How To Reach Madrid

Ernest Hemingway once remarked that ‘nobody goes to bed in Madrid until they have killed the night,’ so you can only imagine what a city like that would be like! Twinkling nights that never end and days that are a blend of the urban and the ancient, with some delicious cuisine and rooftop bars, museums and palaces. Madrid is a feeling, one that is accentuated by the heady strain of constant Spanish and English being spoken around you. The easiest way to reach Madrid is decidedly by air from India. 

Other modes however are also described below.

Madrid is the capital of Spain, in spite of Barcelona stealing most of the limelight. Much like Delhi and Mumbai. So the Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas Airport of Madrid is one of the biggest in the country and receives loads of international flights from all over the world. You can fly from Mumbai, Delhi or Chennai to Madrid with air operators like Air India, Lufthansa, Etihad, Turkish Airlines and British Airways among others. The flights are rarely direct and will inevitably have at least one stopover. 

Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas Airport is one of Europe’s best and is only 13 km away from the city centre. It has 4 huge terminals and is very well connected by metro internally as well as with the city outside.

Spain boasts of good roads and Madrid, being the capital, is well connected with all the country and outside by a seamless road network. You can drive to Spain from Barcelona by taking the A2 motorway, while Valencia is connected by the A3 motorway. A4 goes to Seville and A1 to Irun. You can only drive into Spain from France and Portugal as those are the only land-border sharing countries. Buses are another cheaper option if you want to ditch driving. Avenida de America station and Estacion Sur bus station are Madrid’s most traffic-prone stops and most domestic and international buses terminate here.

In Madrid, the major rail operator is Renfe, and you have regular trains running between Madrid and other cities like Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Lisbon, Tarragona, Lerida, Zaragoza, Cludad Real, etc. Two stations in the city include Chamartin and Atocha, the former enjoying international traffic and the latter serving as a base for domestic travel. You can avail the Renfe Spain pass service if you are not a Spanish citizen and get great discounts for a month from your first travel.

Madrid has one of the best public transport systems in the world and it only heightens the experience of its connectivity. With Europe’s second largest metro network, you can easily reach even the remotest areas of the city. There are also buses, subways (underground trains) and local trains to enhance the connectivity. If you are for personal space then hire a private car or hail a cab. Mobile app based taxi services like Uber are also available nowadays.