Are you arriving in Madrid by plane, but you don’t know how to get to the city center? I’ll explain what alternatives you have!
A suggestion: organize your trip in the best possible way by purchasing the Madrid City Pass! The advantages? Your tickets will be “skip the line” to the most important museums in the city! But that’s not all: the Madrid City Pass includes a taxi transfer from the airport to your accommodation.
Barajas is the airport of Madrid and is about 12 km from the city center.
It consists of 4 terminals: T1, T2 and T3 which are close to each other and connected by shuttle to T4.
There are several ways to reach the center of Madrid: you can choose between metro, bus and taxi.
From Madrid airport to the center by metro
The line 8 (pink) of the metro goes to all terminals at Barajas airport.
The route is Nuevos Ministerios – Airport: depending on your destination, you will have to change lines, and maybe you will have to make more than 1 change!
The cost of the ticket is € 4.50 to the city center (Zone A of the Madrid Metro map). The single ticket (sencillo) costs € 1.50 and you have to add the airport surcharge of € 3.00 for a total of € 4.50.
You can buy the ticket in one of the many automatic machines you can find at the stations, by selecting “MetroMadrid single ticket + Airport supplement” in the English language or “Sencillo Metro Zona A y ML1 Suplemento Aeropuerto “in Spanish.
From Madrid airport to the center by bus
Another valid alternative is the bus and you can choose between a direct line or city buses.
The Express Line leaves from all Terminals and goes to Atocha Station. This is the route it takes: Atocha – Cibeles – O’Donnell – Airport.
The cost of the ticket is € 5.00 (you can do it directly on board the bus) and the journey time is about 40 minutes.
It is ideal if you need to get close to one of the bus stops.
You can also travel with the city buses, at a cost of € 1.50 per ticket. Several lines connect the airport terminals with the city: click here to see which city bus lines are available.
From Madrid airport to the center by taxi
If you are not budget conscious it is certainly the most comfortable solution.
The taxi stand is located in front of the departures and arrivals of all terminals, you can recognize it very easily.
Here I leave you the link to purchase in advance your transfer from the airport to the hotel: beyond saving, you will find the driver outside the Arrivals and in comfort you will be taken to your hotel or wherever you want! This way you will have more time to visit the city: buy tickets for museums, bus tours or stadium tickets in advance. Save and skip the line!
Also try to ask Taxileader for a free quoteby filling out the form: it is a licensed private driver service with whom many of our readers have already booked and have always enjoyed themselves.
An alternative to Taxileader is the new 5-star taxi service at the lowest prices on the market from Welcome Pickups.
You can request a free quote from Welcome Pickups here.
After your booking you will also receive your driver’s card (who will be waiting for you with your name at the exit from the airport).
The reviews are great, it’s a very good service.
My personal experience
Week-end (long, from Friday evening to Monday evening) in Madrid, 4 people.
I used the taxi upon arrival in Madrid and the bus to leave the city.
We arrived on Friday evening at 11.30 pm and we were 4 people: tired and with suitcases we preferred the convenience of a taxi.
We had the hotel attached to the Atocha station, so the bus was really convenient for us: we got on at the station and got off at the airport.
Visit the Madrid-Barajas airport official website for up-to-date information.
Book your hotel in Madrid
Read all the articles about Madrid
- Getting around by metro in Madrid
- 15 free things to see and do in Madrid
- What to visit in Madrid: unusual places
- Madrid: travel tips for organizing a holiday