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How to get to Madrid

By Plane

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas receives all international flights arriving in Madrid. It is locatedjust 12 kilometres northeast of the capital, allowing passengers to save considerable time and money travelling to and from the airport.

To and from the Airport

Metro: Line 8 (Nuevos Ministerios-Aeropuerto T4) links the capital to Barajas international airport. It takes less than 20 minutes to reach terminal T4 and just 12 minutes to reach the other terminals. Check prices here. When travelling around Madrid on public transport, you need to get a Tarjeta Multi. This is a non-personal contactless public transport card that can be topped up and used by multiple people. It has a validity period of ten years, and it is used to contain non-personal public transport tickets for use within the Region of Madrid.

Bus:

  • Airport Express Bus: 24-hour service from Atocha (between 6 am and 11.30 pm) and Cibeles, stopping at O’Donnell (intersection with Doctor Esquerdo), T1, T2 and T4.
  • Line 101 from Canillejas (T1, T2, T3).
  • Line 200 from Avda. de América (T1, T2, T4).  
  • Interurban Line 822 San Fernando-Airport (T1, T2, T3).
  • Interurban Line 824 Alcalá de Henares-Aeropuerto (T1, T2, T3).
  • Interurban Line 827 Tres Cantos-Metro de Canillejas (T4).
  • Interurban Line 828 Universidad Autónoma – Recintos Feriales (T4).
  • Shuttle Bus: Free service linking the four terminals. Running every 5 minutes from 6.30 am to 11.30 pm, every 20 minutes from 11.30 pm to 1.50 am and every 40 minutes from 1.50 am to 6.30 am.  

Taxi: to take a taxi you must wait at a taxi rank. There is a fixed rate of €30 for services between the airport and the city centre (within the Calle 30 ring road).​ 

Cercanías (local train): The suburban train network runs between Príncipe Pío station and Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport Terminal 4, on the new C-1 line. Trains depart every half hour and you can check ticket prices here. AVE ticket holders can travel from the train station to the airport free of charge.

Car: Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport is linked by road to the main Madrid access routes and ring road. The airport can be reached by various routes:

  • From the M-40: Exit 8. M12 Toll Road through the tunnel (T4) Exit 9A. Via M14 (T1, T2, T3) and M13 (T4)
  • From the A-2: Exit 12. Via the M14 (T1, T2, T3) and the M13 (T4). Exit 12. Via the M12 Toll Road (T4)
  • From the M-11: Exit 7. Via the M12 Toll Road (T4). Exit 9. Via the M13 (T4) End of M-11. Via the M14 (T1, T2 and T3) and the M13 (T4).
  • From the R-2 Madrid-Guadalajara: Exit 3. Via the M12 (T4).
  • From the A-1 Burgos: Exit 17. Via the M12 and the M-13 (T1, T2, T3, T4) Exit 17. Via the M12 Toll Road via Exit 7 (T4)

By Train

Mid-Distance

The Mid-Distance lines bring passengers to the capital from all over Spain. Trains from major cities arrive at and depart from Chamartín (calle Agustín de Foxa, s/n) and Atocha (Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, s/n) stations daily.

  • High Speed-Mid-distance (Avant)
  • Avant Madrid-Ciudad Real-Puertollano: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: 53 minutes to Ciudad Real and 1 hour and 13 minutes to Puertollano.
  • Avant Madrid-Toledo: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: 30 minutes. 
  • Avant Madrid-Segovia-Valladolid: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: around 28 minutes to Segovia and 1 hour and 5 minutes to Valladolid.

Other Mid-Distance Services

MID-DISTANCE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN TRAINS

  • Line R-1. Madrid-Ávila: Departing from Atocha Station via Chamartín. Journey Time: around 2 hours. The Express train departs from Chamartín Station and takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
  • Line R-2. Madrid-Segovia: Departing from Atocha Station via Chamartín. Journey Time: around 1 hour and 40 minutes. The Talgo departs from Chamartín Station and takes 31 minutes.
  • Line R-3. Madrid-Soria: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 3 hours.
  • Line R-4. Madrid-Arcos de Jalón-Zaragoza: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: around 2 hours and 10 minutes to Arcos de Jalón and around 3 hours and 49 minutes to Zaragoza.
  • Line R-20. Madrid-Salamanca: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes.
  • Line R-21. Madrid-Valladolid-León: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes to Valladolid and 4 hours and 40 minutes to Leon.
  • Line R-27. Madrid-Valladolid-Vitoria: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: around 2 hours and 45 minutes to Valladolid and around 5 hours and 30 minutes to Vitoria.

MID-DISTANCE LEVANTE TRAINS

  • Line R-6. Madrid-Cuenca-Valencia: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 6 hours and 25 minutes.
  • Line R-7. Madrid-Alcázar-Albacete-Valencia: Departing from Chamartín Station via Atocha Suburban. Journey Time: around 2 hours and 50 minutes to Albacete.

