Madrid card: museums and transportation

Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a city rich in artistic and cultural points of interest, with a good presence of museums and tourist attractions.
Choosing the right Madrid pass-the one that best suits your travel tastes-will be important in order to get good savings on the cost of tickets, plan your itinerary more smoothly, and optimize your access time to attractions by already having all your tickets with you, in fact, in a single Madrid transportation card.

Public transport in Madrid also allows people to buy cards (in different formats and solutions) to have access to all public transportation, saving money on tickets.

In this article we delve into the knowledge of cards for Madrid, also highlighting the best pairing with transportation cards.

Madrid card review and comparison

Several types of passes, cards and passes are available for visiting Madrid, each with its own logic and convenience, to be chosen based on your vacation needs.
They should therefore first be analyzed and understood in their logic, and then you will be able to more easily figure out which one best suits your type of vacation, providing you with ample coverage and savings.

I remind you that there is almost never one pass that is absolutely better than another, but each will be more or less convenient depending on the itinerary you have planned, the time available for the vacation, and your tastes as a tourist.

In the case of Madrid, it is also interesting to consider more than one pass in combination to take advantage of the benefits offered by different cards.

Madrid Digital Pass

The Madrid Digital Pass is the subscription that includes the Madrid's most classic tours, ideal for those who are a few days in the city and wants to get a good taste of Madrid.
The pass does not include many attractions, but it gives you a way to visit a piece of Castilian history and one of the most important museums in the world.
It also includes Hop-On / Hop-Off bus service, nice opportunity to explore and embrace the city from a tour bus, to catch the highlights in a fast and guided way.

The Madrid DIGITAL Pass thus includes:

• Visit to the Royal Palace of Madrid (quick access + digital guidebook)
• Prado Museum
• Hop-on Hop-off Bus Madrid
• 10% discount on other attractions in Madrid (via Tiqets)

The Madrid Digital Pass is a package created by Tiqets, a reliable online travel agency active in several European cities.

Buy the Madrid Digital Pass

Madrid Digital Pass Prices

Currently this card to Madrid costs just under €60.
It is purchased conveniently online, in Italian, paying by credit card, and receiving the pass directly electronically to your email address.

Buy the Madrid Digital Pass

How much can you save with the Madrid Digital Pass?

Doing two quick counts and adding up the full tickets for the two main attractions (the two museums) and the value of the Hop-On / Hop-Off tour, there does not seem to be a huge savings.

The strength of the pass in this case is not strictly economic, but you weigh more on the convenience of making a one-time purchase, and taking advantage of the dedicated skip-the-line lanes for card and pass holders.
This can also save you hours of standing in line at the entrances, and personally this aspect is worth a lot, you have to give it an "economic weight."

Also-not to be forgotten-by purchasing this Madrid Digital Pass you will have access to a 10% discount on the purchase of tickets to other Madrid attractions that you would like to purchase to complete your itinerary.
Considering this aspect as well, it also comes on our side to save money.

Buy the Madrid Digital Pass

Madrid DIGITAL Pass at a glance

It is the perfect pass for those who want to see the city's most important museum (Prado) and the royal palace where the King of Spain is staying.
Plus it gives you the opportunity to take a tour of the city on the tourist bus, and being a very large city you will get to see places you would not normally visit.

Buy the Madrid Digital Pass

Go City Madrid All-Inclusive Pass

Without a doubt the most comprehensive pass for Madrid.
As the name suggests, included in the price of the pass are all the major tourist attractions of note that can be visited in Madrid.
It is perfectly suited for all those trips to Madrid-short or long-where you want to maximize your time to see as many things as possible.
The more things you see, the greater the savings offered by the pass.

How does the Go City All-Inclusive Pass for Madrid work?

Go City's all-inclusive Madrid pass is a card for Madrid that includes access to all the attractions included in the pass.
Just choose the duration of the pass: 1,2,3,4 or 5 days.
This makes it best suited for any type of vacation, whether a traditional, long weekend or even a longer stay.

