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Madrid Barajas Airport
Madrid is a large airport with four terminals and a full range of facilities. Terminals 1-3 are connected by travelator, and have all the transport links to the city. Terminal 4, which is the largest and newest of the terminals is served by a shuttle service from Terminal 2.
Getting there on foot
The airport is just 12km from the centre, but is surrounded by Motorways. Anybody foolhardy enough to try it is recommended to get a map.
Getting there by public transport
Madrid airport is on line 8 of the Madrid metro system. Regular trains (every 5-10 minutes) run from around 6am until after midnight. The station is connected to terminal 2, and is not brilliantly signposted from other terminals so look out for signs to terminal 2 and find it from there. You Make sure you leave 15 minutes (or rather longer for terminal 4) to get to your check-in desk. Line 8 runs to Nuevo Ministeros in the north of the city centre. You can change for RENFE train services or the blue line to the business district here. If you are going to historic centre of Madrid you will want to change at Mar de Cristal.
There is a flat fare for journeys on the metro, and ten-trip tickets are available at a significant discount for people who will be spending any amount of time in Madrid (though bear in mind that many destinations in the centre are quite easy to walk to if you have the energy). There is a manned ticket office at the airport if you do not have change.
There are a number of buses from the airport to the city centre, although they are no cheaper than the Metro, and do not run in the hours when the Metro doesn't run so they are not actually that useful. Catching a bus will let you see more of the city proper however, rather than just seeing the tourist centre.