Transport, Madrid

Madrid is a pretty easy city to get around. The central areas are walkable, the metro is modern and efficient, buses serve out-of-the-way districts, and taxis are always available. By Taxis: One of the best things about Madrid is that there are thousands of taxis - white cars with a diagonal red stripe on the side - which are reasonably cheap; ?4.80 will get you most places within the centre and, although it's common to round up the fare, you're not expected to tip. They charge supplements on the metered fair for baggage, for going to the train and bus stations or outside the city limits (which includes going to the airport) and for night trips (11pm-7am). The metro: The clean and highly efficient metro is by far the quickest way of getting around Madrid, serving most places you're likely to want to get to. It runs from 6am until 1.30am (Fri & Sat until 2.30am); the flat fare is ?0.90 for nearly all journeys, or ?4.60 for a ten-trip ticket ( bono de diez viajes ), which can be used on buses too. Lines are colour-coded, and the direction of travel is indicated by the name of the terminus station. Local trains: The local train network, or Cercanías , is the most efficient way of connecting between the main railway stations and provides the best route out to many of the suburbs and to nearby towns such as Alcalá de Henares. Most trains are air-conditioned, fares are cheap and there are good connections with the metro. Trains generally run every fifteen to thirty minutes from 6am to midnight/1am. Buses: The urban bus network is comprehensive but fairly complicated: in the text, where there's no metro stop, we've indicated which bus to take. There are information booths in the Plaza de Cibeles and Puerta del Sol, which dispense a huge route map ( plano de los transportes de Madrid ), and - along with other outlets - sell bus passes.