Road through the dunes of Corralejo. Fuerteventura. Canary Islands

Travelling Spain by road

none

Spain has more than 17,000 kilometres of motorways, some with tolls. Here you will find a table with Spain's most important road arteries.

Main roads in Spain

 

ROADROUTEDISTANCE AND APPROXIMATE TIME
A-1Madrid - Donostia/San Sebastián (AP-1 on the Burgos-Armiñón section, toll-free)    460 km / 4h 45 min
A-2Madrid - Zaragoza (continues to Barcelona with the AP-2)    To Zaragoza: 315 km / 3h 15 min    To Barcelona: 620 km / 6h 15 min
A-3Madrid - Valencia    350 km / 3 hrs 30 min
A-4Madrid - Seville (continues to Cadiz with the AP-4)    To Seville: 530 km / 5 hours    To Cadiz: 650 km / 6 hours
A-5Madrid - Badajoz    400 km / 3h 45 min
A-6Madrid - A Coruña (AP-6 on the Guadarrama-Adanero section, with tolls)    600 km / 5 hrs 45 min
A-7 and AP-7From north to south, the Mediterranean coast. From the French border to Algeciras (Cádiz)    1240 km / 12 hours
A-8 and AP-8The north road. From Lugo (Galicia) to Irún (Gipuzkoa), border with France    590 km / 6 hours
AP-9From 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 access to its central area to Zero Emissions vehicles or residents. Occasionally and depending on the levels of pollution, Madrid and Barcelona limit the traffic inside the main ring road.Payment of tolls: Tolls may be paid in cash, by credit card or using electronic toll services (requires the installation of a device in the car).Please check our practical advice for driving in Spain.