I visited Madrid to attend the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring circuit last year.
The circuit isn’t quite in the centre of Madrid, but it’s very easy to access.
When it comes to working out where to stay, you have a choice to make first. Either you choose to be as close as possible to the circuit to avoid the worst of the busy public transport, or you go for the centre of Madrid instead and travel further to and from the circuit each day.
All options are covered below, including some information on what I did.
Staying in Madrid
The Madring circuit isn’t in the centre of Madrid. It’s about half way between the city and the Madrid-Barajas (MAD) airport. Infact it’s actually a little closer to the airport than the centre of the city.
You can see the circuit as the red pin on the map below, and its location relative to the city centre and the airport:
Staying in Madrid city centre itself allows you to enjoy everything else the city has to offer – food, drink, nightlife, tapas, sangria – when you’re not at the track. So it’s a very good option – and I think the best option if you’re visiting for the Grand Prix to get the full Spanish experience.
But if you choose to stay in Madrid you’ll have to commute to the circuit. I’ve written a fully detailed guide on how to get to the Madring circuit. Check that out for all the info you need on getting there.
So if you do decide to stay in Madrid, the key is being able to walk to a metro station. The city has a great metro system with loads of stations. As long as you’re fairly close to one of those, it’ll be easy to get to the track.
Tickets - Madring F1
If you still need tickets to the Spanish GP at the Madring circuit you can do what I did and buy them on the ViaGoGo ticket platform. They always have tickets for sale right up until the last minute, and sometimes you can find them for a better price. I bought mine about a week before the race and got them at half the official cost.
Where I stayed
When I went to Madrid for the Grand Prix I stayed in the centre of the city. I was in a self catering apartment in the Salamanca district, about a 3 minute walk from the Goya metro station. That was perfect because I could get a metro train from that station all the way to the stations near the track with just one change.
From Goya to the Feria de Madrid station right next to the track was around 40 minutes in the morning. Easy.
My apartment was in a lovely part of town. Loads of places to eat and drink nearby, plus I was a 2 minute walk from the beautiful (and massive) El Retiro park which was absolutely bustling throughout the day and in to the evening with walkers, runners and people just out enjoying the warm Spanish evenings – as is very much the culture.
There were loads of mini supermarkets near me so it was super easy to stock up on food and drink for my stay, and so I could take a few snacks to the track with me to save some Euros. Officially you’re not supposed to bring your own food or drink but I got away with it – here’s my full guide on what you can and can’t bring in to the Spanish GP at Madring.
I was super happy with my location, both for the ease of commuting to the track and for how much there was to see and do around my apartment when I wasn’t at the circuit. I’d recommend this area to everyone.
On the map below I’ve highlighted where I stayed near Goya station with the blue pin. You can pan and zoom around the map to see all of the available hotel and B&B options nearby. There loads to choose from!
Staying near the track
Commuting to the track in the morning was fine. Getting home when leaving the circuit at the same time as everyone else was pretty chaotic. It involved lots of walking, standing around, queing, and being crammed in to metro stations with thousands of other people.
If that isn’t for you then staying as close as possible to the track might be a better option so you can just walk to and from the F1. But to do so, first you need to check your tickets to see which part of the circuit you have access to.
The Madring circuit is split in to two halves for spectators – Madring Norte (North) and Madring Sur (South). You cannot walk between each half when you’re at the track.
Norte is for D and E entrance gates. Sur is for A, B and C entrance gates.
So where you stay depends on which part of the circuit your ticket gets you access to.
Madring Norte
The Madring Norte is in the Valdebebas area. This half of the circuit is for people with tickets that tell them to access via the D or E entrance gates, either in the Monumental or Distrito fan zones.
If you want to be within walking distance of those gates, these are the nearest hotels:
- Hotel101 – literally right on top of the circuit and the closest place to stay for both D and E entrance gates. 3* hotel. No more than a 5 minute walk to the gates.
- Welco Valdebebas – 3* hotel about a 5 minute walk from the D gates and a 15 minute walk to the E gates.
- INNSiDE by Melia Madrid Valdebebas – 4* hotel a little further away. 30 to 35 minute walk from D and E gates.
- iBIS Styles Madrid Aiport Valdebebas – 3* hotel about 25 to 30 minutes’ wal from D and E gates.
- AC Hotel Madrid Feria – 3* hotel a 20 minute walk from the D gates and a 40 minute walk from the E gates
On the map below Madring Norte is shown with the big blue pin. Then if you zoom out you’ll see the two other blue pins which when you click on them will show you the location of the D gates and E gates.
Have a look around the map as all of the accommodation options in the area will pop up.
Madring Sur
Madring Sur is near the IFEMA exhibition arena. This is where you want to be if your tickets tell you to access via the A, B and C gates for the Bulevar Cibeles, Buluvar Sol or Barrio fan zones.
There’s one hotel right next to this part of the circuit, but the rest are further away. Here are the two nearest hotels to these gates:
- Novotel Madrid Feria and Airport – 4* hotel super close to this part of the track, no more than a 5 minute walk from the gates
- Hotel Osuna – 4* hotel about 35 minutes’ walk away from the A, B and C gates
Again I’ve created a map below which shows the location of Madring Sur (the big blue pin) then three other smaller pins which show you the location of the A, B and C gates when you click on them.
Have a look around the map to see all of the nearby accommodation options:
