Metro de Madrid

Metro: I am a Metro fanatic. I love the underground trains as they speed through the subterranean zones of a city. New York and Washington have complicated subway lines; Chicago's metro is elevated in select areas. Even Bilbao has a modest metro. I love them all.

El de Madrid tiene su encanto. With over 286 kilometers of track and 231 stations on 12 lines, Spain's capital has the sixth longest metro line in the world. Opened on 17 October 1919, the Madrid metro serves the metropolitan area with rapid, efficient transportation. Most of the Madrid Metro runs  underground. The station are often deep in the ground with lots of stairs and even elevators. The various lines makes travel around the city easy. Most of my madrileños friends rarely use their cars to go to work in the city. The metro is far more reliable and quicker.

Ópera

During my stay in Madrid, my station is Ópera. See the photo on left. The entrance is on the Plaza de Isabel II, currently under reconstruction. Lines 5 & 2 stop here as does the connector to Príncipe Pío, an important transit point for suburban lines. The station takes its name from the Teatro Real across the street where the Royal Ópera performs .

No visit to Madrid is complete unless you take a ride on the metro.