Venue
The ISoLA 2014 symposium will take place in Grecotel Corfu Imperial - 5*, Corfu.
Participants may take advantage of the special rates the
conference has secured for accommodation in the hotel. On-line
reservation is available through the conference registration page
www.easyconferences.org.
Travelling to ISoLA
Corfu International Airport, "Ioannis
Kapodistrias", is located around three kilometres south
of Corfu, just half a kilometre north of Pontikonisi.
The airport offers domestic flights from Olympic Airlines (OA
600, 602 and 606), and Aegean Airlines (A3 402, 404 and 406), but
the vast majority of traffic in the summer season is charter flights for holidaymakers. The
majority of the charter traffic arrives on Mondays, Fridays and
Saturdays mainly to coincide with the change-over days for
holiday apartment rentals. Seaplanes, Air Sea Lines, a Greek
seaplane operator, offers scheduled flights from Corfu to Paxoi,
Lefkada, Ithaki, Kefalonia, Ioannina, Patras and Brindisi in
Italy. Transfers to the conference site will be arranged from/to
it. Your flight number will be requested in the registration
form. Transfers will be by bus, minibus or taxi.
Book your flights to the 6th International Symposium on
Leveraging Applications of Formal Methods, Verification and
Validation online at www.austrian.com and save 15% on all
applicable fares!
To do so, simply enter the following code in the eVoucher
field on the Austrian homepage booking engine:
Code: ISOLA14
Conditions:
- Booking period: now until October 11th, 2014
- Valid for flights to Greece via Vienna and return as of
October1st, 2014 until October 18th, 2014 (final date for return
flight) on OS operated flights.
Visa
Requirements
Greece is part of the European Union and adheres to the Schengen
Treaty. Please visit the site of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find out
whether a visa is required for your country, and how to obtain
it. Letters of invitations for the registered participants can be
issued by the conference General Chair.
Airport Transportation
Airport Transfers
Please note that participants have the following options for
their transfers from and to the airport:
Private Taxi Transfers
Participants may arrange for transfers by taxi through the
conference coordinator, Easy Conferences. These transfers are
bookable online through www.easyconferences.org. These transfers can
be private (max 3 persons) or shared, are inclusive of meet and
assist at the airport, the use of new cars and service is
guaranteed.
Airport Taxis
Participants can get an airport taxi on arrival to the airport.
Service is quite good, but at times one may have to wait and
prices may vary depending on the time of arrival.
Car rentals
Participants may opt to hire a car during their stay, and thus
use it for their airport transfers. Cars may be reserved through
the conference coordinator, please email EasyConfernces at
info@easyconferences.org.
Corfu: Public Transportation
A list of all buses around Corfu, can be found below. The buses
are separated by city while route details, timetables and maps
are available for the routes.
BLUE BUS
Blue buses run routes close to Corfu town, up to Benitses- south-
and Dassia -north.
The airport and the port are connected with Corfu town with Bus
No 15
The current timetable is available at the official Blue
Bus Website, available in various languages. You can download a useful leaflet, providing a small map and
the bus routes. Also, a full bus schedule is available here.
GREEN BUS
The suburban buses (green buses) run north and south of the
island and also connect Corfu with Athens, Thessaloniki and other
cities on the way. You can see the current timetable on their
website:
Green bus timetable
In both cases, you will see that there are limited or no routes
on Sunday.
About Corfu
Edward Lear vividly describes the magic of Corfu:
"Anything like the splendour of olive-groves and
orange-gardens, the blue of the sky, the violet of the mountain,
rising from peacock-wing-hued sea and tipped with lines of silver
snow, can hardly be imagined ..."
The island of Corfu (also called Kerkyra) is one of the most
popular destinations of Greece and attracts every year thousands
of visitors.
Corfu is the northerly of the Ionian Islands group and lies at
the entrance of the Adriatic Sea, in front of Albania. The island
is the second largest of the Ionians after Kefalonia. It has an
area of 592 sq. km, a coastline of 216 km and a population of
approximately 120.000 inhabitants, 30.000 of which are living in
the capital.
The island is characterised by a Mediterranean mild climate with
lot of rainfalls in winter. There is, for that reason, dense
vegetation and an abundance of wild plants. The island is
considered as the greenest in Greece. Literally drowned in
vegetation, with rich olive groves, thickly wooded hillsides and
marvelous beaches, Corfu.
The capital and main port of Corfu is the largest town in the
Ionian Islands. It is one of the most elegant and impressive
towns in Greece and has an architecture influenced by all the
civilisations that once occupied the island such as the
Venetians, the French and the English.
It is a town of unique charm and character which reminds towns
such as Naples.
More information about Corfu (city) can be found here.
Places to
visit
-
The Museum of Asian Art: Being the only one of its kind,
it was founded in 1927 after the donation of 10.500 items by
Gregorios Manos. Until 1974 it was a Chinese and Japanese Art
museum, but it was then enriched with other private
collections. It is housed in Saint Michael and George Palace.
-
Byzantine Museum: It is housed in the Church of the
Virgin Mary Antivouniotissa and houses an interesting
collection of icons and ecclesiastic items from the 15th to the
19th century.
-
The Banknote Museum showcases a collection of Greek
coinage from 1822 to the present day.
