Madrid was definitely one of the best large cities we visited last year, and for all of the reasons you would expect—the food was spectacular, the people were immensely pleasant, the vibe was always a perfect combination of lax and on (our hotel had a bowling alley and a club with a stripper pole in the basement), and the sites were beautiful.
Madrid is the largest city in Spain (3rd largest city in the entire EU) with over 3 million residents in over 200 square miles of land area. So how do you get around a city like that in order to get the most out of it?
Ridesharing Apps
Uber is very accessible in Madrid, but we also ended up using FREE Now (formerly MyTaxi). We stayed in the Recoletos neighborhood of the upscale Salamanca district. Aside from using Uber to get to the airport to go home, we also used it to get to some other destinations that were not close. When we ate at Botin, the world’s longest operating restaurant (located in the Centro district), we called a taxi via FREE Now. Using Uber or FREE Now in Madrid is just as easy as using it anywhere else. The wait times are not too long and the drivers are pretty accessible.
Keep in mind that in Madrid, there are a lot of one-way streets and it could take a long time to circle back around to a pick up spot, so if you’re not on the same side of the road the driver is passing, your ride may get cancelled. Keep the app open and watch the map so you can cross the street if necessary.
In Madrid, you can also use the Cabify app. Cabify is a Spanish ridesharing app that is available in the large cities in Spain. The only thing better than two ridesharing app is three ridesharing apps.
Walk
Madrid is extremely walkable within the districts and neighborhoods. Walking isn’t for everyone. You may have physical limitations or feel that walking consumes too much time. We frequently walk 10 or more miles a day in large cities we visit. There is so much you miss in a city if you drive without the ability to stop and take it in.
In Madrid, I recommend staying in the Salamanca district, because there’s so much to see in an easy walkable area: Retiro Park, Prado Museum, Alcala Theatre, Arab House, and Puerto de Alcala. The Salamanca district also has a few Michelin star restaurants all located within a few blocks of each other.
We walked all the way from the train station to the BLESS Hotel, which was a very scenic 2.7km walk alongside Retiro Park. Speaking of Retiro Park, there’s probably no better park on the planet to walk though. It’s beautifully manicured with different levels, statues, ponds, and monuments. There’s even a Crystal Palace in the park, which you can walk in and take in the art installation housed inside.
Electric Scooters
If electric scooters were manufactured in heaven and the heavens opened up and sent them down to Earth, they would all end up in Madrid. Madrid scooters almost outnumber its residents. Uber, Bird, Lime, Jump, and Voi are just some of the companies fighting for revenue from scooter use in Madrid. 18 different companies are currently operating in Madrid. At about a 25 km/h top speed and nearly 20 km range, you can get around a lot of Madrid on one single scooter.
Most of the scooters are 1 Euro to unlock and then a per minute riding fee on top of that. It’s rather reasonable and we found it to be a lower cost than Uber, even for 2 scooters. The scooters must be ridden in the street as long as the speed limit isn’t over 40 km/h, which it won’t be wherever you’d be riding. There are even a lot of dedicated bike lanes, which you can ride in. Just don’t ride in the bus or taxi lanes or on sidewalks where the speed limit is not greater than 40 km/h. Vehicle drivers are very attentive and cautious with scooters around. We did not feel unsafe, even sharing the same road with cars.
This was only Michelle’s second city riding scooters around, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly, and you will too.
Metro
With over a dozen lines, the Metro in Madrid is enormous. If there’s any place you want to go in Madrid, the Metro can get you there. If you’re a football hooligan and want to check out Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, you can hop on the Metro to the Santiago Bernabéu stop. Maybe you’re curious about bullfighting and want to catch a fight at Plaza de Toros. The Ventas station is right outside the bullfighting arena. Even the famed Plaza Mayor has its own station.
The Metro isn’t perfect. And, why we we expect it to be? Is anything really perfect? But, I digress. This one is big. At least for us. If you want to purchase a Metro ticket, you have to use cash or debit card. That’s right, plastic is debit only. They do not take credit cards. In 2020, who is carrying around a debit card? Debit cards don’t get you points or miles. Wait, who carries cash? You do…if you want to take the Metro.
With all the transportation options in Madrid, there’s nothing keeping you from getting wherever you want to go.
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