The price varies depending on the duration.
On the validity days you choose, you have free access (included in the price of the pass) to the list of attractions included in the pass.

Once activated (by visiting the first attraction included in the pass), the card is valid for the number of calendar days chosen.
Therefore, it is always recommended to activate it in the morning to take full advantage of the first day of validity as well.

See prices and purchase the Go City All-inclusive pass

What does the all-inclusive pass to Madrid include?

The catalog of attractions included in the Go City All-inclusive Pass for Madrid is definitely rich.
There are currently about 25, among which we find:

• Prado Museum, with admission, skip-the-line and guided tour
• Royal Palace of Madrid
• Hop-on / hop-off bus tours
• Reina Sofia Museum
• Thyssen Museum
• Tour to the Santiago Bernabeu stadium (home of Real Madrid)
• Guided city tour at sunset

And much more.

At the following link you can see the full list of attractions included in the All-inclusive Madrid Pass.

When is it appropriate to purchase the Go City all Inclusive Pass?

As mentioned in the introduction, the Go City All Inclusive Pass turns out to be the best choice for the Madrid pass when you want to see a lot of things.
It doesn't matter if you stay a lot or a little in the city: since you can choose the duration, the pass will adapt to your stay.

What makes all the difference is the approach: if you want to see a lot of things, Go City's all-inclusive pass for Madrid will guarantee significant savings in money and time.
One pass to enter all the city's most important attractions, and to participate in special tours and tourist experiences.

See prices and purchase the Go City All-inclusive pass

How much can you save with the All-Inclusive Pass?

A lot. The more you see, the more you save.

Let's take an example with the 3-day all-inclusive pass, which indicatively costs about €150 for the adult (although discount codes are often available on the official website that allow further savings).
In 3 days it is safely assumed to see about 3 attractions per day, so a total of 9 attractions.
Given the average cost of €35 per attraction, without the pass we would spend in total about: €315.
So with the pass you will have a saving of more than €165 each (315-150)!!!

And for those with even richer itineraries, the savings increase even further.

Same logic applies to children 3-12 years old. The pass costs less, but the attractions would also be reduced. The logic and savings do not change.

Buy the Go City All-inclusive pass to Madrid and save money

Go City Madrid Explorer Pass

GoCity's Madrid Explorer Pass is an attractive product for those who are clear about what they want to see and what they don't.
Either by choice based on personal interests, or to maintain a sustainable itinerary during the days spent in Madrid.

How does the Go City Explorer Pass for Madrid work?

Explorer for Madrid by Go City is anexcellent and balanced solution in the theme card attractions for Madrid.
Also provided by Go City, it differs from the previous one because here you choose the number of attractions you want to see, rather than the days of validity.
You can choose the 3,4,5,6,7 attractions version of Explorer Pass.

Ideal for vacations with moderate itineraries (with no more than 7 attractions planned), able to provide good savings as early as 3 attractions and up.

The price varies depending on the number of attractions included.
Once in Madrid, you have 30 days to see the number of attractions/experiences you choose, arranging them in itinerary as you prefer.
You don't need to choose in advance what you want to see, just how many. Then you decide in Madrid what you will actually see.
You can only see each attraction once.

Once activated (by visiting the first attraction included in the pass), you can then peacefully visit your attractions.

See prices and purchase the Go City Explorer pass

Instead, if you are looking to see as much as possible, go for the all-inclusive GoCity pass seen above.

What does the Explorer Pass for Madrid include?

The catalog of attractions included in the Go City All-inclusive Pass for Madrid is virtually the same as the All-Inclusive.
Except for some attractions that are exclusive to Explorer, and others exclusive to All-Inclusive Pass.

There are all the major Madrid attractions and most interesting tourist experiences.
Without repeating myself, at the following link you can see the full list of attractions included in the Madrid Explorer Pass.

When is it worthwhile to purchase the Go City Explorer Pass?

The Go City Explorer Pass is a good choice when you want to have a moderate itinerary with a fair number of attractions to see (max 7).
But without the goal of seeing as many as possible.
Also useful when you know more or less how many attractions are on your schedule, but are not yet clear on what to see (because you can decide at the last minute).

