Not to mention it is extremely cheap, with tickets costing one Euro per trip, or you can simply buy a one-day pass for just over five Euros. The more days you purchase, the cheaper it gets, with a five day pass costing just under 18 Euros. Once you have stamped a ticket you can use it on the metro network for as long and far as you like as long as you stay within the metro zone; once you leave the zone you have to stamp your pass again, or get a new ticket. Keep this in mind if your Madrid hotel is outside of the metro zone, or if you are going from a restaurant to one of the many Madrid hotels in the city. There is an additional one Euro charge for any transportation to and from the airport, unless you are using the tourist/day pass, in which case the surcharge is already included in the price. Keep in mind that normal metro service ends at 1 a.m. and the night trains run until 5:30 the next morning, with stops on the night runs being somewhat different than during the daytime operations.
In addition to the metro, Madrid also operates a portion of Spain’s railway system, known as Renfe, or Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Espanoles. There are two main terminals within Madrid: Atocha in the south and Chamartin in the north. These offer additional routes if you happen to be staying in one of the Madrid hotels near a railway station, and something of note is that in the next few years the newly-launched new high-speed rail network called AVE, or Alta Velocidad Espanola, is expanding, and will eventually include 7,000 kilometres of lines throughout Madrid and the surrounding regions, with the overall goal of making transportation to all of the major provincial cities less than four hours distant from Madrid, and Barcelona as no more than a six hour trip. There are currently several linked stations servicing limited areas around Madrid, with AVE trains and railways expanding as the years go by. No matter where your Madrid hotel is located you can either use one of the high-speed trains or the metro itself, depending on where you need to go. Madrid’s metro is considered the second largest in Western Europe, after London’s Underground, and it currently runs over 283 kilometres of track throughout Madrid and the surrounding region. There is also a commuter rail network called Cercanias for transportation needs above and beyond the metro and the regular train service.
About the Author
Lek Boonlert is an editor and content reviewer at DirectRooms and is responsible for Madrid hotels content.
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