MID-DISTANCE EXTREMADURA-CASTILLA LA MANCHA TRAINS

  • Line R-8. Madrid-Ciudad Real-Jaén: Departing from Chamartín Station via Atocha. Journey Time: around 4 hours to Jaén.
  • Line R-9. Madrid-C. Real-C. de Buey-Badajoz: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: 7 hours and 47 minutes.
  • Line R-10. Madrid-Cáceres-Badajoz: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: 5 hours and 47 minutes. The Talgo departs from Chamartín Station via Atocha Station. Journey Time: 5 hours and 28 minutes.

Long-distance / High Speed

As well as the wide range of services offered by Renfe, the following services are available:

TREN ALARIS

  • Madrid-Valencia-Castellón: Departing from Chamartín Station via Atocha Suburban. Journey Time: around 3 hours and 40 minutes to Valencia and 4 hours and 40 minutes to Castellon.
     

TREN ALTARIA

  • Madrid-Algeciras: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 1 hour to Ciudad Real; 2 hours to Cordoba and 5 hours and 30 minutes to Algeciras.
  • Madrid-Granada: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: 4 hours and 25 minutes.
  • Madrid-Murcia-Cartagena: Departing from Chamartín Station via Atocha Suburban. Journey Time: around 4 hours to Murcia and 5 hours to Cartagena.
     

TREN ALVIA

  • Madrid-Alicante: Departing from Puerta de Atocha Suburban. Journey Time: around 3 hours and 15 minutes.
  • Madrid-Cadiz: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 1 hour to Ciudad Real, 2 hours to Cordoba, 2 hours and 40 minutes to Seville and 4 hours and 30 minutes to Cadiz.
  • Madrid-Huelva: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: 1 hour and 47 minutes to Cordoba and 3 hours and 50 minutes to Huelva.
  • Madrid-Logroño: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: 3 hours and 23 minutes.
  • Madrid-Pamplona: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 3 hours and 10 minutes.
  • Madrid-San Sebastián-Irún: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: around 5 hours and 20 minutes to San Sebastián and de 6 hours to Irún.
  • Madrid-Albacete-Valencia: Departing from Puerta de Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 3 hours.
     

AVE

  • Madrid-Cuenca-Requena/Utiel-Valencia: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 50 minutes to Cuenca, 1 hour and 15 minutes to Requena and 1 hour and 35 minutes to Valencia. 30 trains a day.
  • Madrid-Ciudad Real-Córdoba-Seville: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 1 hour to Ciudad Real, 2 hours to Cordoba and 2 hours and 40 minutes to Seville.
  • Madrid-Zaragoza-Lleida-Tarragona-Barcelona: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 1 hour and 20 minutes to Zaragoza, 2 hours and 10 minutes to Lleida, 2 hours and 40 minutes to Tarragona and around 3 hours to Barcelona.
  • Madrid-Guadalajara-Zaragoza-Huesca: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 25 minutes to Guadalajara, 1 hour and 30 minutes to Zaragoza and 2 hours and 20 minutes to Huesca.
  • Madrid-Cordoba-Malaga: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey Time: around 1 hour and 50 minutes to Cordoba and 2 hours and 30 minutes to Malaga.
  • Madrid-Segovia-Valladolid: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: around 30 minutes to Segovia and 1 hour to Valladolid.
  • Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona-Girona-Figueres: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey time: 3 hours and 32 minutes to Girona and 3 hours and 48 minutes to Figueres.
  • Madrid-Cuenca-Albacete-Villena-Alicante: Departing from Atocha Station. Journey time: 2 hours and 20 minutes to Alicante. Nine trains a day in each direction with an extra service on Fridays. 
     

TALGO TRAIN

  • Madrid-A Coruña: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: 5 hours and 20 minutes to Ourense, 7 hours and 1 minute to Santiago de Compostela and 7 hours and 38 minutes to A Coruña.
  • Madrid-Pontevedra: Departing from Chamartín Station. Journey Time: 5 hours and 20 minutes to Ourense and 8 hours and 6 minutes to Pontevedra.
  • Madrid-Badajoz: Departing from Chamartín and stopping at Atocha Suburban. Journey Time: 5 hours and 28 minutes.
  • Madrid-Almería: Departing from Chamartín, stopping at Atocha Suburban. Journey Time: 6 hours and 30 minutes.
     

ESTRELLA TRAINS

  • This overnight service reaches the major Spanish cities early in the morning.
     

TRENHOTEL

  • The Trenhotel is a first-class overnight train, in which passengers have their own private compartment with a bed. From Madrid, you can travel to Galicia by Trenhotel. The Madrid-A Coruña Line departs from Chamartín Station and the journey takes 9 hours and 35 minutes, stopping at Ávila, Zamora, Orense and Santiago de Compostela. The Madrid-Pontevedra Line also departs from Chamartín Station and takes 9 hours and 35 minutes,  stopping at Orense, Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela and Vigo

International Destinations

Two long-distance lines connect Madrid with Lisbon and Marseille.