Again, it is not the days you stay that are important in the evaluation, but how many attractions you plan to be able to do/see.

See prices and purchase the Go City Explorer Pass

How much can you save with the Explorer Pass?

Again, the financial savings are important.

We also give an example here with the 4-attraction Explorer pass.
A quiet cut to see some of the main things in the city, which indicatively costs about €99 for the adult (although discount codes are often available on the official website that allow further savings).

Given the average cost of €35 per attraction, without a pass we would spend in total about: €140 (€35 x 4).
With Madrid Explorer pass we spend €99, saving about €41 each (140-99)!

The more attractions you choose, the greater the savings.

Same logic applies to children 3-12 years old. The pass costs less, but the attractions would also be reduced. The logic and savings do not change.

Buy the Go City Explorer pass for Madrid and save money

Paseo del Arte Card

The "Paseo del Arte Card" is the name of a pass for Madrid dedicated to the artistic component of the city.
In fact, it includes access to the city's 3 most famous museums, which together form what is known as the "Golden Triangle of Art"

• Thyssen Museum
• Prado Museum
• Reina Sofia Museum

Buy the Paseo del Arte Card

Paseo del Arte is a walk along Paseo del Prado, the neighborhood where Madrid's major museums are located, with the Prado standing out among them all.
A short walk from the Paseo del Prado, just behind the museum, you can find the Parque del Ritiro, with its marvelous and distinctive Crystal Palace - with free admission.

Paseo del Arte Card prices and savings

Madrid's Paseo del Arte Card costs (approximately) €35 per single person.
The cost is not high, although-as we can see-the financial savings are not so sharp either.

The Paseo del Arte Card includes admission to:

• Prado Museum - without pass cost of admission 15€ approx.
• Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum - without pass cost of admission 13€ approx.
• Reina Sofia Museum - without pass cost of admission 10€ approx.

As you can see, we are talking about a few euros of financial savings: not bad for your pocket, but not its strong point.

Buy the Paseo del Arte Card

Skip the line at Madrid museums

The real selling point of this pass is (as seen for the previous one) the ability to enter Madrid's 3 main museums-which are, moreover, always crowded with tourists-in a few minutes while avoiding the lines, thanks to the pass's "skip the line" feature.
This is invaluable, believe me!
Being able to save 1-2 hours in line, perhaps in summer with 40°, is worth 3 times the price of the pass!

The card is valid for one year after purchase, and also allows access to some temporary exhibitions at the Prado and Reina Sofia.

Buy the Paseo del Arte Card

5 Museum Pass

A decidedly lesser-known Madrid museum pass is the "5-museum pass."
This is a very inexpensive pass that allows you to visit the following 5 museums within 10 days:

• Cerralbo Museum
• Làzaro Galdiano Museum
• National Museum of Decorative Arts
• Museum of Romanticism
• Sorolla Museum

These are important museums in Madrid, though not the purely tourist museums (included in the DIGITAL Pass, however).

Prices and validity card 5 museums Madrid

The cost is definitely affordable, the 5-museum pass costs only 12 Euro.
It is purchased directly on site at one of the ticket offices of the 5 participating museums.
Therefore, upon visiting the first museum, at the box office instead of asking for the standard ticket, you are asked to purchase this 5-museum card.

You have 10 days from the first activation to complete visiting the 5 museums.

When is the 5-museum card worthwhile?

In my opinion it is worthwhile as often as there is space and the desire in your itinerary to see these important Madrid museums, which together with the more emblazoned ones, complete the artistic and cultural offerings that Madrid offers its visitors.

It can be chosen as the only museum pass, forgoing the most popular ones in case you have already seen them on previous occasions, or purchased together with a pass that includes the others, such as the DIGITAL Pass explained in this article.
Its low cost makes it an excellent investment in this regard.

Only to be discouraged when, for reasons of time or itinerary preferences, you want to limit yourself to only the two most important museums in the city.
We can tend to say that it is great for medium/long stays (4-7 days), to be evaluated for shorter stays.

