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Useful links:
Madrid Barajas Airport
Spain train system

Unless there's something we haven't been told, chances are that you'll arrive in (and depart from) Madrid either by air, train, bus or by car or private transport. Here are the details you'll need to speed you on your journey. For information on getting around within Madrid, see the main page on transport.

BY AIR:
Barajas International Airport

All flights to Madrid arrive at the Barajas International Airport, which now has 4 terminals: T1, T2, T3 and T4.

Flights information at the Airport site.
Airport Info telephone: 902 404 704

There are left-luggage offices at terminals T1, T2 and T4, open daily 24 hours. There are lockers specifically designed to hold large objects such a bicycles, surf boards, etc. After 15 days the luggage is tranferrred to the warehouse with a cost.
Payments only in cash.
Softguides has a list of useful contact details for various airlines.

Parking Areas:
There are seven public parking areas: car parks P1, P2 and P4 (located at terminals T1, T2/T3 and T4, respectively); the short-stay car park (T2; the VIP car park for T1, T2 and T3, the VIP car park for T4 and a long-stay car park. The cash machines accept nearly all euro bank notes and coins. They also accept the following credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, Eurocard and American Express. There is a limit on the credit cards. Payments for higher amounts must be made manually at the information post.

FROM THE AIRPORT TO MADRID:

TAXIS from the airport to the center of Madrid cost around 30-35 euro. There is almost never a problem getting a taxi from the indicated ranks, and we would advise against accepting offers from taxi drivers inside the airport building as there are frequent reports of passengers being ripped-off. There is an airport supplement on the regular taxi fees for leaving from/going to the airport.

Most major car rental agencies are represented at the airport. 

The fastest and cheapest way to get to the airport is the METRO. Line 8 (the pink one) has two stops at the airport: one at terminal T2 for terminals T1, T2, and T3 (which are connected), and other for T4. Line 8 starts at Nuevos Ministerios. There it connects to lines 10 and 6 (the Circle). it also connects to line 4 at Mar de Cristal. It will take you about 25 minutes to make your way to the T4 from Nuevos Ministerios. Standard metro tickets have an extra charge of aprox. 1 euro for the journey to/ from Terminals T1, T2, T3 and T4, which you can pay on arrival at the station when coming from Madrid, but we reccomend to get the full ticket in the city.

BY TRAIN:
The railways in Spain are run by the state company RENFE
Trains are confortable and reasonably reliable.
Trains arriving from abroad and from the South, East, and West of Spain, including the high-speed AVE trains, arrive at the railway station of Atocha which has a metro station: Atocha Renfe. Trains to and from the north depart from Chamartín train station (metro: Chamartín). Some trains stop both at Chamartín and Atocha. For more information see our Trains page.

BY BUS:
Buses are generally the cheapest way to travel long distance in Spain.
The main bus station for international and long distance trips is the Estación Sur de autobuses, located South of the city center. There are other bus stations and a considerable number of bus operators.
See our page on long distance buses for more information on companies providing bus service to the various parts of Spain and their respective terminals.

BY ROAD:
You are going to need a good and UPDATED map to get into or out of Madrid.
Madrid has 7 main highways entering and leaving the city: the A-1 to A- 6 and the A-42. The A stands for Autovía (highway), and P stands for Pay (peaje - toll), therefore, the AP -6 is the toll highway 6, while A -6 is a non payment highway. Madrid has three major ring roads, the inner-one known as the M-30 circulates inside the urban centre, and therefore, it often has heavy traffic, the outer ones are the M-40, which stretches round the suburban Madrid and the M -50 which runs across what are still today fields. The radial roads R -which are toll paying roads- link the three ringways (M-30, M-40, M-50), in order to avoid taking the A roads, which are ussually more congested.

There are now 'Deterrent Parking Areas' at some train and metro stations in suburban Madrid, which allow you to leave the car at a free of charge parking area and take public transport to get to the city center.