Getting around Madrid
Madrid's centre is crossed on foot and the metro handles the rest, so the one choice that costs real money is the ride in from Barajas: metro line 8, the all-night bus or a fixed-fare taxi.
- From the airport
- metro line 8
- One ride
- metro €1.50–2.00, bus €1.50
- Ten rides
- €12.50, on a Multi card, metro and bus
The old town, the palace and the three museums lie close enough to walk between, which leaves the airport run and the odd metro hop as the only transport choices that matter. From Barajas the metro on line 8 reaches Terminals 1–3 in about 12 min and Terminal 4 in about 20 min, the night bus runs at every hour, and a taxi inside the M-30 ring costs one fixed fare of €33 (fixed).
From Barajas by metro: twelve to twenty minutes
The direct line 8 joins the airport to Nuevos Ministerios on the northern edge of the centre, where you change to lines 6 and 10 or to the Cercanías commuter trains. The wide station for Terminals 1–3 sits on the first floor of Terminal 2 and the one for Terminal 4 on floor -1. You come out at the right terminal without a long hunt through the halls.
The airport metro does not run all night, so if you land late, plan on the night bus or a taxi instead. The fare is a plain single (€1.50–2.00) plus the airport supplement (€3), charged on entering and on leaving at an airport station.
With a zone A tourist ticket you pay no supplement, so that ticket repays itself on arrival and departure alone if you take the metro both times.
The only way in all night
The all-night airport express stops at Terminals 4, 2 and 1, then at O'Donnell and Cibeles, and ends at Atocha. From Atocha it takes about 30 min to Terminal 1, five minutes more to Terminal 2 and another five to Terminal 4. It runs by day and all night, which makes it the dependable choice after the last metro. The fare is €5.10, paid in cash (change up to €20) or by contactless card or phone on the bus itself. The tourist ticket does not cover this line.
One fare to the M-30
From the airport to anywhere inside the M-30 ring road a taxi costs €33 (fixed) at any hour, with no extra charges, and the fixed fare is for the whole car, not per person. The ranks are on the arrivals level of every terminal. It pays off for three or four people, with heavy bags, or when the metro has stopped at two in the morning and the slow bus does not go where you need. Beyond the M-30 the meter runs, and if you would rather book ahead, use TxMAD, the city's official app.
Taxi
- Fare
- €33 fixed, whole car
- Zone
- inside the M-30 ring road
- Rank
- arrivals level
Private transfer
- a driver meets you at arrivals
- booked ahead, late flights too
Tickets in the city: one ride, ten, or the tourist ticket
A short single metro ride costs €1.50–2.00, depending on the number of stations, and a bus ride on the EMT network €1.50. For several rides the reloadable Multi card (€2.50) loaded with ten rides for €12.50 works better, and it is valid on both the metro and the buses of zone A.
The tourist ticket (€10.30 for a day, €23.10 for three, €33.40 for five) gives unlimited rides on the metro, EMT buses, Cercanías in zone A and the ML1 light rail, and starts running from the first validation. You buy it at station machines, in the Tarjeta Transporte app and at the counters at the airport, Sol and Atocha. If your day is mostly a long walk between museums, the ten-ride card comes out cheaper, and the tourist ticket pays only when you ride all day or take the metro to the airport in both directions.
The centre on foot, the rest by line
Sol is the most central station on the metro, with lines 1, 2 and 3 and the commuter trains, so everything starts there. For the Royal Palace you get off at Ópera (lines 2 and 5). For Cibeles and the top of the Paseo del Prado at Banco de España (line 2), for the Reina Sofía at Estación del Arte (line 1), and for the Retiro park at the station of the same name on line 2. Lavapiés is on line 3. Inside that compact circle a vehicle only adds waiting on the platform, so use the metro to cross from one end to the other, not for every next street.
Where you leave from
Atocha is the large main station for the AVE high-speed trains to Barcelona, Seville, Málaga and Granada, alongside Cercanías and metro line 1. If you are heading to Toledo, the train leaves from the same station, so a day trip starts here and not at Sol.
Where to next
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Madrid
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
How do you get from Barajas airport to central Madrid?
By metro line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios, about 12 min from Terminals 1–3; by bus 203 to Atocha at any hour for €5.10; or by taxi at the fixed €33 (fixed) inside the M-30.
Is the Madrid tourist ticket worth it?
If you ride all day, or if you take the metro to the airport and back, since the zone A ticket skips the €3 supplement. For days spent mostly on foot, the Multi card with ten rides (€12.50) is cheaper.
Do you need a car in Madrid?
No. The centre is walked, the metro covers the rest, and the one journey that needs a train is Toledo, from Atocha.
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