Venue and Travel

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Venue

The conference will take place in the Desmarais Building of the University of Ottawa, located in the heart of Canada's national capital, just along the famous Rideau Canal, a UNESCO world heritage site, and within walking distance of several sites of interest including the Parliament Hill, the National Art Gallery, and the Rideau Center.

Desmarais Building
University of Ottawa
55 Laurier Avenue East
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The conference will be on the 12th floor, room 12110 for VECIMS and room 12120 for CIMSA.

Map: You can see the location of the Desmarais Building on this map.

Hotel

We have negotiated a special rate of $99.00/night with The Quality Hotel Downtown Ottawa, which is about 500 meters from the conference venue, for Rooms with one Queen sized bed and a double sized pull-out sofa, or with two Double beds. When you stay at The Quality Hotel Downtown Ottawa you really have the best of everything - the convenience of a great location and outstanding value with comfortable and spotlessly clean guest rooms. The Quality Hotel Downtown Ottawa is also just steps away from popular attractions such as the National Gallery, the ByWard Market, Parliament Hill, Rideau Canal and Rideau Centre shopping mall, and many other tourism hot spots to enhance your experience! Enjoy our spacious accommodations featuring brand new Simmons Pillow Top mattresses - it's like sleeping on a cloud! Please call the hotel’s Reservations Department at +1 613-789-7511, or email them directly at cn286res.qualityhotel@whg.com to reserve now! Be sure to quote "IEEE September 2011" to receive your discounted rate!

In addition to Quality Hotel, you can also try this list of hotels, sorted based on closest distance to the conference venue.

Visa Information

You may need both a passport and a visa to visit Canada on a temporary basis. Information on visas and entry requirements to Canada is available from Immigration Canada at 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada) or visit Immigration Canada's Web site for instructions on who needs to apply for a visa. From outside Canada, you can also contact the nearest Canadian Embassy, High Commission, or consulate in your region.

Transportation

Ottawa is easily accessible by plane, road, and train. There are direct flights to Ottawa from most major U.S. cities, as well as from Frankfurt and London Heathrow. Connecting flights are also available from Toronto and Montreal. VIA Rail train station is located just a few kilometers from the conference venue and transit between the train station and downtown Ottawa (including the conference venue) is easy with either OC Transpo buses, or taxis.

Airport Information

The Ottawa International Airport is located 20 minutes from the conference venue. Convenient connections to all Canadian destinations are available. The airport includes a U.S. pre-clearance area, opening the region to direct travel to the U.S. and removing the need for connections through Montreal and Toronto.

Transportation from Ottawa International Airport

The airport provides a shuttle service to all of the downtown hotels. In addition, OCTranspo bus number 97 directly connects the airport to both the conference venue and the Rideau center, which are walking distance from nearby hotels. Taxi will cost approximately $30 from the airport to the hotels near the conference venue. Finally, Limousine service and car rentals are also available. For all transportation options, please see the information here.

Tourist Information

Several sites offer tourist information about Ottawa-region and Canada, including maps, accommodation lists and descriptions of sites of interest:

Discover Ottawa
National Capital Commission
Official Ottawa Tourism Site
Ottawa Kiosk - One Step Guide to Ottawa
Ottawa Convention Guide
Ottawa Tourism
Ontario Travel
Travel Canada