Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) to the city

This information may change. Always check the official source.Last verified: August 2026 by Ondřej Kadlec

Metro line 8 carries a EUR 3 airport supplement on top of the fare; the Cercanias train and the express bus avoid it.

The metro charges a compulsory EUR 3 airport supplement on top of the ordinary fare, so the trip costs roughly EUR 4.50 to EUR 5 rather than the EUR 1.50 to EUR 2 a city journey would.
Line 8 reaches Nuevos Ministerios in about 12 minutes and Sol in about 25 including the change.
The Cercanias C-1 train runs from Terminal 4 to Chamartin and Atocha every 20 minutes and does not carry the metro supplement - if you land at T4, this is the cheap route.
The Airport Express bus runs 24 hours for about EUR 5, which matters because the metro does not.
The Tourist Travel Pass includes the supplement, so it is worth doing the arithmetic if you are here several days.

Madrid's metro is cheap - a single inside zone A is EUR 1.50 to EUR 2.00 depending on distance. The airport is the exception.

A compulsory airport supplement of EUR 3.00 per passenger applies to any metro journey starting or ending at the airport stations.
Total: roughly EUR 4.50 to EUR 5.00.
The supplement is per person, not per journey group, and there is no way around it on the metro.
The Tourist Travel Pass (Abono Turistico) includes it, which is what makes that pass worth considering for a stay of a few days.

Terminal stations at T1-T2-T3 and at T4.
Nuevos Ministerios in about 12 minutes, which is the interchange for lines 6 and 10 and for Cercanias.
Sol in about 25 minutes including the change.

Cercanias C-1 runs from Terminal 4 to Chamartin and on to Atocha, every 20 minutes, on ordinary Renfe fares with no metro supplement. If your flight uses T4, this is the cheapest way into Madrid by a clear margin.
The Airport Express bus runs 24 hours a day for about EUR 5, direct to Atocha via Cibeles and O'Donnell. It is the only option in the middle of the night, when the metro is shut.
Between terminals there is a free shuttle, so arriving at T1 does not absolutely rule out the Cercanias - but with luggage and a tight schedule, it usually does.

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Getting from Madrid Barajas Airport to the city