I am taking my first trip to Spain this spring. I have about three free hours in Madrid on my return trip from Malaga. Would that be enough time to get into the city, poke around a little bit, and make it back to the airport? Any suggestions for transportation or sites?

"I have about three free hours in Madrid .." This, and your statement that this is your first trip to Spain, tells me that you shouldn't even think about a trip into Madrid on a 3-hour layover. If you are on a flight to the U.S., your flight is scheduled to depart Madrid between 11:00 and 13:00 - not the lowest traffic volume time on Barajas autopista.

When we travel to/from Madrid, usually on Continental, they invariably tell us to be at the Check-in 2-to-3 hours before the flight is scheuled to depart.

You are apparently an adventurous type, otherwise you wouldn't ask: Consider what it will cost you to miss your connection. You may get other replies on this board, but I think you should just plan to spend the time shopping in the duty free shops after you go thru Check-in and Passport Control.

[This message has been edited by Eddie (edited 01-06-2001).]

Thanks for the advice . . . I had already taken into account checking in 2 hours before the flight (I have a five hour layover).
I guess I'll pack a few more books!

If you won't have any luggage bogging you down, you could take the airport bus to Colon and just hang out there for an hour or so. I think you'd have plenty of time for a quick look. You could see the plaza Colon and take a stroll down Recoletos to the Palacio de Comunicaciones (Cibeles). If you find you have more time, you can walk up c/ Alcala to the Retiro and then back down Serrano to Colon. It's a great area to wander around and you'd just have to hop back on the same bus you took to get there. That way you wouldn't have to worry about getting lost. The bus comes about every 15-20 minutes and takes 20-40 minutes to get to the center. If you get into a jam, just grab a taxi and chalk it up to being adventurous.

It all depends on what day and actually what time you will be free.If the flight is on time and you get out of the airport quickly I would suggest taking the Metro into the Puerta del Sol. Look around.Walk to the Plaza Mayor and the Gran Via.Check your time.You could possibly do a bus tour of Madrid.Once again ,it depends on the time and day of your arrival.But do make a good effort, two hours or so of Madrid is better than none!At least you'll be tempted enough to come back again!

From your first 'post' I got the impression that your layover was just a bare 3-hours. Five hours gives us something to work with. You probably won't be able to check your bags 5-hours early unless: 1. You have them checked thru; or 2. You are flying Iberia. So you may have to check them as left luggage at the airport.

Barajas airport Metro station is between terminals 2 & 3. If you are returning to the U.S., it is likely that your flight will be using one of the 'new' gates at the other end of the airport. But you may have time to take a Metro into Madrid. For best 'bang per buck,' I would take a MadridMetro to the Retiro station, right at Puerta de Alcala. From there you could walk down the hill to Cibeles: on your left is the Paseo del Prado and Museo del Prado, further down is Puerta de Atocha. Up the hill, past Cibeles is the Gran Via. The broad boulevard on your right is the Castellana and Plaza de Colon is just about 1/4 mile. Thirty minutes in that area will give you a taste of Madrid. Good luck!

Good advice Eddie. Most of us would give our left tonsil right now for a "taste" of Madrid...besides, the worst thing that could happen would be to miss the flight and "have" to spend another day or two there!

good advice here, I think it depends on what interests you as far as where you should go. Since time is short I would look at arrival time as to how to get into the city. Traffic is obscene at rush hour and there are four of them each day. It might behoove ou to take a taxi into town though. If art is your thing the Prado, Reina Sofia and the Thyssen Bornemezia are all grouped closely together, you will find no better cluster of Spanish art in the world. If you want to get a feel of the city I would go to Plaza Colon, take the metro to Opera and start a walk from The Palace. Go down Calle de Bailen past Las Vistillas through the old Moorish part of the city up to Plaza Mayor then down to Sol proceeding to Paseo del Prado and up to the Banco de Espana station thaen back to Barajas. There are a ton of things to see and myriad number of places to eat/drink. You can get a feel for next time.

I agree, CaliBasco. I too would give my left tonsil (I still have both) for 3-hours in Madrid. And yes, as others have said, to avoid possible traffic jams, take the metro to the center (takes up to an hour each way with connections -- 3 connections to Sol I think), walk around for an hour and have a quick snack at one of the Museo del Jamon restaurants. In one hour, you can easily see the Royal Palace (exterior), Plaza Oriente, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, and maybe stretch it to Plaza de la Cibeles if you walk fast.

With the annual low springtime airfares it's tempting to buy one of those $400 R/T tickets to Madrid ONLY for the weekend, leaving Friday noon and arriving Saturday morning...walk around all day, stop into El Brillante (across from the Atocha train station) for a delicous bocadillo de calamares, visit a friend or two, spend the night, and catch the Sunday morning flight home, arriving Sunday afternoon. Aaahh..... 3-hours in Madrid... Mmmmm...

Saludos, MadridMan

I've got to amend chpdx1's comments: You will find no greater cluster of art, period, than those three museums. Having been to the Louvre, the Metropolitan, the Vatican, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, I am always wowed by the impressive collections in the Prado, etc. (apologies to Michelangelo and Da Vinci). What makes it more impressive to me is that the collection is, for the most part, legal. For example, Napoleon's pilferings have filled the Louvre. Remember that many of the greats in the Prado were court painters and created their masterpieces by commission from the crown.