It depends, and for many visitors the answer is no.
The numbers behind the verdict
The bus costs €29.70 for 24 hours against €10.30 for a day of unlimited metro, and although all ten main sights sit within 5 minutes of a stop, nine of them fit inside a 3-kilometre strip you can walk.
Route 2 runs only every 35 minutes and Route 3 every 25 to 35.
You want to see the Bernabéu, Las Ventas and the Castellana towers without planning a separate metro trip to each.
You are in Madrid in July or August and would sooner sit than walk between the Prado and the Royal Palace in 35°C heat.
Someone in your group cannot walk the 2.5 kilometres from El Retiro to the palace.
You only have one day and want Route 1's 85-minute loop as an overview before choosing a museum.
Skip it if
You are staying near Sol or Gran Vía. Prado, Plaza Mayor and the Royal Palace are each 10 to 15 minutes away on foot.
Your trip is mostly museums. Prado, Thyssen and Reina Sofía are within 1 kilometre of each other.
You dislike waiting. Route 2 has a bus every 35 minutes and Route 3 every 25 to 35, and Route 1 drops to every 30 after 16:30.
You are visiting from November to mid-March, when the last Route 1 loop leaves at 17:05.
Madrid sightseeing bus: the fact sheet
Routes and timetable
Route
Stops
Frequency
Full loop
First / last bus
Route 1: Historic Madrid
14
15–30 min
85 min
09:34 / 19:15
Route 2: Modern Madrid
10
35 min
70 min
09:53 / 18:40
Route 3: Current Madrid
10
25–35 min
75 min
09:30 / 17:35
Route 1: Historic Madrid
Route 1 is the one most visitors want: Prado, Cibeles, Gran Vía, Plaza de España, Moncloa, Temple of Debod, Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor and back to the Paseo del Prado, 14 stops in about 85 minutes.
Until 15 October it runs every 15 minutes up to 16:30 and every 30 minutes after, first bus 9:34, last full loop from Neptuno at 19:15.
From 16 October the first bus is at 10:00 and the last loop leaves at 18:13.
From 1 November buses come every 30 to 40 minutes and the last loop is at 17:05.
Route 2: Modern Madrid
Route 2 runs north up the Paseo de la Castellana to the Santiago Bernabéu and back down Calle de Serrano to the Puerta de Alcalá, 10 stops in about 70 minutes.
There is a bus every 35 minutes all year.
In high season the first leaves at 9:53 and the last full loop at 18:40.
From 16 October it starts at 10:00.
Route 3: Current Madrid
Route 3 goes east along Calle de Alcalá to Las Ventas, then back through Colón, Bilbao, Malasaña and Callao, 10 stops in about 75 minutes, every 25 to 35 minutes.
The operator's website gives a 9:30 first departure and a last full loop from Neptuno at 17:35 in high season, while its 2026 schedule leaflet says 10:45, so check the app on the day.
Stops that share a name on two routes (Neptuno, Cibeles, Gran Vía, Colón, Puerta de Alcalá) are a few metres apart and are shown here as one, which is why the map has 28 stops and the operator counts 34.
Audio guide in 10 languages. Wheelchair access: yes, according to the operator.
Ticket prices
Ticket
Adult
Child
24 hoursMadrid City Tour 24-hour ticket
€29.70
€16.20
48 hoursMadrid City Tour 48-hour ticket
€39.60
€20.70
72 hours
not sold
The ticket covers all three routes for 24 or 48 hours from first use, with an audio guide in 10 languages, a children's channel in Spanish and English, on-board Wi-Fi and a booklet of discounts.
Online it costs €29.70 and €39.60.
The list prices on the bus are €33 and €44 for adults, €18 and €23 for children aged 4 to 12, €28 and €39 for over 65s, and €90 or €120 for a family pack of two adults and two children.
There is no 72-hour ticket.
Civitatis describes a 2-hour walking tour as included.
The operator's own page says it is a tip-based tour run by a partner, leaving Plaza Mayor at 10:45 daily, with prior registration and a suggested €10.
The Night Tour (€24) was closed for the season on 4 October 2026.
Civitatis also sells Big Bus Madrid (activity 1954), a different company with three routes from the same Neptuno square: its main route runs every 30 minutes from 9:30 to 18:30 and the other two hourly, from €29.70, and it is listed as not wheelchair accessible.
Child fare: ages 4 to 12.
The same day by public transport
Consorcio Regional de Transportes de Madrid (Metro de Madrid, EMT)
Adult
Single ride
€1.50
One day, unlimited rides
€10.30
The day cost is the Tourist Ticket for Zone A, €10.30 for one day of unlimited metro and EMT bus rides inside the city (€17.50 for two days, €23.10 for three).
A metro single in Zone A costs €1.50 to €2.00 depending on distance, and a 10-trip Metrobús ticket was €7.30 with the 40% discount in force on 4 October 2026.
Children under 4 travel free.
Free travel for ages 4 to 14 exists but needs a personal transport card, which short-stay visitors rarely have.
Do the sum for your trip
Change the numbers to match your group. Fares are adult fares from the tables above.
Sightseeing bus–
Public transport–
Public transport is charged per ride up to the daily maximum. Multi-day passes can be cheaper still.
24, 48 or 72 hours
24 hours€29.70 Madrid City Tour 24-hour ticket · €29.70 per day · 2.9 times public transport for the same days
48 hoursLowest cost per day€39.60 Madrid City Tour 48-hour ticket · €19.80 per day · 1.9 times public transport for the same days
Tickets are sold for 24 hours (€29.70 online) and 48 hours (€39.60 online). There is no 72-hour ticket.
