Home      Simply Search      Countries      Major Cities      Links      Disclaimer      Site Map      Contact us

madrid Hotel accommodation - Best prices, best places.
Find the lowest hotel rates guaranteed!
From luxury hotels to budget accommodations.
We have the best deals and discounts for hotel rooms in madrid.
Make your reservations Online.

Madrid is a pretty easy city to get around. The central areas are walkable, the metro is modern and efficient, buses serve out-of-the-way districts, and taxis are always available.

If you're using public transport extensively and staying long-term, passes ( abonos ) covering the metro, train and bus, and available for each calendar month, are worthwhile. If you have an InterRail or Eurail pass, you can use the RENFE urban and suburban trains ( cercanías ) free of charge - they're an alternative to the metro for some longer city journeys.

The clean and highly efficient metro is by far the quickest way of getting around Madrid, serving most places you're likely to want to get to. It runs from 6am until 1.30am (Fri & Sat until 2.30am); the flat fare is ?0.90 for nearly all journeys, or ?4.60 for a ten-trip ticket ( bono de diez viajes ), which can be used on buses too. Lines are colour-coded, and the direction of travel is indicated by the name of the terminus station. Note that some stations or sections may be subject to periodic closures as a result of the modernization and extension programme which is currently underway. You can get a free colour map of the system ( plano del metro ) at any station.

The urban bus network is comprehensive but fairly complicated: in the text, where there's no metro stop, we've indicated which bus to take. There are information booths in the Plaza de Cibeles and Puerta del Sol, which dispense a huge route map ( plano de los transportes de Madrid ), and - along with other outlets - sell bus passes. Fares are the same as for the metro, at ?0.90 a journey, or ?4.60 for a ten-trip ticket ( bono de diez viajes ) which can be used on both forms of transport. When you get on a bus, you punch your ticket in a machine by the driver.

Buses run from 6am to midnight. In addition, there are around twenty all-night ( búho ) lines around the central area: departures are half-hourly 12.30am-2am, hourly 2-6am, from Plaza de Cibeles and Puerta del Sol.

One of the best things about Madrid is that there are thousands of taxis - white cars with a diagonal red stripe on the side - which are reasonably cheap; will get you most places within the centre and, although it's common to round up the fare, you're not expected to tip. They charge supplements on the metered fair for baggage, for going to the train and bus stations or outside the city limits (which includes going to the airport) and for night trips (11pm-7am). In any area in the centre, day and night, you should be able to wave down a taxi (available ones have a green light on top of the cab) in a couple of minutes.

The local train network, or Cercanías , is the most efficient way of connecting between the main railway stations and provides the best route out to many of the suburbs and to nearby towns such as Alcalá de Henares. Most trains are air-conditioned, fares are cheap and there are good connections with the metro. Trains generally run every fifteen to thirty minutes from 6am to midnight/1am. For more information go to the RENFE web page at www.renfe.es and click on the Cercanías section for Madrid.

Home  Simply Search  Countries  Major Cities  Links  Disclaimer  Site Map
Discount Hotel Reservations Madrid Hotels