Madrid, Spain is one of the most iconic and vibrant cities in the European Union. Third largest, following London and Berlin, it is a hub of business, culture and tourism. While Madrid is well known for its food, history and of course, soccer, it also has more green spaces than any other European city. Madrid’s lovely weather, in addition to the plethora of parks, makes it a great city for running. Our guide to running in Madrid includes exploring green spaces such as Casa de Campo (five times the size of New York City’s Central Park) and Madrid Rio Esplanade, or following major avenues to see some of Madrid’s most iconic locations from the Royal Palace of Madrid, to the Museo Nacional del Prado (The Spanish National Art Museum). Most of our routes are in or near Madrid’s large center (Centro) and are near major sites, hotels, and public transport. Note: Calle is Spanish for ‘street’.
There are lots of public transit options for getting around Madrid. The Metro (subway) along with the four lines of the Light Metro are the most popular. Another option, is the Cercanías local railways. This system is used for long distances inside Madrid, is faster than the Metro and has less stops inside the center of the city. It has several connections with Metro and Light Metro. Finally, there is a dense network of bus routes, run by the municipal body Empresa Municipal de Transportes, or EMT, which operate 24 hours a day. There are multiple bus types. Blue buses operate inside the city (with more than 200 bus lines), the green buses run routes in the neighborhoods outside the center of the city (with 459 suburban bus lines), and the yellow buses running the Airport Express route. Additionally, several neighborhoods have their own bus lines.
