Madrid airport to city centre: metro, bus, taxi

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas lies about 13 km north-east of the city centre, closer than most big European airports. You have four good options: metro line 8, the Exprés Aeropuerto bus, the Cercanías suburban train from Terminal 4, or a taxi at a fixed fare. The short answer: take the taxi if you are two or more – the fixed fare to the centre is hard to beat. Alone and with little luggage, take the metro if your hotel is near a metro line, or the Exprés Aeropuerto if you are staying near Atocha, the Paseo del Prado or Cibeles – it runs around the clock.

Madrid airport to the city centre: the options

Times: Exprés Aeropuerto between Atocha and T4 according to EMT Madrid (T1 30, T2 35 minutes), taxi as pure driving time from T4 to the Puerta del Sol based on OpenStreetMap, without traffic. Metro de Madrid and Renfe do not publish a single journey time; it depends on your terminal and your stop. Prices according to EMT and Aena, as of October 2026.

Taxi: fixed fare to the centre

For once, the taxi is the best deal for many travellers. According to Aena, the airport operator, a fixed fare of €33 applies to every ride between the airport and any address inside the M-30 ring road – which covers the whole historic centre, Salamanca, Chamberí and Retiro. It applies 24 hours a day, every day, and no supplements may be added.

• Where: at the taxi ranks on floor 0, arrivals, at T1, T2 and T4.
• Recognise them: official Madrid taxis are white with a red diagonal stripe and the city's coat of arms on the doors.
• Time: without traffic about 25 minutes from T4 to the Puerta del Sol (20 km).

Do not accept offers from people inside the terminal. Between two people, the taxi costs about as much as two bus tickets plus metro, and you arrive at the door.

Exprés Aeropuerto: the bus around the clock

The Exprés Aeropuerto (line 203) is run by EMT, Madrid's city bus company. It links T1, T2 and T4 with Plaza de Cibeles and the Atocha station. According to EMT, the bus runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year: every 15 to 20 minutes from 6:00 to 23:30, and about every 35 minutes at night.

• Ticket: a flat fare of €5 (as of October 2026), paid on board – in cash (the driver gives change up to €20), by bank card or by phone, without surcharge. Normal metro passes are not valid.
• Travel time: according to EMT, 30 minutes from Atocha to T1, 35 to T2 and 40 to T4, in normal traffic.
• Good for: hotels near the Prado, the Retiro, the Paseo del Prado or Atocha – and anyone landing at night.

Metro line 8: fast with a supplement

Metro line 8 runs from Aeropuerto T4 via Barajas and Aeropuerto T1-T2-T3 to Nuevos Ministerios, where you change to lines 6 and 10 and to the Cercanías trains. According to Aena, the metro runs from about 6:05 to 2:00, with the last trains leaving each end at 1:33.

• Ticket: a normal zone A metro ticket plus an airport supplement of €3 (as of October 2026), which you pay when you enter or leave the airport stations. You load both onto the contactless Tarjeta Transporte Público at the machines.
• Good for: hotels near a metro line. To Sol or Gran Vía you change once or twice.

Cercanías: only from Terminal 4

From Terminal 4 (floor -1) the suburban train C1 runs to Chamartín, Atocha and Príncipe Pío, with stops including Nuevos Ministerios and Recoletos. If you land at T1, T2 or T3, take the free shuttle bus between terminals first. According to Aena, the train is free for passengers holding an AVE ticket that connects with a flight – useful if you continue by high-speed train from Atocha or Chamartín.

Which option suits whom?

• Two or more people, hotel in the centre: the taxi at the fixed fare.
• Alone, hotel near Atocha, the Prado or Cibeles; arrival at night: the Exprés Aeropuerto.
• Alone with hand luggage, hotel near a metro line: metro line 8 with the supplement.
• Onward by high-speed train: the Cercanías from T4, free with an AVE ticket.

A pre-booked transfer is mainly worth it for larger groups or with children who need car seats; a driver waits in arrivals with your name. Airport transfers in Madrid^* can be booked with Welcome Pickups. Our article on when an airport transfer pays off compares the options for ten airports.

If you come from outside the EU, for example from the UK, set up mobile data before you land so you can check the route straight away – a travel eSIM for Spain^* (Airalo) is usually cheaper than roaming; our eSIM price index compares the prices per gigabyte.

On the day you leave

The Exprés Aeropuerto runs from Atocha and Cibeles to all terminals around the clock; check whether you fly from T1, T2 or T4 – the terminals are far apart. Metro line 8 stops at T1-T2-T3 and T4 as well. If you have already checked out and fly in the evening, you can use luggage storage in central Madrid^* (Radical Storage) while you visit the Prado or the Retiro one last time.

How long to stay and what to see is in our article how many days in Madrid.

Madrid trip planDay by day, with map and tips

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