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Raise your hand if you want to move in a big city! You have great opportunities, the environment is multicultural, it is inspiring, you can meet new people. It has only one flaw. In order to move from a place to the other, you have to be super organized, judge the distances and use public transports.
Unless you don’t have a bike, a car or you live close to every place you have to reach, public transports are compulsory if you need to get around in large cities. As we really care about you (love, love, love), we have decided to dedicate a post to this topic. Getting around Madrid will be easy!
Whenever you move to another city, the first thing you check, beside a nice comfortable room in a shared flat with other students, are the options you have to go from one place to the other: this is important to enjoy the city and the opportunity that it offers. But, how can you actually do this? Madrid offers three main means of transport: the train, the bus and the metro.
Let’s start with the train that they call cercanias. This form of transport is the fastest way to go in the suburbs and out of Madrid. Strengths? It is very quickly, as it stops less than the metro, and you still can reach some areas of the city centre.
There are seven different lines that are easily discernable (as each line has a different colour) and that covers all the territory just outside Madrid. The main station, or better, the only station where you can find all the lines is Atocha, located in the south of the city centre. The other important cercanias' station is Sol and if you know the city a little bit, you know how central this area is. Sol is actually the perfect place to rent a room, as this square is exactly in the middle of the city centre. Where can you buy the ticket? In every station … easy, isn’t it?
Uhhh, we have mainly forgotten an important detail. The line C1 (the light blue one) will bring you directly to the Airport and this train becomes the perfect solution if you live far from the metro.
The second mean of transport you’ll have to take in Madrid is the bus.
They literally go everywhere and if you find an accommodation in a street not covered by the EMT service, well, congratulations! All kidding aside, there are many lines (more than 200) and the service is offered during the night as well. You do not have any excuse not to join your friends for a pizza late in the evening.
Do you need to go in the city centre from the airport? It can happen that you book a cheap flight at an awful time and the metro or the cercanias are already closed. You don’t need to take a taxi to go back to your flat, because you can take a bus and go from the terminal to Cibeles, in the city centre (departure every 35 minutes for just 5 euros). Obviously the other way round is available, too.
Well developed and very frequent, many lines and a lot of stops. The metro in Madrid works very well and, when you’ll move here, you’ll experience it.
There are 12 lines (each one indicated with a different colour) and they’ll bring you both in the city centre and in the suburbs of the city (a line arrives at the airport that is pretty far from the city centre).
Which are the lines that you’ll use the most? All of them is the right answer but you should definitely remember some of them. The first one you’ll ever use is the line that connects the city centre to the airport: it is the number 8 and it is pink. The other one that we personally find very useful is the line 1: some of its stops are Atocha, Sol, Gran Via, Tribunal, Bilbao.We could go on and write a novel about the metro lines in Madrid, but we will just give you just an advice. We will never get tired to suggest you to be careful when you look for a room: check the location of the flat, before renting it!
What about the tickets?
The prices vary according to the area you choose to rent your room and of course each person has to decide if it’s better to buy single tickets or to have a pass that will let you travel with cercanias, bus and metro at a pretty convenient price. If you are under 26, it is extremely cheap and you can travel all zones.
What about the timetable?
Another important thing to take into account when you have to go from one place to another, another problem to solve. Fortunately there are several apps that will help you to schedule your day and not to waste time waiting for the bus or the metro. The most downloaded are “Metro de Madrid Oficial”, “Madrid Metro Map and Route Planner”, and “Moovit”. They will ease your lives!
Public transports are amazing in Madrid and you are spoilt for choice. It’s impossible to get stuck in a place, there is always a solution. Nonetheless, when you look for an accommodation, we suggest you to check carefully the location of your new home and the transport services of the area. By selecting the best-connected locations, you won’t have problems during your stay in Madrid. helpMadrid will help you to orient in your new city and will recommend you the best districts to rent your new room.
Please mind the gap between the train and the platform!