Most people search the centre first, and the centre holds 17 % of Madrid’s licensed apartment supply. The other eight in ten addresses sit outside it, and two districts that rarely appear on a shortlist, Tetuán and Ciudad Lineal, hold more between them than Salamanca and Chamberí combined.
A licensed tourist apartment is a home authorised for accommodation use, and according to Madrid City Council the city has 997 such addresses holding 1,405 units across all 21 districts. They do not cluster: 654 different streets are involved, and 81 % of the addresses hold a single home. Whichever district you pick, the metro fare is the same €1.50 to €2.00, and the easiest month to book well is September, at 26.4 degrees average high.
Which areas of Madrid have tourist apartments? All 21 districts, though only 17 % of the supply sits in the Centro district, which holds 174 addresses. Tetuán has 122 and Ciudad Lineal 104, both ahead of Salamanca on 48. Vicálvaro is last on 6. The city total is 997 addresses and 1,405 units.
Which districts to search first
Comparing the register against each district’s reputation is where a search actually improves.
Tetuán holds 122 addresses and 177 units. Ciudad Lineal holds 104 and 133. Together that is 226 addresses, against the 93 of Salamanca and Chamberí combined, the two districts most associated with staying well in Madrid.
Neither is a restricted traffic zone, which matters if you arrive by car, since only 2 areas of the municipality limit driving at all. From either one a metro single costs what it costs from Sol, €1.50 to €2.00, and no parking space needs booking to reach the door.
How many apartments each district has
Reading it from the bottom is the more useful direction, because the thin districts are the ones that waste an afternoon.
| District | Licensed addresses | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Villa de Vallecas | 6 addresses | 9 units |
| Vicálvaro | 6 addresses | 7 units |
| Barajas | 10 addresses | 17 units |
| San Blas-Canillejas | 11 addresses | 18 units |
| Moratalaz | 12 addresses | 16 units |
| Villaverde | 16 addresses | 17 units |
| Moncloa-Aravaca | 22 addresses | 24 units |
| Hortaleza | 22 addresses | 28 units |
| Retiro | 33 addresses | 40 units |
| Usera | 39 addresses | 48 units |
| Fuencarral-El Pardo | 40 addresses | 52 units |
| Chamartín | 41 addresses | 109 units |
| Chamberí | 45 addresses | 60 units |
| Salamanca | 48 addresses | 79 units |
| Latina | 49 addresses | 68 units |
| Puente de Vallecas | 53 addresses | 79 units |
| Carabanchel | 59 addresses | 85 units |
| Arganzuela | 85 addresses | 121 units |
| Ciudad Lineal | 104 addresses | 133 units |
| Tetuán | 122 addresses | 177 units |
| Centro | 174 addresses | 218 units |
Six districts sit below 20 addresses: Villa de Vallecas and Vicálvaro on 6, Barajas on 10, San Blas-Canillejas on 11, Moratalaz on 12 and Villaverde on 16. Between them they hold 61, which is 6 % of the city total.
Two more are thinner than their popularity suggests. The Retiro district has 33 addresses and 40 units, and Moncloa-Aravaca 22 and 24, so in both the licensed supply runs out early.
Should you search by street
The 997 addresses are spread across 654 streets, which works out at 1.5 addresses per street.
The busiest single street is Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto in Arganzuela, with 12. In the Centro district the leaders are Calle del Príncipe on 9 and Gran Vía on 8, then Salitre, Mesón de Paredes and San Vicente Ferrer on 6, 5 and 5. With a maximum of 12, no concentration justifies planning around it, so search by district rather than by street, and allow around 30 minutes on the metro from the outer districts to the centre. No booking window applies to the register itself; availability is a platform question, not a licensing one.
Those last three do map the real centre, though. Salitre and Mesón de Paredes sit in Embajadores, the official neighbourhood known on the street as Lavapiés, and San Vicente Ferrer sits in Universidad, which is Malasaña. In Tetuán the clusters run along Matilde Landa on 8, Cedros on 7 and Orense on 6.
Will you be sharing the building with residents
This decides who shares your stairwell, and the split is lopsided.
Of the 997 addresses, 805 hold exactly one tourist-use home, 81 %. Another 107 hold two, 46 hold three and 15 hold four. Only 24 reach five or more, 2.4 % of the register, and the largest holds 21. Those 24 addresses account for 178 units, 13 % of the total, while the single-home ones supply 805, or 57 %.
Chamartín is the exception worth naming: 41 addresses carrying 109 units, or 2.66 per address, against 1.25 in the Centro district. There the licences gather inside buildings; in the centre they sit flat by flat among residents.
What else changes once you pick the area
Three things shape the stay and none of them is the nightly rate.
Transport is not one of them, because the whole municipality is fare zone A and the ticket costs the same from Tetuán as from Sol, €1.50 to €2.00 for a single and €7.30 for ten journeys, compared in which ticket suits. What does change is car access and street noise, both worked through in which area to stay in.
The listing name is often not the official one. Malasaña, Lavapiés and La Latina appear nowhere in the municipal division, as explained in official against popular names, so an apartment advertised in Malasaña is registered in Universidad.
The licence itself, in one line. All 997 addresses hold a granted planning licence and 865 also record the operating licence, and the Council publishes the file number for each.
Two local habits are worth knowing before you book a kitchen you may not use. Lunch does not start before about 2pm and dinner before 9pm, and the tap water is soft, safe and free in every bar. From the airport the metro adds a separate €3 supplement on top of the single fare.
Eight in ten sit outside the centre, so search there first.
Frequently asked questions about tourist apartments in Madrid
Which areas of Madrid have the most tourist apartments?
The Centro district leads on 174 licensed addresses, but that is only 17 per cent of the total. Tetuán follows on 122 and Ciudad Lineal on 104, both of them ahead of Salamanca on 48 and Chamberí on 45.
Are there tourist apartments outside central Madrid?
Yes, eight in ten of them. All 21 districts hold some, from Arganzuela on 85 addresses and Carabanchel on 59 down to Vicálvaro and Villa de Vallecas, which stop at 6 apiece.
Is one apartment street better than another in Madrid?
No street is worth targeting. The 997 addresses spread across 654 different streets, and the busiest, Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto in Arganzuela, holds 12. Search by district instead of by street.
Are these single flats or whole apartment buildings?
Single flats almost always. Of the 997 addresses, 805 hold exactly one tourist-use home, which is 81 per cent, and only 24 hold five or more. Chamartín is the exception at 2.66 units per address.