Madrid Barajas International Airport (IATA: MAD), 902 404 704, is located 13km from the Puerta del Sol. It has 4 terminals, including a new low-cost carrier terminal that opened in 2006. Terminal 4 has won architectural awards, and might be worth the trip to have a look even if you are not flying.
The airport is connected to the city by Metro line 8 (pink), to get to Sol (Madrid centro) you will have to take Line 8 to the last stop (Nuevos Ministerios) and then transfer to line 10 going southbound to Tribunal and then Line 1 to Sol. Metro tickets to/from the airport cost €2. A Express Bus Service for 2 euros reaches O'Donell, Cibeles and Atocha .
An alternative, and simpler way to get to Sol is to catch the Renfe Cercanías (commuter train) from Platform 8 at Nuevos Ministerios, Sol will be the first stop.
Buses 200 and 204 operate between the airport and Plaza Colón and Avenida de América in Madrid.
Public Night Bus N4 goes from Plaza Cibeles to Barajas district, 400m walk from the terminal through a passageway over the highway. Night Shuttle operates a night bus between the airport and city center for €9.90 per person. Taxis from the airport to the city center cost ~€32.
There are plans for a commuter train link from Atocha and Chamartín to the airport, expected to be operational by 2011 or 2012 (the airport station is under construction by march 2011).
Madrid is a very major airport and is serviced by several airlines. It is the homebase for Iberia and one of the largest airports in Europe.
Two smaller airports, Torrejón and Cuatro Vientos, also serve the city, however, there are no commercial flights coming in or out of these two airports.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Madrid
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Madrid Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.