Madrid card transportation

Madrid offers a very rich and effective urban transportation network, consisting of metro and buses, which allow you to move easily in all areas of the city.

The transports card in Madrid is called Abono Turístico de Transporte (translated to Tourist Trasport Pass), also called Tarjeta turística (translated to Tourist Card): they are synonyms for the same season ticket.

The passes for museums and attractions described above on this page, do NOT include options for public transportation.
So this card should always be purchased separately from the Madrid tourist pass.

Madrid's transport card includes unlimited rides on the metro and buses, and is sold in different validity denominations; for tourists there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7-day passes, depending on how long you are in town!

You can choose between two passes, one designed for the center of Madrid (ZONE A) and the other for the suburbs (ZONE T).
If you are in Madrid as a tourist, staying in the center and not staying many days, I definitely recommend theZone A pass .

ZONE A subscription includes:

• Madrid Metro in fare zone A (city)
• Metro to/from airport (T1-T2-T3 and T4)
• All EMT blue bus routes.
• Zones 0 and A of the Renfe network (trains)
• Metro Ligero's ML1

The ZONE T subscription, on the other hand, includes:

• All metro fare zones
• All urban and intercity bus routes (blue + green)
• The entire Renfe network
• The ML2, ML3 lines of Metro Ligero and ML4 lines of the Parla Tranvia

Madrid transport card prices

As anticipated, the price of Madrid's transport card varies depending on the duration and zone of coverage (at the tourist level we take ZONE A as a reference, enough to get around everything).
The fares are as follows:

Price table of transport cards in Madrid.

Zones	1 Day	2 Days	3 Days	4 Days	5 Days	7 Days
Zone A	8,40€	14,20€	18,40€	22,60€	26,80€	35,40€
Zone T	17,00€	28,40€	35,40€	43,00€	50,80€	70,80€

Where is the transportation card purchased?

The Madrid metro + bus transportation card is purchased in the city at any metro ticket office.

Is it worth the transport card in Madrid?

Yes, Madrid's transportation pass absolutely pays off, both for an economic factor and for convenience.

Consider that Madrid is very large and dispersed: to move from one side to the other of ZONE A, the metro is essential to conserve a little energy.
So using transportation frequently for medium and long trips saves a lot of energy, especially in summer when it is quite hot.

The price of a single ticket is 1.50€, reasoning that with 6 trips already you go save money by taking the season ticket.

Table prices are valid for adults (12+). Children 5-12 years old pay 50% of the full fare. Under 4 years old can travel without a ticket.

Where to purchase it.
You can buy the season ticket at all metro stations by following the directions on the screen. It is very simple and intuitive.

Is a card for Madrid worthwhile?

The different types of cards for Madrid attractions and museums that we have seen on this page offer complete coverage of every tourist need during a trip to Madrid.

GoCity's passes - All-Inclusive and Explorer - have a rich catalog on their side, and offer significant financial savings.
They are the passes to consider for a trip to Madrid with a desire to discover and explore the city in depth.

The Digital Pass is the classic essential tourist pass, so to see the city's cartel attractions, but without enjoying an expanded experience (perhaps for reasons of time or personal choice).

The other cards(Paseo dell'Arte and Card 5 Museums), on the other hand, are more sector-specific passes, for those who are looking more to delve into the cultural side of the city.
Theydo not make saving money their great strength, although they always save something.

In general, in addition to the savings that vary depending on the type of pass and the tourist approach you have, the great advantage of having a Madrid pass is measured in convenience and time savings in skipping the lines at the entrance to museums, thanks to the fast lanes dedicated to pass holders.
This aspect is worth a lot, saves valuable time to devote to your vacation, and saves a lot of effort.

As for the Madrid passes reviewed on this page, you can serenely purchase them online from the links on this page.
The 5-museum card, on the other hand, as mentioned, is bought locally.

The public transportation card, on the other hand, pays off practically all the time, for every tourist case you go to consider.