I have 4 hours between flights in Madrid. Is that enough time to round trip it to the city and see a bit of Madrid? and if so, what to see with the very limited time available?

Between flights...counting on the time you have to stay at the airport before the flight ? In Barajas you have to count a bit more than normal, it's a very busy airport.
Also it depends on the terminal you arrive... I really wouldn't do it. Too risky for me I'd better relax with a good meal at the airport and a bit of shopping

If your motto is "nothing is impossible" then go for it.

However, you would only have time to get in a cab, drive in, not get out, and drive back.

Thanks! okay, I will just shop for any souvenirs I didn't have time to buy earlier.

It was just 4 hours total between flights- it seems too complicated to risk it although I have done so many times before!

And I'm sure none of those times was while in Barajas airport! 3-4 hrs connecting time is what I consider safe in Barajas.

From personal experience I was put in 'standby' because I was late for my plane....two and half hours before.

Now, you would not need to check-in so you could head straight back to the security line and that is not soooo bad.

Madrid traffic can be a killer. If you are decided to do this, the metro would probably work out the best.

I would NOT go for it, four hours is not that much time.

Just to keep morale up. . . I spent an entire day in Barajas once to meet and greet foreign exchange students, and send them along to the language camp. 9 hours total. There is a restaurant called "Neptune" that has pretty tasty sandwiches, and there are a few coffee kiosks that serve "Bonka" brand coffee, which I love.

One thing you have to take into account is your arrival and departure terminals. Terminal 4 is now open and all Iberia flights, both domestic (Iberia Regional and Air Nostrum) and international are now handled through T4 and T4S. If you are arriving at one of the other terminals, you will have to transfer to T4 or T4S by bus, which can take some time due to the number of people needing to make this transfer.

T4S also handles all of the One World Alliance carriers: American Airlines, British, Finnair, Cathy Pacific and the LAN Group. All others, including US Airways, Delta and Continental remain at terminal T1 for now.

Robert,

Do you know if T4 is physically connected to the other terminals? I'm planning to go to Spain this summer and probably will fly Continental into Madrid(T1) and then transfer to Iberia for Bilbao(T4).

In the past Continental and/ or Iberia have sometimes not allowed for my luggage to be check to final destination because they are not part of the same airline's alliance.
So this meant I had to claim my bagagge and then walk from T3 to T1 (or viceversa) and check it with the new airline.

Thanks for any info!

Hi cruiseluv,

they are not connected at all. If you have your boarding card and the luggage has been sent to your final destination, you will be able to get an internal bus and go straight to T4.

If not, you will have to pick up the luggage and get outside to find the shuttle buses from the metro station to the T4. It is relatively well marked, but I cannot tell you for sure how often they run. The first week they were running only every 10 minutes, and it was a nightmare.

I have only flown Spanair since (real nightmarish experiences, a three hour delay yesterday), and my first Iberia flight will be next Friday to Venice. Thanks God for the check-in online, it will save me time but I will probably have a very long walk to the gates.

I´ll let you know how "bad" it is. The only beacon of light are the two new shops by Zara and Mango in the T4 ...

Rgds, Cova

Thanks everyone! I guess it is souvenir shopping at the airport with a stop at "Neptune" for a snack.

Hi Cova,

I had posted a response last night but now see that for some reason it didn't post!

Thanks for the "heads up". It does sound like a nightmare. The thought of me going out of T1 with my luggage trying to find the shuttle to T4 is scary!

What terminal is Spanair using? T3?

Thanks a lot!

Spanair should be flying out of T3.

T2, T3 is the old Barcelona "air bridge" terminal, and only the poor people of LagunAir have been left there. They say it is spooky.

One of the entrance doors to the T2 has been closed, and things were pretty strange there last Friday. I arrived at 20:30, rush hour on a Friday usually, and the newspaper kiosk outside was already closing down, some of the duty free places were very understaffed, quite sad ... I hope things get better next autumn.

Rgds, Cova

We'll be at MAD at the end of the month and should be able to scope out what's happening.

Robert and Cova,

Thanks. Please keep us posted. I won't be there until August so hopefully all the wrinkles will be ironed out by then !

NO! I don't think 4-hours is enough time for a sightseeing trip into Madrid. Of course it depends on day or the week and time of day: Sunday morning you might do a taxi tour. Such a tour would take you to el Paseo de la Castellana, Colón and el Monumento a las Americas, Cibeles, el Paseo del Prado, la Puerta de Atocha, then to Catedral de la Almudena, Palacio Réal, Plaza de España; then to el Puerto de Alcalá and Parque del buen Retiro on your way back to Barajas.

Once, before 9/11, I had a 4-hour 'window' and caught a 101 bus to Barajas Pueblo. From the Plaza I called some relatives to meet me at Toribio's Churreria. They dropped me at the airport after a nice visit. That time, I was flying SpanAir and my luggage had been checked thru.

More recently (2004), I had a 4-hour layover: had arrived from Santiago de Compostela on Iberia and was connecting with Continental to Newark. Continental was already checking people in when I got to T-1 and the check-in line was very long. So I called and told relatives that I couldn't make it for Chocolate con Churros this time.

Nedsireland,

Did Iberia check your luggage through to Newark or did you have to claim it and cart it to the check-in counter for Continental?

I just did a Spanair-Continental combo through MAD. I was able to check luggage through, but I could not get boarding pass for one from the other.

So, upon arriving in MAD T-2 on Spanair, I had to walk downstairs, out of secure area, then I could walk (quite a ways) to Continental in T-1, then back through security. They do have the luggage carts if you have bags without wheels. I couldn't use the bus or connection inside secure area because I didn't have my next boarding pass.

I heard from my friends in Spain that T-4 with Iberia is a real pain, but I didn't go there.

Thanks Kay,

Actually Spanair also let me check through with Continental . But last year Iberia did not and prior to that Air Europa didn't either ( eventhough they are partners with Continental!).

I think it depends who is at the counter that day!