Getting Around Madrid

Walking The main areas of interest are centred around Puerta del Sol (Metro: Sol). As the majority of night activity takes place to the south of here, we recommend you take public transport/taxi for the journey home to avoid potential con-beer-fusion. We suggest that at least once you take a stroll through the old streets or down the tree-lined Castellana, which is full of traditional terrace cafes in the summer.

Metro
If you find the London Underground easy to use, you will find the Madrid Metro even easier, and a good deal cheaper too. The Metro system has 11 lines, all colour-coded and numbered. You pay €1.15 for a single ride, even if you change lines. Buying a "METROBUS 10 viajes" ticket from the kiosk in any Metro station gets you 10 rides for €5.35 and is also valid for the bus. A considerable saving, saves you repeatedly buying single tickets and you can share the ticket too.

Bus You can catch most buses from Puerta del Sol, a single costing you €1.15 and buses normally run from 06:00 until 24:00. You can also use the "METROBUS 10 viajes" ticket that you bought for the metro. Night buses run between 24:00 and 06:00 running every 30 minutes until 03:00 and every hour thereafter. The night buses have "N" in front of the displayed route number. N1, 19, & 20 run along Paseo de la Castellana and will drop you off outside our Columbus apartments.

Taxi
Taxis are white with a diagonal red stripe in Madrid, and have a green light or numbers 1/2/3 on the roof depending on which zone they are going to. If the green light is on, or there is a "libre" sign in the passenger side windscreen, the taxi is free so flag it down. Charges are complicated, but basically go on €1.50 minimum fare for the weekends, with the meter ticking over at €0.85 per kilometre. Ensure the taxi driver has the meter on at the start of the journey to avoid any surprise fares.