If Madrid is your first
stop in Spain, by
air,
train or
bus ,
you are likely to arrive a
little way from the centre.
Transport into the centre,
however, is relatively
cheap, easy and efficient.
By air
The
Aeropuerto de
Barajas (tel 913 058
343) is 16km east of the
city, at the end of
Avenida de América (the
NII road). It is in the
process of being
extended and modernized
and now has three
interconnecting
terminals: T1 for nearly
all international
flights (
vuelos
internacionales );
T2 for domestic flights
(
nacionales )
plus some of Iberia's
flights from continental
Europe; T3 for the
Puente Aéreo (the air
shuttle with Barcelona).
From the airport, the
new metro link
takes you from T2 via
Line 8 into the centre
in about thirty minutes
(daily 6am-1.30am,
2.30am on Fri & Sat;
?0.90), with a change at
Mar de Cristal (Line 4).
A more direct route
straight to Nuevos
Minsterios, where
check-in facilities are
planned, is in the works
and will cut the journey
time to about fifteen
minutes. The route by
road to central Madrid
is more variable,
depending on rush-hour
traffic, and can take
anything from twenty
minutes to an hour.
Outside the terminal,
there is a shuttle
bus every ten to
fifteen minutes
(5.17am-1.51am; ?2.40)
to an underground
terminal in the central
Plaza Colón, with
pedestrian entrance from
the c/Goya or Metro
Serrano. If your plane
arrives outside these
times, there should be
additional special
connecting bus services.
Taxis are always
available outside, too,
and cost around ?12 to
the centre, unless you
get stuck in traffic.
Half a dozen or so car
rental companies
have stands at the
airport and can
generally supply clients
with maps and
directions. Other
airport facilities
include 24-hour currency
exchange, a post office,
left luggage lockers in
T1 and T2, a RENFE
office for booking train
tickets (daily 8am-9pm),
a chemist, a tourist
office and hotel
reservations desk.
By train
Trains from France and
north/northeast Spain
arrive at the
Estación
de Chamartín , a
modern terminal isolated
in the north of the
city; it has all the
usual big station
facilities, including
currency exchange. A
metro line connects
Chamartín with the
centre, and there are
also regular connections
by the commuter
trenes
de cercanías with
the much more central
Estación de Atocha;
just take any
cercanía
headed in that
direction.
The Estación de
Atocha , expanded
and imaginatively
remodelled back in the
early 1990s, has two
separate terminals: one
for Toledo and
other local services,
the other for all points
in south and eastern
Spain , including
the high speed AVE
trains.
If you're coming from
local towns around
Madrid, you may arrive
at Príncipe Pío
(aka Estación del Norte),
fairly close to the
centre below the Palacio
Real.
By bus
Bus terminals are
scattered throughout the
city, but the largest -
used by all of the
international bus
services - is the Estación
Sur de Autobuses on c/Méndez
Alvaro on the corner of
c/Retama, 1.5km south of
the Atocha train station
(Métro: Méndez
Alvaro).
By car
All the main roads into
Madrid bring you right
into the city centre,
although eccentric
signposting and even
more eccentric driving
can be very unnerving.
The inner ring road, the
M30, and the Paseo de la
Castellana are all
notorious bottlenecks,
although virtually the
whole city centre can be
close to gridlock during
the peak rush-hour
periods (Mon-Fri
7.30-9.30am &
6-8.30pm). Be prepared
for a long trawl around
the streets to find parking
, and even then you will
need to buy the coupons
available at estancos
if you want to avoid the
threat of a fine. A
better, and safer,
option is to put your
car in one of the many
signposted parkings
. Your own transport is
really only of use for
out-of-town excursions,
so it's advisable to
find a hotel with or
near a car park and keep
your car there during
your stay in the city.
If you are staying more
than a couple of weeks,
you can get long-term
parking rates at
neighbourhood garages.