-
Dionysios Solomos Museum: The national Poet of Greece
left Zakynthos and moved to Corfu, important intellectual
centre of the Ionian Islands in those years. Solomos lived in a
state of self-imposed isolation, and Corfu offered him the
ideal environment to work on his studies in poetry. Today his
house hosts a museum dedicated to his honor.
-
Casa Parlante is the most alive historical museum in
Corfu. In the unique architectural setting of a classical
mansion in the historic Old town of Corfu, the everyday life of
the island's 19th century nobility is recreating.
-
Mon Repos Estate, in the splendid park of Palaiopolis,
houses part of the Archaeological Museum with exhibits from the
ancient town of Corfu.
-
The Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio): The Old Fortress,
located on the eastern side of Corfu's (Kerkyra's)
port, was built initially during Byzantine times. It was
reinforced by the Venetians and later by the British. It had a
moat and a draw bridge, which has now been replaced by a steel
bridge that connects the fortress to the city. The most
significant monuments in the fortress premises are: the central
gate, the Savornian, Martinengo and Mandrakios ramparts, the
land and sea towers, St. George's Church, the Roman Temple,
the prison, the British hospital and the British barracks. The
fortress is also home to several public offices such as the
Municipal Library, the Archives, the Byzantine collection, the
Conference Center, as well as the clock tower and the
lighthouse.
-
The New Fortress (Neo Frourio). The construction of the
New Fortress in Corfu Town began in 1576 and was completed in
1645. The fortress overlooks the old port and is considered a
masterpiece of fortress architecture. The most significant
attractions of the New Fortress are: the British barracks, the
underground stoas, water ducts, ammunition storage rooms etc.
The Museum of Ceramic Art is housed here. Theatrical
performances, exhibitions and concerts are also held on the
fortress premises.
-
The Byzantine Church of St. Jason and St. Sosipatros. A
beautiful Byzantine domed church was built in the 11th century
and filled with Byzantine art of the 11th and 12th centuries.
The church is situated in Corfu Town (Kerkyra).
-
Patounis Soap Factory. It is among the very rare
factories that make soap the traditional way and the only one
that he knows about is in Aleppo in Syria. The soap is produced
with olive oil and caustic soda in heated tubes. Basic, pure
and natural ingredients are used for the soaps and no additives
are used unless specifically stated.
Weather
The climate of the archipelago of Corfu is warm Mediterranean.
The summer is warm and relatively dry with a blue sky, often
cooled by seasonal breezes, offering the ideal conditions for
surfing, while rarely is it interrupted by rains. The mountainous
areas are cooler. The winter is mild. Rainfall occurs mainly from
November till March. On average, there are 3000 hours of sun per
year with an average daily sunshine duration of 8.5 hours. Spring
and autumn are the best times to visit Corfu. Conditions are once
more ideal from the end of August until mid-October as the season
draws to a close.
The average weather around the conference dates:
|
Month
|
October
|
|
Mean max. temperature (°C )
|
24
|
|
Mean min. temperature (°C )
|
13
|
|
Mean num. of raindays
|
11
|
|
Mean daily sunshine duration hours
|
7
|
|
Average sea temperature (°C)
|
18
|
Shop's & Bank Working
Hours
|
Banks:
|
Daily from
|
08:00 - 14:30
|
|
Shops:
|
Monday - Saturday
|
09:00 - 14:30
|
|
|
Tuesday - Thursday - Friday
|
17:00 - 20:30
|
Other
Information
Eating and Drinking
The most popular dishes of Corfu are:
-
Pastitsada: The original version is cooked with rooster
while the one from the city is cooked with veal. This dish is
cooked with tomato sauce, garlic, onion, cinnamon, clove,
nutmeg, bay leaves, pepper and a little vinegar. It is served
with thick spaghetti.
-
Sofrito: Thin slices of fried veal with white sauce of
white wine, lots of garlic and lots of parsley.
-
Bourdeto: Fish, usually scorpion or dogfish, cooked in a
sauce of onions, tomato and hot red pepper.
-
Bianco: All kinds of medium and small fish and potatoes
cooked in a sauce of garlic and lemon.
-
Bakaliaros with Skordalia: pancakes of salted cod fish
with very spicy garlic paste.
Wines: Corfiots are particularly proud of their island
wines; among the best are wines such as Theotoki, Grammenos,
Liapaditiko.
Tsitsibira, the Corfiot Ginger Beer. Ginger beer is a
traditional and tasty refreshment drink that is produced only in
Corfu. It was first introduced to the islands during the British
rule (18th century) and it is made till today. It is mostly
consumed in summer as it is very refreshing.
Koum Kouat. The Kumquat is a unique small tree bearing tiny oval
fruits. Corfu is virtually the only place in Europe where kumquat
is cultivated. It mainly grows on the northern part of Corfu. It
is the only fruit of the Citrus family that is eaten with the
peel, which is rich in essential oils and vitamin C. Its
distinctive bittersweet zesty flavour makes it the perfect
ingredient in deserts and salads and is a favorite for
marmalades, sugary and other traditional sweets as well as
liqueurs.
Currency
The unit of currency is the Euro.
Currency
exchange calculator
Voltage
Electricity in Greece is 220V.