Reaching the IFT from Madrid
The program will take place at IFT UAM-CSIC, which is located at the campus of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) in Cantoblanco, Madrid.
The UAM campus in Cantoblanco can be reached from downtown Madrid by direct local train (Cercanías, line C4) to Cantoblanco Universidad station. It takes 20 minutes from Sol station and 24 minutes from Atocha station.
From Cantoblanco Universidad station it is a 15 minute's walk to IFT. You can also click on the following map to see the path:
(Red stars mark the locations of suggested places for lunch)
We advice those participants staying in Madrid and coming daily to IFT by train to buy at any train station a rechargeable Cercanías card, which can be loaded with 10 one-way trips for €13.70 (or with a single one-way trip for €1.85).
Moving around Madrid
The city has an extensive Metro network and an interurban (EMT) bus system. Check this link for details about tickets and fares. Tickets can be bought at Metro stations or when boarding buses. Notice that bus drivers do not normally have change for more than €5.
For those wishing to visit Madrid during their stay we recommend using the Metro. One possibility is buying a Multi Card and charging it with 10 one-way Metro/bus trips for €12.20. A single Metro ticket costs between €1.50 and €2.00. Please notice that standard Metro tickets and cards do not allow to travel in Cercanías (and viceversa).
There also exist Tourist tickets which allow unlimited travel during up to 7 consecutive days on Metro, bus and Cercanías. This may also be an option for exploring Madrid during the weekends if you plan to do intensive usage of the transport system on specific days. For example, a single-day ticket for central Madrid (not including UAM) costs €8.40.
Airport
Madrid's airport has four terminals: T1, T2, T3 and T4. All are served by Metro and the fourth is also served by Cercanías. Please notice that there is a surcharge for Metro and Cercanías trips from and to the airport. This can be bought as a supplement to a ticket that has been acquired previously. It is possible to transfer from one airport terminal to another with a free shuttle bus.
The airport can also be reached from Madrid with the bus line 203 (€5,00 one-way), which has a stop at Atocha Cercanías station.
A taxi ride with origin or destination Madrid's Airport and destination or origin inside the area bounded by the M-30 ring road costs €30.00, 24h a day every day. This map shows the locations of the UAM campus and the airport with respect to the M-30. As the IFT is outside the M-30, the above flat rate does not apply. A taxi ride to the airport from IFT costs about € 30-40. Madrid taxis are white and have a diagonal red band on the front doors, like this one.
The bus line 827 connects the IFT (the stop is 4 minutes away by foot) with the airport's terminal T4 (€2,00 one-way). The trip takes about 35 mins and the bus runs with a frequency of about 20 mins. Notice that if you are flying from terminal T1, T2 or T3 you will need to catch a shuttle from T4.
