Location information

Venue

NFM 2016 will be held in the McNamara Alumni Center, located on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus.

Lodging

A block of rooms has been reserved at The Commons Hotel. To make a reservation:

• Call 800-822-6757 and ask for the NFM-NASA Formal Methods Symposium
• Or, book online using this link.

A special discounted rate is available until May 11, 2016.

Other nearby hotels:

• Days Inn Hotel University Ave SE
• Holiday Inn Convention Center (downtown Minneapolis)
• Aloft (downtown Minneapolis)
• W (downtown Minneapolis)
• University Inn

Any hotel along the Green Line will have easy transit access to the venue (see below). The Blue Line extends south into the suburbs, and requires a transfer to the Green Line to reach the venue.

Travel

Minneapolis/St Paul has Metro Transit, which provides two light rail lines and buses that go just about everywhere in the Twin Cities. The light rail provides service to the Mall of America, MSP International Airport, downtown Minneapolis, the East Bank of the University (where the venue and hotel are located), and downtown St Paul.

To ride the light rail, pay for a ticket at a ticket machine before boarding. The ticket allows unlimited rides for 2½ hours on both light rail and buses. 24 hour passes are also available.

From the airport, take the Blue Line north toward downtown Minneapolis. At US Bank Stadium Station, get off the Blue Line, go across to the other platform, and take the Green Line east toward St Paul. Get off at East Bank Station and continue east on Washington Avenue to reach the hotel.

Things to do

Nearby restaurants

• Stub and Herbs and Sally’s Saloon are two good bar/grills a few blocks away. Also nearby is Haiku Japanese Bistro, Bona Vietnamese, and Punch’s Neapolitan Pizza.
• The Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkytown, just north of campus, is a popular destination with a nice atmosphere. Also unique to Dinkytown is Annie’s Parlour for burgers and malts, Pagoda for Asian food, and the tiny hole-in-the-wall Al’s Breakfast.
• Further away, some interesting places include Restaurant Alma, The Happy Gnome, Zelo, and many, many others.
• Plenty of chain restaurants within walking distance: Applebee’s and Starbucks (just outside the hotel), Chipotle, Bruegger’s, Caribou Coffee, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dairy Queen, Noodles and Company, Erbert and Gerbert’s, McDonald’s, Five Guys, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Qdoba…

Attractions in Minneapolis

• The WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx host the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday night of the conference at Target Center.
• The Minnesota Twins host the Miami Marlins every night of the conference (schedule) in the best stadium in North America, Target Field.
• The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has free admission. The Walker Art Center will be featuring Skyline Mini Golf, where you can play through 9 holes of modern art.
• Theaters include the State, Orpheum, and Pantages Theatres, Guthrie Theater, and improv/sketch comedy at the Brave New Workshop.
• Nicollet Mall is a street downtown with lots of shopping, and of course the Mall of America cannot be overlooked, containing hundreds of stores, an aquarium, movie theater, and even an amusement park, all inside one huge building.
• Minneapolis has plenty of trails for walking and biking, including the Grand Rounds. Nice Ride has bikes for rent all over the metro, including a station right next to the hotel and venue. The Stone Arch Bridge provides a nice walk across the Mississippi to downtown, and goes right by the Mill City Museum.