🇪🇸 Same-country drive · Spain
Driving from Córdoba to Madrid
- Drive time
- 4h 27m
- Distance
- 394 km
- Same day?
- Yes, doable
- under 8 h
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €57
- petrol · diesel ≈ €46
- Tolls
- ≈ €35
- per-km
- EV charging
- Plenty fast
- 49 of 98 ≥50 kW
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Avoids motorways
+1h 29m- Distance:
- 388 km (−6 km)
- Duration:
- 5h 56m
Via: N-420 · N-401 · CM-4005 · N-4A
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
4h 27m
394 km · €57 fuel
See details ↓
24h 46m
446 km · Climb 3.106 m
See details ↓
No direct service
Our coach data (FlixBus + BlaBlaCar) doesn't list a direct service for this pair. National operators (e.g., National Express in the UK, Eurolines feeders) may still cover it — check their site directly.
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Easy one-day drive
Comfortable as a single day for one driver. Leave after breakfast, arrive with time to settle in.
- Distance:
- 394 km
- Duration:
- 4h 27m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Bailén 🇪🇸 es
≈98 km≈ 3.9 km detour from the main route
-
Valdepeñas 🇪🇸 es
≈197 km≈ 6.5 km detour from the main route
-
Villacañas 🇪🇸 es
≈295 km≈ 19.8 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Tolls on motorways in ES
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla now run ZBE low-emission zones
Must knowSpain's Zonas de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) cover central Madrid (24/7), Barcelona inside the Rondes (weekdays 7:00–20:00), Sevilla, Valencia and a growing list. Foreign plates need to register at the city portal in advance — your Euro emission class determines whether you get in. Without registration, cameras log entry and the fine reaches your home address.
Foreign plates must be pre-registered to enter the centre
Must knowMadrid
Cameras read your plate but don't know your emission class. Without registration on Madrid's portal (madrid.es/zbe), the system flags you regardless of the car's actual rating, and the fine reaches your home address weeks later via cross-border collection. Register before you set off.
Madrid 360 / ZBEDEP — pre-2000 cars banned outright
Must knowMadrid
Madrid Central (now ZBEDEP) is one of the strictest emission zones in Europe. Within the 4.7 km² central perimeter (formerly Distrito Centro), vehicles registered before 2000 are banned outright; the rest need to match Spain's "Etiqueta Ambiental" rating. Operates 24/7. Fine is €200 per entry.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Most Spanish tolls were abolished in 2024
TipThe AP-1, AP-7 (Bilbao stretch) and most of the Mediterranean coast highways are now toll-free. A handful remain: AP-9 (Galicia), AP-66 (León–Asturias), Catalonia's C-32/C-16 tunnel approach. Spain is no longer a high-toll country for cars — your fuel + a few specific bridge fees is the realistic budget.
Fuel stations
Off-motorway stations close late evening
TipSpanish provincial fuel stations often close 22:00–07:00, especially in the south. Motorway services (Cepsa, Repsol on the autovía) run 24/7. If you're routing through an Andalusian backroad, fuel before sunset and don't bank on a small-town pump.
Contactless cards work at virtually every motorway pump
TipMajor brand stations (Shell, Total, BP, Repsol, Cepsa, OMV, Eni, Esso) take Visa and Mastercard contactless without an issue. American Express and Diners are spotty south of the Alps. A €100 pre-authorisation hold is normal — it releases within 5 days. Carry €50 cash for the rare independent station.
Money & connectivity
EU roaming covers calls, texts and data at no extra cost
TipYour home EU SIM works at home rates across every EU member, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The "fair use" cap on data only applies if you're abroad more than four months. For a 2-week road trip, just use your phone normally — but switch off "data roaming" if you're leaving the EU into UK / CH for any segment.
Emergency & breakdown
112 works everywhere in the EU and continental neighbours
TipSingle number for police, ambulance, fire — works from any phone, any network, any country. On motorways, the orange SOS pillars every 2km connect direct to the regional traffic control centre and pinpoint your location. Use them over your phone if you can — it speeds the response.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
A-4 Autovía del Sur382 km
-
M-30 Calle 302 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 98%
- Secondary
- 0%
- Other / rural
- 2%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Easy
Straightforward drive. One driver, one day, little to worry about beyond fuel and a toilet stop.
