Road through the dunes of Corralejo. Fuerteventura. Canary Islands

Travelling Spain by road

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Spain has more than 16,000 kilometres of motorways, some with tolls. Here you will find a table with Spain's most important road arteries.

Main roads in Spain

ROAD ROUTE DISTANCE AND APPROXIMATE TIME
A1 Madrid - Burgos     250 km / 2 hrs 30 min
A2 Madrid - Zaragoza (continues to Barcelona with the AP2)     To Zaragoza: 315 km / 3 hrs 15 min     To Barcelona: 620 km / 6 hrs 15 min
A3 Madrid - Valencia     350 km / 3 hrs 30 min
A4 Madrid - Seville (continues to Cádiz with the AP4)     To Seville: 530 km / 5 hours     To Cadiz: 650 km / 6 hours
A5 Madrid - Badajoz     400 km / 3 hrs 45 min
A6 Madrid - A Coruña     600 km / 5 hrs 45 min
A7 and AP7 From north to south, the Mediterranean coast. From the French border to Malaga     1200 km / 11 hours
AP8 The north road. From Torrelavega to Aviles     175 km / 1 hr 45 min
A9 and AP9 From Ferrol and A Coruña to the Portuguese border (Tuy)     200 km / 2 hours

Roads and motorways

The vast majority of Spanish roads are toll-free. These include motorways (independent roads in each direction and with no intersections at the same level).Nevertheless, there is a series of roads that may require the payment of a toll. These are the motorways. The cost varies in each case, but there are generally alternative routes that are free to use. You can check the motorways that require toll payment here.Large cities can usually be accessed through bypasses that have numerous entrance points into the city.

A-1 motorway at night, Madrid

Useful information

Regulated parking: it is common for cities to have regulated parking spaces on the street with parking meters. You will be able to recognise the regulated zones by the coloured lines in the parking areas. Traffic restrictions: many destinations have bans or traffic restrictions for non-resident or polluting vehicles. These include numerous monument cities that have restricted motor vehicle access to their historic centres. Likewise, Madrid only allows Zero Emission and resident vehicles to access its city centre. Occasionally and depending on the levels of pollution, Madrid and Barcelona limit the traffic inside the main ring road. Toll payment: tolls may be paid in cash, by credit card or using electronic toll services (requires the installation of a device in the car) We recommend you read our practical advice about driving in Spain.

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