According to www.euroresidentes.com, “The traffic system in Madrid is complex and demands careful planning if you are not familiar with the city. Once you have arrived, our main piece of advice is to leave your car in a safe place and use the public transport system.” If you’re driving a car rental, you may find the congestion maddening in a city with more than 3 million people downtown (which inflates up to 7 million in its metro) and 6 million annual tourists. Construction is seemingly never ending in the city centre and parking certainly isn’t cheap. Even so, you may decide that car rentals are the best way to go, seeing as you’re planning to travel outside of Madrid to surrounding towns in Spain.
To obtain a car rental, you must have a valid passport and driver’s license issued by your home state. You must also have insurance, which is usually negotiated by the travel professionals at the rent-a-car office. On the autopista toll roads, the maximum speed is 75 mph. On the autovia, they can range from 50 to 75, depending on where you are. Carretera local highways are as signed, but do not exceed 60 mph. The main roads are between 40 and 60 mph, generally speaking. The laws benefit motorists more than pedestrians, so exercise extreme caution when crossing an intersection by foot, even if you are at a designated crosswalk. On the highways, passing on the right is illegal unless you are exiting. If there is a solid line in the road, do not pull into the intersection to make a left; instead, look for special lanes that aid your turn. Everyone in your car should wear a seat belt and do not drink and drive. The blood alcohol limits are about half those in other parts of Europe. If you get busted for a traffic offense, you will not be allowed to leave the country until you pay your fine or appear in court. In fact, many fines need to be paid right on the spot!
You will find there are ample parking lots for your car rental around the downtown city centre. As a general rule, you may not park where the curbs are painted yellow or where “no parking” signs are posted. There are blue parking spaces and meters located in many places around town, although there is usually a two-hour maximum here. You may find it extremely aggravating when someone blocks you into your spot, but this happens commonly. The proper protocol is to sit in your car and honk your horn until the owner comes out and moves. While this may seem terribly rude, it’s just part of every day life in this busy city. Be especially careful when parking in Madrid because the “grua” — local tow truck drivers — will charge you an arm and a leg to get your car back. If you can’t speak any Spanish, then you may have an exceptionally hard time negotiating with them. When in doubt, look for underground parking with security.
An excellent road trip for you and your car rental is the hour drive to Toledo, a town with over 2,000 years of history. Toledo was once inhabited by members of three major religions — Islam, Christianity and Judaism — which are evidenced by the local architecture. Most visitors stop at Baroque and medieval churches like the Toledo Cathedral, for instance. The army museum at Alcazar is also worth a visit. Travel packages to Toledo often include admission to the Museo de Santa Cruz, which houses some impressive medieval and Renaissance artwork. The quaint town itself is a sight to behold, with narrow cobbled streets, Spanish style houses and picturesque hills. You’ll be glad you took the time to visit some of Spain’s historic past.
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