- No major complicating factors — motorway-heavy, single country, comfortable length.
Elevation profile
Highs, lows, and the total climb / descent along the route.
- Lowest point
- 116 m
- Highest point
- 763 m
- Total ascent
- ↑ 1,160 m
- Total descent
- ↓ 604 m
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €57
29.5 L × €1.94 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €46
23.6 L × €1.93 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €44
69 kWh × €0.64 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €35
- ES — €0.09/km on the motorway network (≈ 394 km in-country ≈ €35) Toll-free on the A-network; charged only on AP roads.
Prices last refreshed 2026-09-28.
Fuel and EV charging along the route
Stations within a few kilometres of the road, sampled at evenly-spaced waypoints.
EV charging
49 at 50 kW or above (fast / ultra-fast).
Fastest first
- Santa Cruz de Mudela (Zunder) 400 kW
- Parking Pza. Canalejas 360 (planta -1) (EMT) — Madrid 400 kW
- Repsol Manzanares — Manzanares 360 kW
- Ionity Marmolejo 350 kW
- E.S. Valcarce Los Ríos 320 kW
- Guarromán Endesa — Guarromán 300 kW
- Tesla Supercharger Marmolejo — Marmolejo 250 kW
- Tesla Supercharger Los Ríos 250 kW
- Guarromán Tesla Supercharger — Guarromàn 250 kW
- Manzanares Tesla Supercharger — Manzanares 250 kW
- Autotrak — manzanares 200 kW
- Cepsa Canero 180 kW
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇪🇸 Córdoba
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15°
6°
|
17°
6°
|
19°
9°
|
24°
11°
|
28°
15°
|
34°
19°
|
38°
22°
|
39°
23°
|
31°
18°
|
26°
15°
|
19°
9°
|
15°
5°
|
| 64mm | 57mm | 159mm | 35mm | 39mm | 34mm | 0mm | 0mm | 18mm | 109mm | 77mm | 47mm |
hot mild cold
🇪🇸 Madrid
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
11°
3°
|
14°
3°
|
16°
5°
|
21°
9°
|
24°
11°
|
30°
18°
|
35°
20°
|
35°
21°
|
27°
15°
|
22°
12°
|
15°
7°
|
11°
3°
|
| 50mm | 17mm | 120mm | 44mm | 62mm | 43mm | 1mm | 6mm | 64mm | 87mm | 39mm | 30mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Madrid
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Sun 11
☀️
20° / 17°
—
-
Mon 12
☀️
27° / 13°
—
-
Tue 13
☀️
28° / 14°
—
-
Wed 14
⛅
25° / 15°
—
-
Thu 15
☀️
23° / 15°
—
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 12 manoeuvres
- Calle Muro de la Misericordia 0.1 km
- —
- (CO-31) 0.2 km
- — 0.8 km
- Autovía del Sur (A-4) 320 km
- Autovía del Sur (A-4) 62 km
- — 0.5 km
- — 0.8 km
- Calle 30 (M-30) 2 km
- Gran Vía de San Francisco
- Carrera de San Francisco 0.3 km
- Calle de la Cruz
Cycling from Córdoba to Madrid
Touring-pace bicycle route generated by BRouter, with elevation gain and matched against the EuroVelo cycle network.
- Distance
- 446 km
- vs 394 km driving
- Riding time
- 24h 46m
- Touring pace; experienced riders cut this 20–30%.
- Total climb
- ↑ 3.106 m
Routed on the BRouter trekking profile — balanced for paved leisure tourers; gravel and fast-bike profiles produce different lines.
This route doesn't follow any EuroVelo network sections — expect mixed local cycle paths and quiet roads.
Show route on map
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, BRouter for the bicycle route, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, OpenTopoData SRTM 30m for elevation, and Open Charge Map for EV charging stations. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.