Bus Tours

It's always fun to explore a city by public transport. In Madrid you can do it for next to nothing, traveling as far as you like on the urban red line buses for 1.35€ ($1.70) a trip. Even more economical is the 10-pack metrobus ticket (5.35€/$6.70), valid for both buses and the Metro, which works out to only .55€ (70¢) a trip. You can buy the tickets at any Metro station or newspaper kiosk. To orient yourself, pick up a Consorcio Transportes de Madrid from one of the kiosks in the Puerta del Sol (1.50€/$1.90). This city bus route map marks all bus routes clearly.

I've chosen half a dozen of the best red line bus trips around the city. Hope you enjoy them.

33: Príncipe Pío to Casa de Campo -- This short run starts at the Príncipe Pío bus, Metro, and train junction at the end of Paseo de la Florida, just northwest of the Royal Palace. First you follow the tree-lined avenue to the west of the Campo del Moro; then you turn right across the Manzanares River at Puente de Toledo (Toledo bridge) before passing through the built-up zone of Puerta del Angel. From here you cross the busy Paseo de Extremadura to enter the green parklands of the Casa de Campo, stopping at the Parque de Atracciones (a fun park for teenagers), Batán (where bulls are penned in a small farm building prior to participating in corridas at the Ventas bullring), and the zoo. It's a great trip for families with children. Service runs every 15 minutes from 10am to 10pm.

54: Atocha to Vallecas -- This route starts at Atocha and heads southeast along the Ciudad de Barcelona and Albufera avenues, via the lively junction of Puente Vallecas and across the M-40 highway to the Villa de Vallecas -- a self-contained town which retains its earthy individuality (it still has its own football team) in spite of now being part of the Madrid community. "Gentrification" in the form of duplex flats, pedestrian paseos, and tree-lined avenues has transformed the center, but it remains at heart a traditional character-filled place, whose huge, 18th-century church of San Pedro Ad Vincula is a cultural monument. On your way back to Madrid, jump off at the Calle Pío Felipe stop just above the Buenos Aires Metro station and stroll onto the high grassy knolls of Cerro del Tío Pío park. From here you can enjoy panoramic views of Madrid, and on very clear days you can see the Gredos mountains of Avila province 100km (62 miles) to the west. Service runs every 5 minutes from 6am to 10pm.

75: Callao to Colonia Manzanares -- This route takes you up the Gran Vía to Plaza España, where you turn left down the Cuesta de San Vicente to the Príncipe Pío junction, and then west along Avenida de la Florida to turn left again opposite the Casa Mingo restaurant and the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida (an ornate chapel that contains some important Goya frescoes). Crossing the bridge over the River Manzanares, you enter the uniquely laid-back world of Colonia de Manzanares, which is nestled between the river and Casa del Campo. Its center is a small conglomeration of shops and cafes bordered by avenues of mature residential villas with gardens; on its riverside promenade you may see people fishing. The unexpected aura of peace and relaxation of this charming backwater seems light years -- rather than just a 20-minute bus ride -- away from the bustling Gran Vía. Service runs every 10 to 15 minutes from 6:15am to 11:30pm.

106: Manuel Becerra to Vicálvaro -- This route starts at the circular Plaza de Manuel Becerra on the eastern edge of Salamanca district, follows Calle Alcalá past the imposing neo-Mudéjar Ventas bullring, and heads over the M-30 highway before turning right down the quieter Avenida Daroca. Continuing past the cypress-filled Nuestra Señora de la Almudena cemetery (the largest in Spain) and the newly built flats and the parklands of San Blas and Las Rosas, you cross the M-40 and M-45 highways to reach Vicálvaro on the eastern fringe of Madrid. Like Vallecas, this historic little town is now officially part of the Spanish capital (annexed to Madrid in 1951) but remains a self-contained urban entity with a central 16th-century church (Santa María la Antigua, declared a historic-artistic monument), a local university (King Juan Carlos), a modern Metro link, and a neighboring rail station with connections to Guadalajara and Atocha. Services run every 5 minutes from 7am to 10pm.

146: Callao to Barrio de la Concepción -- Here is your chance to check out the city's changing architectural styles and moods as you progress along the length of Madrid's great east-west artery, Calle Alcalá. Starting at the center of the Gran Vía, you first pass the emblematic Cibeles fountain-statue and flamboyant turn-of-the-20th-century Palacio de Comunicaciones (Post Office) before continuing uphill to the neoclassical Puerta de Alcalá archway, opposite the main entrance to Retiro Park. From here the avenue extends farther east with the Retiro and neo-Mudéjar Antiguas Escuelas Aguirre building on your right, plus the shop-filled Velázquez and Príncipe Vergara streets of the elegant 19th-century Salamanca district on your left. Passing through Goya and Manuel Becerra squares to the Ventas bullring, you finally cross the M-30 bridge and turn left into the newer (ca. 1940s), homelier district of Barrio de la Concepción, which runs parallel to Alcalá. Step off at the tiny Calero park and stroll among the flowers, trees, and playgrounds, where hordes of toddlers play on swings next to a pine-shrouded open-air summer cinema -- one of only two in Madrid. Then relax at an outdoor terrace table in the adjoining promenade-like Calle Virgen de Nuria and enjoy a Mahou beer and tapas in the sun. Service runs every 5 to 10 minutes from 7am to 11:30pm.

148: Callao to Méndez Alvaro (Parque Tierno Galván) -- Route 148 heads north up the Gran Vía to Plaza España, and then turns sharp left into Calle Bailén, passing the Royal Palace, Almudena cathedral, and San Francisco el Grande Church. From here it sweeps down via the Ronda de Toledo and southerly districts of Embajadores and Legazpi to Méndez Alvaro, whose main-line bus station covers national and international destinations as far off as Romania. The route now leads west into a spacious park, named after Ernesto Tierno Galván, Madrid's most progressive mayor in the past 2 decades. Exit here and explore the surrounding greenery concealing a small amphitheater, IMAX theater, planetarium, and museum dedicated to Spain's top motorcyclist, Angel Nieto. Fine views north across the city abound from a small pergola sheltering a small statue of Tierno Galván. Service runs from 7:25am to 11:30pm every 10 to 15 minutes.