How to get around Madrid

Madrid is a perfect city to walk through its different neighborhoods and to enjoy all its faces and contrasts. The most refined modern architecture is combined with historical architecture in charming alleys, squares and buildings, and parks and gardens provide natural life to the urban promenades. But it is also true that you will need different means of transportation to move around more comfortably, since the city is large and the distances are very long.

The cards you need

Multi Card

It is a rechargeable and multi-personal public transport card that lasts for ten years and through which all trips of the fare system of the public transport service of the Community of Madrid are charged. It is valid for subways, trains and buses and costs 2,50 €.

Tourist Card

The Tourist Transport Season Ticket or Tourist Card is a system that allows the use of public transport in the city of Madrid without limits and within the validity date. It is a very practical, comfortable and convenient system to move around the city during the vacations. It is charged through the Multi Card and, after its first use, is valid for the days on which the service was contracted and does not need to coincide with the date of purchase.

There are tourist transport passes for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 calendar days and for two zones (A and T). Zone A is ideal for those who are staying in the center and are only in Madrid for a few days and do not move much from there. The T zone is for multi-day trips and tourists who will be moving around the outskirts of the city. The cheapest fare in zone A for one day is €8.40 and for seven days is €35.40, while the cheapest fare in zone T is €17.00 and the most expensive is €70.80.

Metro

The Madrid Metro was inaugurated on October 17, 1919 by King Alfonso XIII and is the largest subway network in Spain and the third largest in Europe, with an extension of 294 kilometers, behind London and Moscow. It has a total of 276 stations, making it an excellent way to get to know a large part of the Spanish capital. A single ticket costs €1.50 and a ten-trip pass costs €10.

Buses

Madrid’ s urban bus network is very extensive and covers the entire city, reaching areas where the metro does not reach. In the main streets of Madrid there are bus lanes, which, although they help traffic flow more smoothly, there are also times when they suffer from traffic jams. Most lines run Monday through Friday between 6:00 a.m. and 11:30 p.m., with intervals of 4 to 15 minutes depending on the time zone. Frequency is reduced on weekends. There are also the night buses, known as “búhos”, which cover 26 different routes; they all depart from Plaza de la Cibeles. The price is the same as the daytime tickets (€1.50 for a single ticket and €12.20 for a ten-trip pass).

Tourist bus

It has two different routes. The first passes through the main points of interest of the historic center and the second passes through the more distant places, such as Santiago Bernabeu, Las Ventas or Plaza Castilla. Tourist bus passes can be used for one or two days and allow you to hop on and off the bus as many times as you like. It is the best option for tourists who will spend a short time in Madrid. The adult price for a day ticket is 20,70 €, junior (from 7 to 15 years old) and senior (over 65 years old) is 9 €, children 6 years old and younger are free of charge. The price for the two-day adult ticket is 24.30 € per person, while the service for juniors and seniors costs 12.60 €.

Trains

Commuter trains are very cheap and fast, and are always the best option for getting to T4 at Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas airport (and from there, by free bus to the other terminals if necessary). They are also very useful for traveling to towns near the capital and for excursions in the outskirts: the Guadarrama mountain range, Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez or El Escorial. Madrid commuter trains start their activity every day between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. and end at midnight, with an interval of between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on the line. The Tourist Transport Pass can be used for the number of days contracted and for both zones (A and T). There is also the possibility of buying a single ticket, the price of which varies according to the zone to be covered and ranges from 1.70 € for one or two zones to 8.70 €, which is the Green Zone, passing through all seven zones.

Cabs

Madrid cabs stand out for their classic white color with a diagonal red stripe on the front door. There are many cab stands throughout the city, marked with a blue sign and a white “T”. At train and bus stations and at the airport, they must be taken at the corresponding stops, while in the city they can be stopped in the middle of the street if the green “free” light is activated. There are more than 15,600 cabs throughout the city of Madrid, so finding one is not a problem. The start of the service is 1.50 € and the price per kilometer is between 1.25 € and 1.40 €. You can pay in all vehicles by credit or debit card and also in cash. Some cars have wifi service for passengers.

Bicycle rental

The healthiest and most ecological way to cover the long distances of Madrid and through which you can see the city at your own pace while exercising. There are many private bike rental options, some of which include a guided tour of the city. Through the BiciMAD service you can find different centers specialized in bicycles that offer them for rent, especially in the vicinity of the most touristic points, with electric bicycles and 258 stations. There are two modalities: the annual rate, which in turn can be without a transport pass of the Regional Transport Consortium of the Community of Madrid and costs 25 € or for users who already have this transport pass the cost is 15 €; and the occasional rate, with a card that can be taken for one, three or five days and whose charge is deducted from the number of hours that the service is used (the cost per hour is 2 €).

Scooters

In Madrid there are around 5,000 electric scooters for rent that allow you to move around the city in a comfortable, agile and sustainable way. More than ten companies offer this service in the city and the average price to rent an electric scooter is €0.15 per minute, with minimums of €0.11 and maximums of €0.23 per minute. To rent a scooter you need to register in the application of the company of your choice, indicate the method of payment, locate the scooter you will use on the street, scan the QR code affixed to the skateboard and enjoy the ride.