Barcelona to Plaza Mayor (Madrid)

[lifeasme123]

I am looking at the fast train (AVE) from Barcelona to Madrid after our cruise.  Based on my research:

 

1.  Take taxi from cruise port to Barcelona-SANTS train station

2.  Take AVE train from Barcelona-Sants to Madrid-Puerto de Atocha

 

This is where my confusion kicks in:  My hotel is near Plaza Mayor. 

 

1.  What station is closest to Plaza Mayor?

2.  After the AVE train ride, do I need to purchase another train ticket to get to Plaza Mayor?  Or is my RENFE AVE ticket good all the way to the final destination?

 

Thanks!

[Twickenham]

Well, your AVE train brings you to Puerto de Atocha, which is the main train station in Madrid and pretty much in the heart of the city. From there you can, depending on the exact location of your hotel, take a metro or bus there, or even if you're fit and ambitious walk there, but I'd probably just hop into a taxi.

[hkto]

Whenever you buy Renfe Intercity ticket you'll be given a code that allows a trip on local Renfe network; it's called Combinado Cercanias and on the ticket. On arrival to Atocha go to Cercanias station, enter code into a vending machine, get actual ticket and go to Sol station which is in walking distance from Plaza Mayor.

Edited March 19, 2019 by hkto

[lifeasme123]

1 hour ago, hkto said:

Whenever you buy Renfe Intercity ticket you'll be given a code that allows a trip on local Renfe network; it's called Combinado Cercanias and on the ticket. On arrival to Atocha go to Cercanias station, enter code into a vending machine, get actual ticket and go to Sol station which is in walking distance from Plaza Mayor.

Thank you!

[ReligBookFreak]

On 3/18/2019 at 2:55 PM, lifeasme123 said:

I am looking at the fast train (AVE) from Barcelona to Madrid after our cruise.  Based on my research:

 

1.  Take taxi from cruise port to Barcelona-SANTS train station

2.  Take AVE train from Barcelona-Sants to Madrid-Puerto de Atocha

 

This is where my confusion kicks in:  My hotel is near Plaza Mayor. 

 

1.  What station is closest to Plaza Mayor?

2.  After the AVE train ride, do I need to purchase another train ticket to get to Plaza Mayor?  Or is my RENFE AVE ticket good all the way to the final destination?

 

Thanks!

We are doing the reverse of your trip. We are flying into Madrid pre-cruise, staying for 5 nights, then taking the AVE train to Barcelona, staying at a hotel at the SANTS train station for 2 nights, then taking a taxi to the cruise port. Keep in mind that you should book your train tickets online well in advance. The Renfe website is difficult to use; I recommend https://loco2.com/en/. The prices are identical.

 

To get to Plaza Mayor, I recommend taking a taxi. Otherwise, you would have to transfer from the Atocha AVE side of the train station to the Cercanias side of the station. The Cercanias trains are the local (suburban) trains. You can expect a significant walk (including going up or down stairs). To take the local train, you would need to take Line 1 to the Sol (Puerta del Sol) stop (4 stops) and then walk about a 1/4 mile (350m). See the following Google map:  https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Madrid+-+Atocha+Cercanias,+28045+Madrid,+Spain/Plaza+Mayor,+Madrid,+Spain/@40.412029,-3.7023697,16z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m15!4m14!1m5!1m1!1s0xd42262445cdd817:0x3947f9c28d65035b!2m2!1d-3.6889689!2d40.4071782!1m5!1m1!1s0xd42287ed85fe0d9:0xd202c4f0d67625e8!2m2!1d-3.707023!2d40.4156181!3e3!4e1

 

Another option is to walk approximately 1.25 miles (2 Km) from the train station to Plaza Mayor. Considering that you will have luggage from a cruise, I strongly recommend a taxi.

Alan

[lifeasme123]

22 hours ago, ReligBookFreak said:

We are doing the reverse of your trip. We are flying into Madrid pre-cruise, staying for 5 nights, then taking the AVE train to Barcelona, staying at a hotel at the SANTS train station for 2 nights, then taking a taxi to the cruise port. Keep in mind that you should book your train tickets online well in advance. The Renfe website is difficult to use; I recommend https://loco2.com/en/. The prices are identical.

 

To get to Plaza Mayor, I recommend taking a taxi. Otherwise, you would have to transfer from the Atocha AVE side of the train station to the Cercanias side of the station. The Cercanias trains are the local (suburban) trains. You can expect a significant walk (including going up or down stairs). To take the local train, you would need to take Line 1 to the Sol (Puerta del Sol) stop (4 stops) and then walk about a 1/4 mile (350m). See the following Google map:  https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Madrid+-+Atocha+Cercanias,+28045+Madrid,+Spain/Plaza+Mayor,+Madrid,+Spain/@40.412029,-3.7023697,16z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m15!4m14!1m5!1m1!1s0xd42262445cdd817:0x3947f9c28d65035b!2m2!1d-3.6889689!2d40.4071782!1m5!1m1!1s0xd42287ed85fe0d9:0xd202c4f0d67625e8!2m2!1d-3.707023!2d40.4156181!3e3!4e1

 

Another option is to walk approximately 1.25 miles (2 Km) from the train station to Plaza Mayor. Considering that you will have luggage from a cruise, I strongly recommend a taxi.

Alan

Thanks Alan for sharing!  It is actually cheaper on the link you provided!!!  Thanks for that.

 

How do you plan to go from Madrid airport to city center?  

Edited March 24, 2019 by lifeasme123

[ReligBookFreak]

54 minutes ago, lifeasme123 said:

Thanks Alan for sharing!  It is actually cheaper on the link you provided!!!  Thanks for that.

 

How do you plan to go from Madrid airport to city center?  

We will take a taxi from the airport to the city center. We are staying at Hotel Liabeny. Where are you staying?

Alan

[hkto]

I don't remember exact details but walking to Cercanias in Atocha wasn't a big deal. There is a some walk involved anyway regardless just to get street. Taxi should be in 6-8€ ballpark during the day. Sol Renfe exit is in the middle of Puerta del Sol square. Plaza Major 3-4 min walk off Calle Major. I don't recommend walking from Atocha at least without some kind of GPS. Shorter route goes through number of small streets.

Edited March 25, 2019 by hkto

[lifeasme123]

18 hours ago, hkto said:

I don't remember exact details but walking to Cercanias in Atocha wasn't a big deal. There is a some walk involved anyway regardless just to get street. Taxi should be in 6-8€ ballpark during the day. Sol Renfe exit is in the middle of Puerta del Sol square. Plaza Major 3-4 min walk off Calle Major. I don't recommend walking from Atocha at least without some kind of GPS. Shorter route goes through number of small streets.

Definitely do not plan to walk from Atocha to Plaza Major.  I didn't know which is easier:  taxi or metro.  In reading your response, it does not matter as walking to street (to catch taxi) or to another train platform is about the same.  Thanks for the feedback.

[lifeasme123]

On 3/24/2019 at 7:53 PM, ReligBookFreak said:

We will take a taxi from the airport to the city center. We are staying at Hotel Liabeny. Where are you staying?

Alan

We rented an apt on next to Plaza Mayor.

[hkto]

Taxi is easier as it'll take you to the door. Taxi rank is Level 2 right above Cercanias; their ticket machine is Level 0. Usually escalators are used to move between levels.

Make sure that taxi driver understands where the place is; for some reason very few use GPS. Last time I took it I had to tell him how to get to my destination. And there is no Uber. Don't bother with metro. Getting ticket with free Combinado code require some effort but I think machine has English. Trip to Sol is 3 min. Schedule is here http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/cercanias/madrid/