The three loops take about 85, 70 and 75 minutes, so riding everything without getting off is close to 4 hours. In 24 hours you can do Route 1 with two or three stops and one of the other routes as a straight ride.
The 48-hour ticket, €9.90 more, makes sense only if you want to get off on Routes 2 and 3 as well, for the Bernabéu tour or Las Ventas. Because validity runs from first use, a ticket started after lunch covers the next morning too.
A Zone A Tourist Ticket costs €10.30 for one day, and with the 10-trip ticket at €7.30 six rides come to about €4.40. Metro line 2 strings together Ópera (Royal Palace), Sol, Banco de España (Cibeles, Prado, Thyssen) and Retiro.
Line 1 stops at Estación del Arte for the Reina Sofía, and line 10 at Santiago Bernabéu. EMT bus 27 runs the length of the Paseo del Prado, Recoletos and the Castellana from Atocha to Plaza de Castilla, which is the trunk of Route 2, and you see the same fountains and towers from a normal bus window.
The stretch where the tourist bus has no easy equivalent is the western loop from Moncloa down past the Teleférico and round below the palace.
Does it suit your trip?
With children
Children aged 4 to 12 pay €18 for 24 hours at the list price, about €16.20 online, and under 4s ride free. The family pack for two adults and two children is €90 for 24 hours before the online discount.
There are two audio channels made for children, one in Spanish and one in English. Pushchairs go in the marked area on the lower deck and cannot be taken upstairs.
Route 1 at 85 minutes is the longest loop. Breaking it at the Teleférico stop for the cable car, or at Puerta de Alcalá for the Retiro boating lake, works better with small children than riding it in one go.
The upper deck is open, but the buses have a sliding roof that staff pull across when it rains, so the top deck stays usable. The operator does not refund tickets for bad weather.
Madrid winters are dry and cold, around 10°C at midday in January, and the low-season timetable is thin: Route 1 every 30 to 40 minutes and a last loop at 17:05. In that season the bus is mostly a way to sit down and look.
July and August afternoons regularly pass 35°C and the top deck is in full sun on the Castellana and the Paseo del Prado. Ride before noon or after 18:00.
In high season Route 1 runs until a last full loop at 19:15, so an evening ride is possible. Buses have up to 61 seats and the operator says a seat is not guaranteed at peak times.
If a bus is full you wait for the next one, which on Routes 2 and 3 means another 35 minutes. Board at Neptuno, the first stop of all three routes, to get a place upstairs.
If you cannot walk far
All Madrid City Tour buses have a ramp at the rear door and one wheelchair space on the lower deck, according to the operator. Each bus takes one wheelchair at a time, and Civitatis asks you to state it in the booking and travel with a companion.
The top deck is reached by stairs. For visitors who can walk only short distances the bus does well here: all ten sights in our list are within 5 minutes of a stop.
The exception is Plaza Mayor, where the stop is 400 metres away at Calle de Toledo 55 and the street climbs gently towards the square.
Walk the centre. From the Royal Palace to Plaza Mayor is 600 metres, Plaza Mayor to Sol 300 metres, and Sol to the Prado about 1 kilometre down Carrera de San Jerónimo.
Add a tip-based walking tour for the stories the audio guide would have given you. For the two outliers, take metro line 10 to Santiago Bernabéu and line 3 to Ventura Rodríguez for the Temple of Debod at sunset.
A 10-trip ticket at €7.30 covers all of that for two people for a day.
Buy online for €29.70. The same ticket is €33 from the staff on the bus.
Start with Route 1 before 16:30, while it runs every 15 minutes. After that it drops to every 30.
On Sundays the Paseo del Prado is closed to traffic for much of the day (9:00 to 16:00 on 4 October 2026), so the Neptuno, Cibeles and Paseo del Prado stops can move. Check the app before you go.
The Plaza Mayor stop is at Calle de Toledo 55 in La Latina, 400 metres south of the square. Walk up Calle de Toledo and you enter through the arch.
Madrid has frequent demonstrations and races in the centre. The operator posts diversions on its home page, and on the weekend of 3 and 4 October 2026 several central stops were affected.
Use the City Tour Worldwide app for live bus positions. With gaps of up to 35 minutes on Routes 2 and 3, it tells you whether to wait or walk.
Madrid hop-on hop-off bus: quick answers
How much is the hop-on hop-off bus in Madrid?
Madrid City Tour costs €29.70 for 24 hours and €39.60 for 48 hours online. On the bus the prices are €33 and €44 for adults and €18 and €23 for children aged 4 to 12. Under 4s are free.
How many routes are there and how long do they take?
Three, all starting at Neptuno: Route 1 Historic Madrid (14 stops, about 85 minutes), Route 2 Modern Madrid (10 stops, about 70 minutes) and Route 3 Current Madrid (10 stops, about 75 minutes). One ticket covers all three.
How often do the buses come?
Until 15 October Route 1 runs every 15 minutes up to 16:30 and every 30 minutes afterwards. Route 2 runs every 35 minutes and Route 3 every 25 to 35 minutes.
Is the walking tour included in the ticket?
No. The operator points ticket holders to a tip-based tour that leaves Plaza Mayor at 10:45 every day, needs registration, and suggests €10 per person.
Does the bus go to the Santiago Bernabéu?
Yes. Route 2 stops at Paseo de la Castellana 136, about 2 minutes from the stadium. Metro line 10 has a station of the same name and costs €1.50 to €2.00.
What is the difference between Madrid City Tour and Big Bus Madrid?
They are separate companies with separate tickets, both leaving from Neptuno. Madrid City Tour has 34 stops on three routes. Big Bus has three routes, one every 30 minutes and two hourly, at a similar price from €29.70.
Madrid City Tour · MadridOn Civitatis · rated 7.9/10 by 5,539 travellers
