- Currency
- Euro (€). Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including small bars and market stalls.
- Emergency
- 112 for everything.
- Time zone
- CET / CEST, the same as Paris and Berlin.
- Power
- Type C/F sockets, 230V.
- Language
- Spanish. English is common in museums and hotels, less so in traditional bars, where pointing at the counter works fine.
- Getting around
- The Metro is fast, frequent and reaches almost everything on a visitor's list; the tourist travel pass covers unlimited rides for one to seven days. The historic centre between the Royal Palace and the Prado is about thirty minutes on foot end to end, so most days need the Metro only at the edges.
- Airport transfer
- Metro line 8 runs from the airport to Nuevos Ministerios, with an airport supplement on the ticket. The Cercanías train from Terminal 4 reaches Atocha and Chamartín, and the 24-hour Exprés Aeropuerto bus runs to Atocha. Taxis charge a fixed flat fare to anywhere inside the M-30 ring.
- Tipping
- Not expected. Leaving the small change, or up to 10% for a long meal with good service, is generous.
- Meal times
- Later than anywhere else in Europe: lunch 14:00–16:00, dinner from 21:00. Many traditional kitchens close between about 16:30 and 20:30, so an 18:00 dinner usually means tapas at the bar.
- Free museum hours
- The Prado is free in its last two hours every day, the Reina Sofía on most evenings and on Sunday middays, and the Thyssen's permanent collection on Mondays. Expect queues; the free hours suit a second visit better than a first.
- Closing days
- The Reina Sofía closes on Tuesdays and most state museums, including the Archaeological Museum, close on Mondays. The Prado is open every day.
- Summer heat
- July and August regularly pass 35°C. Plan museums for the afternoon, walking for the morning and the evening, and expect some family-run restaurants to close for part of August.
- Tap water
- Comes from the Sierra de Guadarrama and is excellent. Ask for "agua del grifo".