  • Madrid (Chamartín)-Lisbon (Santa Apolonia): The daily Trenhotel Lusitania train takes 9 hours and 5 minutes.
  • Madrid (Puerta de Atocha)-Marseille (Saint Charles): A daily AVE service takes 7 hours, stopping in other French towns: Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers, Montpellier, Nimes, Avignon and Aix-en-Provence (http://www.renfe-sncf.com).

By Car

Madrid is the centre of Spain’s road network. Kilometre O is located at the Puerta del Sol, alongside the Real Casa de Correos, from which point all roads start and connect Madrid with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. A dense road network runs through the city, of which the six national motorways can be highlighted. 

A-1. Madrid-Irún. Motorway of the North

It leads to the Plaza de Castilla, where the two famous towers forming the gateway to Europe are found. If you wish to visit the Northern Sierra of Madrid, you must take this motorway. 

A-2. Madrid-Barcelona. Motorway of Aragon

It passes through the Henares corridor and connects Madrid with Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

A-3. Madrid-Valencia. Motorway of Valencia

It is also the road to Albacete, Alicante and Murcia.                                    

A-4. Madrid-Seville. Motorway of Andalusia

This motorway links the capital to the South of Spain and connects with other roads leading to Malaga, Cadiz and Almeria.

A-5. Madrid-Badajoz. Motorway of Extremadura

This motorway goes all the way to the Portuguese border and is an alternative route to the west of Andalusia.

A-6. Madrid-A Coruña. Motorway of A Coruña

After passing through the municipality of Villalba, it becomes the AP-6 toll motorway, which leads to the town of Adanero in Avila. It has a reversible lane on the stretch close to the city, which changes depending on the amount of traffic.

Arterial Roads and Ring Roads

In recent years, the transport links have been modernised, in order to cater for the incredible growth of the city. Particularly noteworthy additions have been the M-40, M-45 and M-50 roads, providing access to the region’s peripheral municipalities. All these roads and the Calle 30 can be accessed from any of the national motorways.

Calle-30: This is the ring road closest to the centre, providing access to the capital’s most emblematic streets. Thanks to the works carried out in recent years, including tunnels and the creation of connections between districts, traffic has been redistributed:

  • Ventisquero de la Condesa: Avenida de la Ilustración / Calle 30 – Ventisquero de la Condesa – M-40

  • Pío XII: Nudo de La Paloma – Pío XII – Ginzo de Limia – Avda. de la Ilustración (via Monforte de Lemos or Silesio Delgado)

  • Sor Ángela de la Cruz: Costa Rica (Calle 30 Este) – Alberto Alcocer – Plaza de Cuzco (Castellana) – Sor Ángela de la Cruz – Marqués de Viana – Villamil – Avenida Camino de los Pinos – Avenida de la Ilustración (Calle 30 Oeste)

  • Cuatro Caminos: Avenida Reina Victoria (Avda. Pablo Iglesias) – Cuatro Caminos – Raimundo Fernández Villaverde – Paseo de la Castellana

  • O’Donnell: Calle de Alcalá (Puerta de Alcalá) – O’Donnell –Calle 30

  • Avenida de Portugal: Plaza de España – Alto de Extremadura

  • South Bypass: A-3 / Calle 30 – west side Calle 30 Tunnels

  • Embajadores: Glorieta de Embajadores / A-4 / M-40 and Sur Coach Station – Avda. del Planetario – Embajadores / A-4 / M-40

M-40: It runs past areas such as Vicálvaro, Alcobendas, Villaverde, Vallecas, Fuencarral, the Parque Juan Carlos I and the Ifema Exhibition Centre. It also links up with roads leading to the towns of Leganés, Fuenlabrada, Móstoles, Getafe, Las Rozas or Pozuelo de Alarcón.

M-45: It connects the south-east of the region. It covers the axis from the A-2 to the M-40, before its connection with the A-5, crossing the A-3, A-4 and the N-401. It is also connected to the arterial toll roads. It passes through San Fernando de Henares, Vicálvaro, Vallecas, Villaverde, Getafe, Leganés, Coslada and Carabanchel.

M-50: It aims to link up all of the south-east of Madrid.

Finally, Madrid now has new arterial toll roads. Their aim is to reduce traffic on national motorways, following the same route in order to reduce travelling time to and from the capital. These motorways are:

  • AP-41: Madrid-Toledo
  • R-1: Under construction. It will run parallel to the Madrid-Irún Motorway.
  • R-2: Madrid-Guadalajara
  • R-3: Madrid-Arganda del Rey
  • R-4: Madrid-Ocaña
  • R-5: Madrid- Navalcarnero