The city of Madrid counts with excellent means of transport. Its underground network (el metro) has modern trains and stations and links to most destinations reaching even some of the main towns in the surrounding areas of the city. Using the metro will be the best way to get from one part of the city to another.
Here is a useful website for planning your transportation in Madrid: www.ctm-madrid.es, you will find schedules for buses, trains and for the subway lines.
Buses are the cheapest mean of transport for travelling from Madrid to other Spanish cities. Several companies work in Madrid offering transportation by bus to most destinations in Spain.
Due to the great number of companies there are different bus stations in Madrid, depending on your destination you’ll have to choose one bus station or another.
One of the main stations is the Estación Sur in the South of the city. From here you can take buses to most destinations in Spain.
Bus station “Estación Sur”.
Address: C/ Méndez Alvaro.
Telephone: 91 468 42 00.
Nearest metro and bus stops: Mendez Alvaro (metro 6 or buses 113-141-8).
If you are travelling from Madrid to the north of Spain (San Sebastián, Bilbao, Irún, Burgos, Santander, Pamplona…), you should check the coaches leaving from the bus station at the America Avenue. Have a look at these websites for more information on schedules prices and destinations:
https://www.estaciondeautobuses.com/
https://www.continental-auto.es
Station adress: Intercambiador Av. América
Telephone: 91 745 63 00
Nearest metro: Avenida de América
Another important bus station is the one at Conde Casal Avenue. From here leave the buses of the company “Auto Res”, travelling to destinations such as Salamanca, Avila, Valencia and also to some cities of Extremadura.
This is the website for further information and reservations: www.auto-res.net
Estación de Conde de Casal
Adress: Fernández Shaw, 1
Telephone: 91 551 72 00
Nearest metro: Conde de Casal
Travelling from Madrid by train can be more comfortable than the bus and sometimes it will save you time but it will be a bit more expensive and depending on the destinations you may only find one or two trains leaving per day, (while there could be buses leaving every hour to that same destination). It will be wise to compare the timetables and journey times for each mean of transport.
The Spanish speed trains cross Madrid, and they offer fast and comfortable transportation from Madrid to Seville, Toledo and Lleida (in Cataluña). Here is the website for further information and reservations online: www.renfe.es/ave/
For other destinations and train lines check also this website: www.renfe.es