How to get here
The institute is located in the borough of Zeeburg in the Eastern part of Amsterdam. The address is, Lombokstraat 40, 1094AL AMSTERDAM.
An interactive map indicating our location and surroundings is available here:
From the Airport
Arriving to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport you should take the train to Amsterdam Central Station. When you get to Schipol Airport, once you have passed through the “Nothing to declare” doors, you come out into the huge airport entrance hall. Here you will find plenty of machines selling train tickets and windows where you can buy tickets from a human being (next to the Starbucks coffee shop - 0,50 euro more expensive). (Don't worry: the signs say something like “Credit cards with PIN numbers only,” but you CAN pay cash, euros, of course.) There, ask for a ticket for Amsterdam Central Station - or Amsterdam Muiderpoort if you wish to take the train to the institute, and the ticket seller will tell you what time the next train is and which platform to get it on. From there you take the escalators down to the train platforms and take the train he/she has indicated. When you get to Amsterdam Central Station, there are both escalators and an elevator you can choose from on the platform (depending on how many bags you may have, for example) to go down to the hallway to the exit.
From the Central Station
From the Central Station you have two options:
1) Take the train from Amsterdam Central Station to “Amsterdam Muiderpoort”. This is a short 5 minutes ride, but leaves you with a scant 10 minutes walk from the station to the Institute (see the map) A train ticket from Schiphol to Muiderpoort is 3,80 euros. If you arrive with Thalys or ICE you need to buy a new ticket at Amsterdam CS.
2) Take a bus from outside the Central station. You can buy your bus ticket on the bus itself, or you can purchase what's called a strippen kaart (good for multiple trips and cheaper in the long run) at the little shops (tabacco shops or food markets) in the airport or the train station itself. When you come out of the station, you'll see a lot of construction work being done (with temporary blue boards blocking it off). Above the construction (and the boards), you can see buildings in the distance. To your left is a large church with three towers and huge crosses on the top and a hotel with a large sign on the roof that says Barbizon Palace. Walk toward these two buildilngs, toward your left, crossing the tram tracks and then a small bridge over a canal. You're going to take bus #22, but DO NOT stop at the first bus stop you see that says 22. You have to cross the street and wait at the bus stop 22 on the other side of the street, where the church is. That's where Bus 22 going to Indische Buurt stops. The trip takes between 15 and 20 minutes. The stop you want is Javaplein, about the 12th stop (as a reference point, it's two stops after the Muidenpoort train station). The bus has an electronic sign that announces the names of the stop and the name also comes over the loudspeaker. You request a stop using the yellow buttons on the walls of the bus and next to the door. If the sign doesn't work, you can ask the driver to tell you when you get to Javaplein, plus you should count the stops and watch for the names on the side of the bus stops themselves. When you get off at Javaplein, cross the street and walk along Borneostraat. Currently, in February 2010, there is an enormous construction site on this street. After walking about 50 feet, you come to a fork in the road. Take the right fork, the side that has the tram tracks. At the second corner, Lombokstraat, turn right. Number 42 is the second door on the left. You've arrived!
From the centre or Amstel Station
If you will be somewhere in Amsterdam city centre, tramway number 14 (Direction Flevopark) runs through Jordaan, via Dam Square and Waterlooplein to the Institute. Get off at Zeeburgerdijk, from where you can see our building.
From Amsterdam Amstel station (arrival point of Eurolines buses) you can either take the train or bus 15 or 37 to Muiderpoort station.
See the entrance with Google Maps Streetview (to the left)
Parking
Paid parking is possible in the streets around the IIRE. The price is € 2.40 per hour Monday - Saturday 9.00-21.00 or € 14.40 for a full day.
A more economic solution is to use the Zeeburg P+R from where you can take bus 37.
There are regular break in to cars in neighbourhood, so we strongly encourage you to empty the car completely.
There is free parking, without surveillance, at the Science Park (February 2010), 20 minutes walk from the institute. See the map here