The best maps and ressources to find your way around Madrid

Integrated map of railway public transportation in Madrid – finally ! Click to see details and download

The public transportation system of Madrid is really one of the best in the world, as many international awards and expats living here will tell you.

Metro & Co : These hard to find maps with all railway transportation systems

However, something was missing …

indeed, Madrid has 4 different types of railway tranportations: metro, “cercanías” (short-distance urban train), “tramvía” (tramway) and “metro ligero” (“light metro”). And not a single official map did  regroup all systems.

…until now !

Finally the different organizations managing the different public transportation got together and created this official map with all kinds of railway transportation you can find in Madrid.

I really like though this non-official but very well crafted map by RFI. On their page they even explain how to print and fold it.

Keep these maps handy since they are really useful to understand how the different systems work. My opinion is to use the official map to find make sure, but the RFI is much better to get to understand how Madrid works and to get to know a bit by heart how public transportation works in Madrid.nsportation

The best tool to find your way: Google Maps

Anyway, the best way to find the best itinerary to your destination is Google Map.

Just do the following 4 simple steps:

1. go to https://maps.google.es/,
2. click “Get Directions”
3. Tell google where you want to go (point B) and from where you will go (point A).
4. Tell google how you want to go there: in our case, public transportation, so click on the Train icon.

That’s all folks ! You will get the best alternatives, with duration of travel, and you will also get the estimated time to arrive walking, if you want to take a stroll. You can also choose the time at which you will be departing or arriving.

Be aware though that Google Maps does not include one Madrid public transportation system: the “Cercanías” system (the “short-distance urban train”).

Always:

• check one of the maps I just presented,
• identify if there are any interesting cercanias stations,
• check the travel duration and time here: https://www.renfe.com/viajeros/cercanias/madrid/index.html

As a rule of thumb, if you are going out of Madrid center, do always take into account the “Cercanías” system which is faster, but with fewer stops.

If you have any kind of question about getting around in Madrid and Spain, do send me an email and I will answer !

Madridly yours,
Pierre – Moving2Madrid.com – Google+ – Twitter – Newsletter

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Posted on 9 December, 2011 by Pierre-Alban Waters in Sin categoría - Rent, New? Start Here