This is an often asked question and there are many different ways to travel the 500 kilometers between Barcelona and Madrid, the two largest cities in Spain. Below we will detail the many methods of transportation that tourists can use to travel this route.
In 2008 a high-speed rail line was introduced that cut the travel time between the two cities to only 2 hours and 45 minutes. This ‘AVE” high-speed train departs multiple times a day and tickets start at 120 Euros for 2nd class seats.
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An alternative to the high-speed train is to take the overnight train. This train takes 9 hours and tickets start at 44 Euros for a seat and 56 Euros for a bunk. All train tickets can be booked online at Renfe.com
There are also buses between Barcelona and Madrid. Buses depart 15 times daily from the Barcelona Nord bus station at a cost of 30 Euros per person and the entire trip takes almost 8 hours. Tickets and schedules can be found at the Barcelona Nord website.
Flying is also a reasonable option as Barcelona’s airport is very close to the city center and Madrid’s airport is connected to the city via commuter rail. The flight time is 1 hour and 20 minutes, but tickets should be booked in advance as this is the busiest airline route in Europe.
