Fare-zone maps in Madrid stations show eight labelled rings stretching well beyond the city, which is a lot of information for a decision most visitors settle in one word.
The Madrid transport pass is organised into eight fare zones, and zone A alone covers everything a short trip normally touches, including all four airport terminals. What the other seven change is the price, and only for people living further out. The eight are A, B1, B2, B3, C1 and C2 inside the Comunidad de Madrid, plus E1 and E2 in Castilla-La Mancha, which is another region altogether. The title they price is the 30-day pass, and zone A alone reaches all four terminals at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport. The Consorcio Regional de Transportes publishes every one of those fares.
Which Madrid transport zone do I need? There are 8 zones: A, B1, B2, B3, C1 and C2 inside the Comunidad de Madrid, plus E1 and E2 in Castilla-La Mancha. Zone A covers the whole municipality including the airport terminals and costs €32.70 a month. The price rises to €38.20 in B1 and €43.20 in B2, then freezes at €49.20 for B3, C1 and C2.
For most visitors the answer stops at the first zone, and the rest is context. The whole ticket system sits in which Madrid transport ticket to buy.
Zone A is almost certainly all you need
The entire municipality of Madrid sits inside zone A, and that includes all four terminals of Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, every museum in the centre and the outer neighbourhoods.
A visitor who does not leave the city needs nothing more, however far the network stretches beyond it. Widening the zone only makes sense for trips out to El Escorial, Aranjuez or Alcalá de Henares, and that call is better made from the itinerary than as insurance, since each step outward adds between €5 and €6 a month.
For a short stay the relevant ticket is not this one at all but the tourist pass, whose arithmetic is worked through in when the tourist pass is the wrong buy. The 30-day pass starts making sense from the fifth day of a stay.
Under 26 changes everything
The zone table matters less than it looks, because in the same document the Comunidad sets the Abono Joven at €10 a month valid across every zone from A to E2, for anyone aged 15 to 25.
On the same sheet the Comunidad lists its unsubsidised fare as €20, with a 50 % discount bringing it to €10. Eligibility runs from 15 until the day you turn 26, an eleven-year window, which makes the twenty-sixth birthday the single most expensive day in Madrid transport: €10 for the whole region becomes €32.70 for zone A alone, or €49.20 out in the third ring.
That ticket requires a Tarjeta Transporte Público Personal, a named card, so it cannot sit on the anonymous card used for 10-trip tickets and tourist passes. That distinction matters for a visiting student, who may qualify on age and still need to sort out the card first.
Who travels free
In the same table the Comunidad keeps full free travel for under-14s and for over-65s. Under-7s already had it and the 7-to-14 band was added later.
It is worth knowing when costing a family trip, because it changes the total outright. A family of two adults and two children under 14 pays €65.40 for zone A rather than €130.80, since only the 2 adult passes are charged.
Three groups pay nothing at all on the Abono Transporte:
- Under-7s, who have had free travel the longest.
- Children aged 7 to 14, added to the exemption later.
- Over-65s, free across the zones their pass covers.
Eight zones, four prices
In its published fare table the Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid sets six zones inside the region and two more, E1 and E2, across the border in Castilla-La Mancha. They run outward from A at the centre.
The striking part is where the pricing stops discriminating. B3, C1 and C2 all cost €49.20. Someone living in the outermost ring pays exactly what someone two rings closer pays, so past B3 distance no longer makes the pass more expensive. Between zone A and B3 there is €16.50 of difference; between B3 and C2, none at all.
| Zone | What it reaches | 30-day pass |
|---|---|---|
| C2 | Regional boundary | €49.20 |
| C1 | Outer municipalities of the region | €49.20 |
| B3 | Third metropolitan ring | €49.20 |
| B2 | Second metropolitan ring | €43.20 |
| B1 | First metropolitan ring | €38.20 |
| A | Municipality of Madrid, airport terminals included | €32.70 |
| E1 and E2 | Castilla-La Mancha towns inside the authority | n/a |
These prices expire on 31 December 2026
Every figure here rests on extraordinary subsidies the Comunidad de Madrid extended, and they are in force until 31 December 2026. The region funds them alongside the other administrations in the transport authority and the national transport ministry.
The discount is 50 % on the Abono Joven and 40 % on 30-day passes for ages 26 to 64, on 10-trip tickets and on the Tarjeta Azul. Without it the Abono Joven returns to its €20 fare and every Abono Transporte band rises by 40 %. This is a price that expires by political decision rather than commercial one, so it is worth re-checking on a trip planned months ahead, exactly as with the Madrid Metro ticket price.
For a visitor the practical consequence is that the zone map barely matters, because the whole municipality sits in zone A and the neighbourhood you choose changes nothing about the fare. What it changes is whether a car reaches the door.
Outside zone A some destinations carry their own visiting condition, such as Chinchón, where the theatre and the clock tower open only on a guided visit at 10am on Sundays.
Frequently asked questions about Madrid transport zones
Which Madrid transport zone do I need as a visitor?
Zone A is almost always enough. It covers the entire municipality of Madrid, including all four airport terminals and every museum in the centre. Only trips out to El Escorial, Aranjuez or Alcalá de Henares need a wider zone.
How many transport zones does Madrid have?
Eight. Six sit inside the Comunidad de Madrid, labelled A, B1, B2, B3, C1 and C2, and two more, E1 and E2, cover towns in neighbouring Castilla-La Mancha that belong to the same transport authority.
Do I need a monthly pass at all for a week in Madrid?
Usually not. A 30-day pass only undercuts the tourist pass from the fifth day of a stay, and it needs a personalised card that cannot be issued on the spot. For a week most visitors do better with a tourist pass or a 10-trip ticket.
How much is a monthly transport pass in Madrid?
Zone A costs €32.70, B1 costs €38.20 and B2 costs €43.20. Zones B3, C1 and C2 all cost the same €49.20, because the price stops rising once you pass B3, however far out you actually live.
Is there a cheaper pass for young travellers in Madrid?
The Abono Joven costs €10 a month and covers every zone from A to E2, for anyone from 15 until the day they turn 26. It needs a personalised transport card, so it cannot be bought on an anonymous one.
Eight zones and four prices. Distance stops counting at B3, and age never stops counting at all.