Madrid, explained
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Most of the Madrid Metro network is step-free, but not all of it. Metro de Madrid, the network’s operator, publishes a list of stations with lift access from street to platform, and a separate accessibility map showing which lines and interchanges are fully step-free. Coverage is strong on newer lines and weaker on some of … Read more
The Abono Joven is a discounted, personalized travel pass for young residents of the Comunidad de Madrid, covering unlimited travel on metro, EMT buses, Cercanías trains and interurban buses within a chosen zone for a full month or year. It is issued by the region’s transport authority, the Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (CRTM), … Read more
Most long-distance trains out of Madrid leave from one of two stations — Atocha, for the south and east, and Chamartín, for the north and northwest — using Spain’s high-speed AVE network. Journeys to Barcelona, Sevilla, Valencia, Málaga and Zaragoza typically run under three hours. Tickets are bought through the operator’s own site, not at … Read more
Madrid has two large terminal stations — Atocha and Chamartín — that handle long-distance and high-speed trains, plus a chain of smaller stations that exist mainly for Cercanías, the regional commuter network. Atocha serves the south and east of Spain; Chamartín serves the north and northwest. Several central stops connect the two without either terminal … Read more
Madrid’s low-emission zone, known officially as the Zona de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE), restricts which vehicles can drive into and within the city centre based on how polluting they are. Access depends on a national environmental label, called a distintivo ambiental, issued by Spain’s traffic authority, the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT). Vehicles without one of … Read more
Madrid taxis are white with a diagonal red band on the front doors, run on a metered fare set by the regional government, and can be hailed on the street, picked up at a rank, or booked by phone or app. Ride-hailing services — Uber, Cabify, Bolt — operate legally alongside them under a separate … Read more
BiciMAD is Madrid’s public bike-sharing system: a network of docking stations holding electric-assist bicycles, spread across the city and operated by EMT, the same public company that runs Madrid’s bus network. Users unlock a bike through an app or a physical card, ride it, and return it to any station with a free space. What … Read more
Central Madrid is walkable to an unusual degree: most of the landmarks a visitor comes for — Sol, Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace, the Prado, Gran Vía — sit within a rough 2km circle, and the walk between any two of them is typically 10 to 25 minutes. This is a compact historic core, not … Read more
Madrid’s night buses are a network of routes called Búho (“owl”), run by the city bus operator EMT, that operate through the hours when the Metro is shut — roughly from just before midnight until the Metro reopens in the morning. They use the same fare system as daytime buses. What is the Búho network … Read more
EMT (Empresa Municipal de Transportes) is Madrid’s municipal bus operator, running daytime, night and airport-adjacent routes across the city on numbered lines shown on stop-mounted maps. It uses the same rechargeable card and zone-based fare system as the metro, coordinated by the regional transport authority, CRTM. What is EMT, and what does it run? EMT … Read more
About what you read here. Access Madrid is an independent guide written from published, checkable sources — museum and transport operators’ own information, official city and tourism data, and the public record. We have not visited the places we write about, and we do not publish personal recommendations or invented “local favourites”. Where we point to something notable we say who says so.
Opening times, fares, closures and prices change, often at short notice. Everything here is a starting point, not a booking confirmation — always check the venue’s or operator’s own site before you build a day around it. We are not a travel agency and we give no advice on visas, insurance, health or safety requirements; for those, use your own government’s official guidance.