Parking in Madrid

If you have chosen Madrid as a destination for your next vacation or for business and you're planning to travel by car, you should know that parking in Madrid, as in any big city, has many restrictions.

In case you are staying in a hotel, we recommend that you check if your accommodation has parking facilities.

The hotels with parking handle their rates in different ways. Sometimes it is already included when you pay for your stay, but sometimes it is not. Therefore, it is important that you inform yourself in advance to avoid unexpected charges, or that you do not find space to park your car.

The price of parking in Madrid can be very expensive, but there are also cheaper options. The important thing is to plan ahead to find the best deals available for the day you need it and book your parking space online.

To take into account; due to the levels of atmospheric pollution, the Madrid City Council usually restricts traffic whenever the maximum levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are exceeded. So, before your trip to the capital, we advise you to find out if any of the scenarios of the anti-pollution protocol have been activated.

Public parking in Madrid

Madrid has a good distribution of public parking lots which allows you to find parking near different points of the city.

However, it is not always easy to find available parking in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, parking in Parque del Retiro, parking in Plaza de España or parking in Plaza Mayor, which are some of the most touristic places in the city.

For this reason, we recommend you to look for parking in advance through Parkimeter: the online platform that allows you to find parkings in different strategic points of the capital and book online in a very simple way.

Parking in downtown Madrid

Madrid is the largest city in Spain, as well as being its capital. If you are visiting or planning a weekend in Madrid with your car it is important to know that parking in the center of Madrid is not easy, especially if you are not familiar with the city, its streets, traffic rules and prohibitions.

To avoid any inconvenience that may jeopardize your stay in this elegant city, such as fines or the impossibility of finding parking, we will give you some recommendations on where to park in the center of Madrid, the most convenient central neighborhoods to move around the city and the main tourist places you can visit on foot.

To have an assured parking space, without thinking about the turns you have to make by car to find it, the best option is to book one in advance. In this sense, the online platform Parkimeter allows you to search for parking spaces, compare rates and choose the one that best suits your needs, depending on your destination, place of interest or neighborhood.

Parking in a public parking lot in Madrid city center

The Centro Madrid district corresponds to its historic center: multicultural, populous and elegant at the same time. Parking in a public parking lot in the Centro district is undoubtedly the best choice you can make if you want to visit the city in total comfort. From here you can choose where you want to move to reach more distant places of interest (the metro service is excellent, and here you will find endless stops), but in this area you will find most of the most famous attractions. Among them: the Gran Vía, where you will find stores and cinemas admiring the elegant white buildings that compose it; the Puerta del Sol, the main square, from which all the streets of the city start; the Plaza de España; the Plaza de Cibeles, where you can go up to the terrace and admire the whole city and, finally, the Plaza Mayor.

An alternative is also to look for parking in the Malasana neighborhood, which is very central and strategic to reach all the places mentioned above, even on foot.

Parking in a public parking in Chamberi district

Chamberi is one of the most central and convenient neighborhoods in Madrid, but not as touristic as Centro: here you will find everything you need, typical taverns full of people, pubs and discos.

Unlike Madrid Centro, this area is more authentic and will give you the idea of being in a small village: this can be the perfect choice to visit the city, so you will have the feeling of calm and tranquility after spending a day in the hectic and fashionable center of Madrid.

If you have chosen to stay in this neighborhood or you have decided that this will be your strategic point to start your visit to the city, we recommend you to reserve in a public parking in Chamberí and secure your parking space.

Parking on the street in downtown Madrid

Finding street parking in Madrid is not an easy task, especially if we talk about the center. In the center of Madrid there are two zones where you can park, which are the blue zone and the green zone: these zones are paid from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 21:00, on Saturdays from 9:00 to 15:00, while on Sundays they are free.

If you want to avoid paying very high rates, take into account that this type of parking has a time limit. Therefore, it is suitable for short stops, but not so much for sightseeing.

Parking at the Madrid - Barajas Airport

Located in the northeast of Madrid, Barajas district, 12 kilometers from downtown. The Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport has four terminals and is the first Spanish airport by passenger traffic, air cargo and number, and operations. If you are looking for a parking at Madrid Airport, to go to any of its terminals, the Parkimeter platform has different alternatives, having the possibility to choose between VIP or transfer services at very competitive prices.

Atocha and Madrid - Chamartín stations (Cercanías, AVE) and South Bus Station

If you are a regular passenger on commuter or AVE trains, Parkimeter offers parking options within a two-minute walk from Atocha Station. A tunnel connects this station to another station, Madrid - Chamartín Station, which has commuter, medium and long distance and high-speed rail services. On Méndez Álvaro Street is also the South Bus Station, the most important of all the long-distance stations in the city. This station, also known as Estación de Méndez Álvaro, is the busiest station in the capital.

Long term parking Madrid

If you are planning to stay in Madrid for a few weeks, you may prefer to find a long stay parking Madrid, also called lowcost parking or park and ride. This option is highly recommended if you have decided not to use your car often, since, if it is not a nearby parking, you will spend the difference on public transportation.

The 21 districts of Madrid

The city of Madrid is divided into 21 districts: Fuencarral-El Pardo, Moncloa-Aravaca, Tetuán, Hortaleza, Chamartín, Ciudad Lineal, Chamberí, Barrio de Salamanca, San Blas, Barajas, Centro, Retiro, Arganzuela, Moratalaz, Villaverde, Usera, Latina, Carabanchel, Vicálvaro, Puente de Vallecas and Villa de Vallecas. Among these, Chamberí and Centro are the most conflictive areas of the city, for those who want to park.

Calle de Alcalá

This is one of the longest streets in Madrid, built in the times of Carlos III. The Calle de Alcalá begins at the Puerta del Sol, in the heart of Madrid, and from there extends east-northeast of the city. Along its route we find several monuments of tourist interest, such as the Cibeles fountain and the Puerta de Alcalá, as well as many stores and stores for all tastes. The name of this street comes from the fact that, historically, it linked the city of Madrid with Alcalá de Henares, one of the municipalities in the east, and also with Aragón.

The Markets of Madrid

Increasingly the concept of "market", formerly related to street and neighborhood markets, is becoming more and more fashionable. Among the best markets in Madrid that you should visit at least once in your life we find: the Mercado de San Miguel, in the heart of the city; the Mercado de San Antón, in the neighborhood of Chueca, and the Mercado de San Ildefonso, located in the cosmopolitan Fuencarral street.