The Puerta del Sol is the heart of the city.

This plaza is officially the centre of the nation: a stone slab in the pavement outside the Casa de Correos on the south side marks kilometre zero, from where Spain's six national roads begin.

Around Puerta del Sol, there are a large number of shops and interesting places to visit.

The Teatro Real is Madrid's Opera House. Behind the Teatro Real is the elegant Plaza de Oriente, an esplanade which gives access to the Palacio Real, the Spanish Monarch's Royal Palace, Google location map. The Royal Palace, -Palacio Real- (also known as Palacio de Oriente) is no longer used as the royal residence, but has been kept intact since it last functioned as home to the king Alfonso XIII in 1931. The palace is interesting in its own right, in particular its architecture and gardens: the Jardines del Moro and the Jardines de Sabattini.

Chueca is a small but lively neighbourhood squeezed between Paseo de Recoletos to the east and Calle de Fuencarral to the west. Its epicenter is Plaza de Chueca. Plaza de Chueca is the center of barrio activity. Cafes around the square set up tables when the weather is nice. It's the see and be seen of Gay Madrid. Chueca is full of restaurants, any type of cuisine, of style, different budgets, -and with surprisingly affordable options. It's among the most lively and cosmopolitan neighbourhoods downtown, and remarkably, the gay center of Madrid and all of Spain.

Calle Fuencarral is a cool area for shopping , with the hippest shops and calle Augusto Figueroa for top brands
ocassion shoes. In the calles Almirante and Prim, one can find some of
Madrid's most chic fashion and shoe shops.
All the district is peppered with lots of
bars and clubs,
both for gay and non gay night life.

Calle Huertas, only a 5 minutes walk from Sol, gives it's name to an old traditional neighbourhood with numerous bars and other little establishments serving tapas in the evenings. It is also known as "El Barrio de las Letras," literary Madrid.

Plaza de Santa Ana is the heart of the Huertas neighborhood.
The streets radiating off its core, Plaza de Santa Ana, are packed with tapas bars and disco-pubs, popular as much among Spaniards as with an international crowd.

This neighbourhood, bounded by Paseo de la Castellana, Calle Alcalá, calle María de Molina and Francisco Silvela, is one of the few parts of the city with a well-defined urban structure. Blocks in the area are square and streets run parallel and perpendicular. It has a reputation for being the wealthy neighbourhood in central Madrid, and some of the most exclusive boutiques in town are located there. Its main streets are Serrano, Velázquez and Goya.

Chamberí Though actually built in the late 19th century outside the old city walls, this formerly working-class zone is neither grungy nor gay like its southern neighbors but more low-keyed and upmarket. The focal point is the circular Plaza Olavide. This barrio offers an attractive selection of restaurants, bookshops, art galleries, and museums, such as the charming Museo Sorolla.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Taxis from the airport to the center of Madrid cost around 35-50 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 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.

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.