The place, and the question it raises.
Almost every guide to getting from Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas into the city tells you the Metro is the cheap option. On the published fares it is not. It is roughly twice the price of the train sitting in the same airport. The reason is a supplement that does not apply to the other rail option, … Read more
For most people living in Madrid and using public transport several times a week, yes. The Abono Transporte is a flat-rate monthly or annual travel pass covering metro, buses and Cercanías trains within a zone, so the cost stays fixed regardless of how many trips are taken — it only stops being worth it for … Read more
Cycling in Madrid is possible but not effortless: the city sits on a plateau with real gradients, especially between the river and the centre, and its cycling infrastructure is improving but still patchy. A public bike-share scheme, a growing network of lanes, and a large low-emission zone all shape how riding actually works here. How … Read more
Most of Madrid’s day-trip towns are reached by one of three systems: the Cercanías regional rail network, longer-distance Renfe trains (including the AVE), or intercity coach services from Madrid’s bus stations. Which system applies depends on the town — some have no rail link at all and are bus-only. What is the difference between Cercanías … Read more
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 Madrid’s 30-day youth transport pass: unlimited travel on metro, EMT city buses, interurban buses, light rail and Cercanías trains across every fare zone of the Comunidad de Madrid, from age 15 until the day the holder turns 26. It is issued by the region’s transport authority, the Consorcio Regional de Transportes … 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
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.