Navigating Madrid
Arriving:
From Barajas Airport:
Metro: Line number 8. €1.00 single journey, €7.00 for ten journeys. There is a supplement of 1€ for journeys by metro to and from the airport, which can be paid in ticket offices or in machines found at the mouth of airport metro stations. Ten-ticket passes are also valid on buses. About 15 mins to Nuevo Ministerios where you change for the city centre.
NB.If you buy a 10 ticket pass this is valid for travel by more than 1 person. The first person goes through and passes back the ticket to the next. Tickets must be carried at all times on the bus and metro.
Tourist Pass: Unlimited travel on all public transport in the Centre of Madrid within the valid period. Personal and untransferable. When buying you have to show an official document (Identity Card, Passport, etc) and note down its number on the ticket. Available for 1,2,3,5 and 7 days. Zone A for Madrid city. Cost €5.00, €8.40, €11.00, €16.80, €22.60. Also available for the whole Madrid community Zone T.
http://www.metromadrid.es/01_billetes_abonos.asp
Taxi to city centre: From Terminal 1 about €25. From Terminal 4 about €30. Much more and they are probably overcharging you. There is a surcharge of about €5.25 that is not shown on the meter for picking you up in the airport. There is no luggage charge.
Airport bus to Avenida de America where you have to change onto another bus or metro for the centre: 1€ From Terminal 1/2/3 Bus No.200; From Terminal 4 Bus No.204. You can buy tickets on the bus. Departures every 10 mins on Mon-Fri
However we advise travelling by taxi or metro.
Please be careful with pickpockets, at all times, but particularly on the metro when you are distracted by bags or finding your stop. Madrid is one of the safest cities there is but as in any big city, if they can they will...
Moving around in the centre:
Madrid is not a big city and the centre is easily accessible on foot. For a good map of the centre please click the map.
Alternatively the Metro in Madrid is very efficient and actually puts the London Underground to shame. If you intend to use the metro more than 4 times the best value ticket is “un billete de diez viajes” (a ten journey ticket, see “Metro” above). The service starts at about 6am and ends around 1:30am. For a map of the underground see “Plano de Madrid” at www.metromadrid.es
Taxis in Madrid are actually fairly cheap although not often required. As in all cities, some are prone to taking you ‘round the houses' if you don't know where you are going, but in general they offer a good and safe service if you are returning to your hotel after the metro service has ended.
If you are planning on visiting all the museums, using public transport and doing the open-top bus ride, the Madrid Card is worth investigating. You can buy a 1,2,or 3 day pass which gives you free access to 40 of Madrid's main museums and use of public transport among other things. For more information see: www.madridcard.com/en/Inicio.aspx
For more travel advice a useful link is www.softdoc.es/madrid_guide/transport/arriving.html (this is the soft guide which includes loads of information)
For cheap flights try :
Around Madrid:
A good resource for trips within an hour of Madrid is: Madrid Escapes by Peter Stone (published by Santander Books)
If you happen to be a fisherman, Peter Staggs offers great trips after Game, Course and Sea fish, throughout Spain. See : www.fishing-in-spain.com
