE, tel: 0116 366 0150
- The Belmont Hotel, 20 De Montfort Square, Leicester LE1 7GR
- Mercure Leicester The Grand Hotel, 73 Granby Street, Leicester LE1 6ES, tel: 08448159012
There are many other hotels in the city centre area; you can use Google or this website to see their locations and availability.