Here
you have useful information about how to use the public transport in
Madrid, from your arrival at the airport to how to use the metro or
subway, which we think is the best and fastest way to get round the
city.
1. ARRIVING & DEPARTING
2. FROM THE AIRPORT TO MADRID
3. GETTING AROUND WITHIN MADRID BY METRO
1. ARRIVING & DEPARTING
BY
AIR:
All flights to Madrid arrive at the Barajas
International Airport, which now has 4 terminals: T1,
T2, T3 and T4.
Flights
information at the Airport site.
Airport Info
telephone: 902 404 704
There are left-luggage
offices at terminals T1, T2 and T4, open daily 24 hours. There are
lockers specifically designed to hold large objects such a bicycles,
surf boards, etc. After 15 days the luggage is tranferrred to the
warehouse with a cost.
Payments only in cash.
Parking Areas:
There are seven
public parking areas: car parks P1, P2 and P4 (located at terminals
T1, T2/T3 and T4, respectively); the short-stay car park (T2; the
VIP car park for T1, T2 and T3, the VIP car park for T4 and a
long-stay car park. The cash machines accept nearly all euro bank
notes and coins. They also accept the following credit cards: Visa,
Mastercard, Eurocard and American Express. There is a limit on the
credit cards. Payments for higher amounts must be made manually at
the information
post.
2. FROM THE AIRPORT TO MADRID
FROM THE AIRPORT TO MADRID:
Taxis from the airport to the center of Madrid cost around 30-35 euro.
There is almost never a problem getting a taxi from the indicated
ranks, and we would advise against accepting offers from taxi
drivers inside the airport building as there are frequent reports of
passengers being ripped-off. There is an airport supplement on the
regular taxi fees for leaving from/going to the airport.
Most
major car
rental agencies are represented at the airport.
The fastest and cheapest way to get to the airport is the METRO. Line 8 (the pink one) has two
stops at the airport: one at terminal T2 for terminals T1, T2, and
T3 (which are connected), and other for T4. Line 8 starts at Nuevos
Ministerios. There it connects to lines 10 and 6 (the Circle).
it also connects to line 4 at Mar de Cristal. It will take you about
25 minutes to make your way to the T4 from Nuevos Ministerios.
Standard metro
tickets have an extra charge of aprox. 1 euro for the journey
to/ from Terminals T1, T2, T3 and T4, which you can pay on arrival
at the station when coming from Madrid, but we reccomend to get the
full ticket in the city.
BY
TRAIN:
The railways in Spain are run by the state company
RENFE
Trains are confortable
and reasonably reliable.
Trains arriving from abroad and from
the South, East, and West of Spain, including the high-speed AVE
trains, arrive at the railway station of Atocha
which has a metro station:
Atocha Renfe. Trains to and from the north depart from Chamartín
train station (metro: Chamartín).
Some trains stop both at Chamartín and Atocha.
page.
BY BUS:
Buses are
generally the cheapest way to travel long distance in Spain.
The
main bus station for international and long distance trips is the
Estación Sur de autobuses, located South of the city center. There
are other bus stations and a considerable number of bus
operators.
BY ROAD:
You
are going to need a good and UPDATED map to get into or out of
Madrid.
Madrid has 7 main highways entering and leaving the city:
the A-1 to A- 6 and the A-42. The A stands for
Autovía (highway), and P stands for Pay (peaje -
toll), therefore, the AP -6 is the toll highway 6,
while A -6 is a non payment highway. Madrid has
three major ring roads, the inner-one known as the
M-30 circulates inside the urban centre, and
therefore, it often has heavy traffic, the outer ones are the
M-40, which stretches round the suburban Madrid and
the M -50 which runs across what are still today
fields. The radial roads R -which are toll paying
roads- link the three ringways (M-30, M-40, M-50), in order to avoid
taking the A roads, which are ussually more congested.
3. GETTING AROUND WITHIN MADRID BY METRO
Madrid's Metro network is one of the largest in the world. It is
no doudt, the best and fastest way to get round the city. Besides,
it is cheap, reasonably clean and efficient. Metro stations are
indicated by the red, blue and white icon shown on this page on the
left. The metro covers most of Greater Madrid, extending to areas
far from the center, as for instance line 8 which goes to the
airport.
Due to its extension there are several ticket areas,
that is, you pay different fares in the different metro zones, and
depending on whether you move from one to the other or not.
apartments-madrids carries a full metro map to view, download or print.
TICKETS:
- Single ticket MetroMadrid and ML1 : Valid for
one journey in the MetroMadrid and ML1 area (zone A).
- Metrobús and ML1- 10 journey ticket: Valid
for 10 journeys in MetroMadrid, ML1 or in Madrid urban buses. Best
value for a few days visit.
- From/to the airport: tickets to terminals T1,
T2, T3 and T4 have a supplementary charge which can be paid on
arrival at the metro station or bought included in the valid
ticket fare. Travellers who have a Tourist Pass or the AENA card
needn't pay this extra charge
It is compulsory to validate your ticket for every journey. You
just have to introduce it into the validating machines at the
entrance gates in every metro station. If you have any problem go to
the nearest ticket office.
You can buy metro and bus tickets in
any metro station, either at the ticket machines or in the office,
both in the hallway.