Getting there
Madrid has three airports, but only Madrid Barajas Airport is relevant for international flights. Since the airport is the most important hub in all of Spain , there are connections from almost all major German cities. A direct flight takes between 2.5 and 3 hours.
We always book our flights on Skyscanner, because here you have an overview of all connections and prices and don’t have to compare all airlines individually.
How to get from the airport to the city
Of course, once you arrive in Madrid, you also have to get from the airport to the city center. These are the options:
With the subway
According to The Internet FAQs, the metro is the fastest way to get to the city center. Line 8 (pink) runs from the airport to Nuevos Ministerios station in about 15 minutes. From there you can, for example, change to line 10 (light blue), which will take you further to the center.
You can get your ticket for the metro from the machines for about 5 euros. The price consists of a special airport fee of 3 euros and your single ticket for 1.50 to 2 euros (depending on how many stations you travel to).
You can get more information on the Metro de Madrid website , which is also available in English.
With the regional train
The cheapest way to get to downtown Madrid is by regional train. It departs from Terminal T4 and reaches the Chamartín stations in northern Madrid and Atocha central station, from where you can get to pretty much every corner of Madrid. The journey to the main station takes about 30 minutes.
Your ticket costs 2.60 euros and you can also buy that at the machine.
You can find more information about the airport transfer by train in Madrid on the website .
Transfer by Airport Express Bus
Finally, there is the transfer by express bus. It leaves from three terminals – T1, T2 and T4 – and you can reach, for example, the Atocha central station or the Plaza Cibeles in downtown Madrid.
A single journey costs 5 euros and you can pay for your ticket on the bus in cash or by card. How long it takes you depends heavily on the time and traffic. As a rule, however, the metro and train are noticeably faster.
The big advantage of the Express Bus is that it also runs at night between 11.30 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Timetables and further information are available here .
Transfer by taxi
The most comfortable transfer is of course the taxi, but of course also much more expensive. In Madrid there is a fixed price of 30 euros for the route from the airport to the city center. As with the bus, it is difficult to predict how little or how much traffic there will be.
As an alternative to the taxi, you can also book a private transfer. It costs a little more than the taxi, but you have the advantage of being able to book your transfer online in advance from home. So you can arrive at your hotel relaxed and don’t have to worry about a taxi at the airport.
Getting around Madrid
Of course, once you arrive in Madrid, you also have to get from A to B within the city center.
The easiest way is on foot. Even if Madrid is very large overall, the city center is manageable and you can easily cross it in 40 minutes. This is the easiest, cheapest and you will discover many beautiful places in Madrid.
If you are still looking for other options, here are our Madrid tips on how to get around:
Public transport in Madrid
Madrid has really well developed bus and metro networks. Most prefer the metro as it’s fast and a bit more comfortable.
However, both options do not operate at night. If you go out longer, you have to take one of the special night buses ( buhos ).
There are no price differences, since the same tickets are valid for bus and metro. For 1.50 euros you get a single ticket for up to five stations, each additional station costs 10 cents. You can get the single ticket from the machines or at the counters of the metro.
Alternatively, there are tourist tickets for one to seven days, which cost between 8.40 euros and 35.40 euros for zone A (Madrid city centre) and are valid for buses and metro. You can only get the ticket at the counter as it is loaded onto a reusable card.
More information is available on the CRTM website .
Hop on hop off buses
A good alternative to public transport is the hop-on hop-off bus. With this you can automatically reach all the top sights in Madrid and still have the flexibility to decide where you want to spend how much time.
