Destination guides > Europe > Spain > Madrid > Coming & going
Madrid
Coming & going
AIR
Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) north of the city centre handles both domestic and international flights. It is Europe's fourth-busiest airport.
Although there are airport bus services, the easiest way to get into town from the airport is by metro. The airport is located near the end of line 8 and the metro ticket into town is only €2, which is €1 extra than a regular metro ticket.
BUS & COACH
Coach travel in and out of Madrid can be very confusing with a multitude of different coach stations serving various destinations and coach companies. Fortunately many coaches also stop at the Estación Sur de Autobuses (Calle Méndez Álvaro 83, Madrid 28045; metro Méndez Álvaro (line 6), train Méndez Álvaro (Cercanías)) and this is a good spot to come to get tickets and more information on bus travel to other destinations in Spain. You can even get tickets here for coaches that depart from other coach stations.
The Continental-Auto coach station on Calle de Alenza near Ríos Rosas metro station handles coaches to areas north of Madrid including the Basque country and Navarra.
TRAIN
Madrid has two main train stations serving domestic and international routes in addition to Principe Pío station which handles suburban services and short trips in the Madrid region.
Atocha is the most centrally located of the two main stations and has trains to destinations in southern Spain as well as trains to many destinations near Madrid. This is the station to go to for the fast AVE trains to Andalucía.
Chamartín to the north of the city centre handles trains to some destinations north of Madrid although there are also some trains to Andalucía which depart from this station. Chamartín also handles international trains to France and Portugal.
In many cases trains will stop at both Atocha and Chamartín stations, although most international trains stop at Chamartín only.
HITCHHIKING
Madrid generally isn't a very good city to hitch from. Like most other big European cities, it's best to take public transport to get to the best hitch-hiking spots.
