How do I get around Madrid?

Madrid's Metro has 13 lines and 302 stations. It runs from about 6:00 AM to 1:30 AM daily, and for a first-time visitor it covers every stop that matters. Sol gets you to Puerta del Sol. Banco de España is the stop for the Prado (open since 1819). Opera serves the Royal Palace, built from 1735. Buy a Tarjeta Multi at any station machine for €2.50, then load single rides at €1.50 each. Zone A covers everywhere tourists go, and the machines have an English toggle on the first screen. Mind you, the Metro can feel like a sauna in July and August, when platform temperatures push past 35°C and the older Line 1 cars still lack air conditioning. Lines 6 and 10 tend to be the ones you'll ride most. Line 6 is the Circular, connecting Atocha and Chamartín rail stations in a ring. Line 10 runs from Barajas Terminal 4 through Nuevos Ministerios and into the center.

Getting from Barajas to your hotel is the first real decision. The flat-rate taxi runs €30 to anywhere inside the M-30 ring road, no negotiation needed. Metered beyond that. The taxi stand sits right outside arrivals with a dispatcher keeping the line moving. That said, Terminal 4 also has a Cercanías commuter rail platform on line C1, at €2.60 for about 25 minutes to Atocha. The Metro connects T1, T2, and T4 to central Madrid in roughly 40 minutes, but the fare is €1.50 plus a €3 airport supplement, so €4.50 per person. For two people with luggage arriving after an overnight flight, the €30 taxi splits to €15 each and drops you at the door. Worth it. One thing to watch for. The taxi queue at T4 arrivals can stretch 30-40 minutes deep on Friday evenings between 8 and 10 PM. If that's your window, book a Cabify from the terminal instead.

Central Madrid is flat and compact enough that walking handles most of a first-timer's day. Sol to the Prado takes about 15 minutes on foot down the gentle slope of Carrera de San Jerónimo, past the warm smell of fresh churros drifting from San Ginés on the side streets. Sol to Plaza Mayor is 5 minutes. Sol to Gran Vía is 5 minutes the other direction. The Retiro park entrance near Puerta de Alcalá sits maybe 20 minutes east of Sol. You might notice the sidewalks are wide, paved in granite, and the crosswalks have long green phases. Summer afternoons between 2 and 5 PM push past 38°C though, and the pavement throws the heat right back at you. That's siesta time. Duck into a bar, order a caña (a small draft beer, roughly €2.50 to €3), and wait it out. The city comes back to life around 6 PM, when the shadows stretch and the temperature drops enough that the terraza seats fill back up with the clink of glasses.

After 1:30 AM when the Metro stops, night buses called búhos run from Plaza de Cibeles on roughly 30-minute headways. But working out the route numbers at 2 AM with limited Spanish is not the move. Download Cabify or Uber before you arrive. Both operate legally in Madrid, and fares tend to run €8-15 for center-to-center trips. Cabify is the local favorite and seems to have shorter wait times in Malasaña and Chueca on weekend nights. Regular taxis work too. They're white with a diagonal red stripe, metered, and you hail them on the street. A green roof light means available. A nighttime supplement of roughly €3 applies after 9 PM on weekdays and all weekend, but a 20-minute ride from Malasaña to Atocha still runs only about €10-12. Skip the Abono Turístico day pass unless you're making 6+ Metro trips daily. At €8.40 for Zone A, most visitors walk more than they expect and never break even. If you need to reach the Bernabéu for a match, Metro Line 10 to Santiago Bernabéu station drops you at the stadium in 15 minutes from Sol.