The two classic choices for relocating families who want to stay inside the city. Salamanca puts everything within walking distance; Chamartín offers larger flats, quiet colonias, and the station and airport close by.
Families relocating to Madrid who want space without leaving the city, and professionals who work along the Castellana or travel often.
Newcomers with a comfortable budget who want everything close by without the noise of the old centre: families with young children, relocated executives, couples who walk everywhere.
Chamartín is large and varied: El Viso or Nueva España have little in common with Prosperidad or Castilla in housing or price. The district name tells you little.
There is no trick: according to SERPAVI, the official register of signed rental contracts, rent per square metre here is 31% above the Madrid city average. It is one of the most expensive areas we analyse, and competition for good flats is stiff.
Public transport, arriving before 9:00 on a weekday, from Chamartín (Colombia) and from Salamanca (Velázquez). The faster one is in green.
| Destination | Chamartín | Salamanca |
|---|---|---|
| Puerta del Sol | 11 minL8C3 | 11 minL2 |
| Nuevos Ministerios · AZCA | 4 minL8 | 12 minL4L10 |
| Cuatro Torres | 21 minL9L10 | 26 minL4L10 |
| Distrito Telefónica | 33 minL9L10 | 38 minL4L10 |
| Atocha station | 16 minL8C10 | 18 minL4C10 |
| Airport T4 | 19 minL8 | 37 minL9L8 |
| IFEMA | 14 minL8 | 32 minL9L8 |
| Ciudad Universitaria (UCM · UPM) | 17 minL8L6 | 20 minL4L6 |
| Cantoblanco campus (UAM) | 36 minL8C4 | 45 minL4L10C4 |
| American School of Madrid | 35 minL8L10C10 | 34 minL4L10C10 |
| King's College, Soto de Viñuelas | No reasonable metro or rail | No reasonable metro or rail |
| Lycée Français de Madrid | 23 minL8L4 | 24 minL4 |
Colonies of 1930s houses, spacious flats and Chamartín railway station inside the district. North Madrid for people who want calm, space and the airport within easy reach.
Families relocating to Madrid who want space without leaving the city, and professionals who work along the Castellana or travel often.
Read the Chamartín guideThe 19th-century grid that still sets the top of Madrid's rental market: straight streets, buildings with a concierge and five Metro lines. You can see what you pay for.
Newcomers with a comfortable budget who want everything close by without the noise of the old centre: families with young children, relocated executives, couples who walk everywhere.
Read the Salamanca guideAccording to rental contracts declared in 2024, Chamartín is cheaper: its price-per-square-metre index is 122, against 131 in Salamanca (city of Madrid = 100).
Chamartín has 15 stations inside the area with 14 lines (L1, L4, L6, L7, L8, L9, L10, C1, C2, C3, C4, C7, C8, C10); Salamanca has 12 stations inside the area with 9 lines (L2, L4, L5, L6, L7, L9, C2, C7, C10). To see which suits you, check how long each takes to your destination in the journeys table.
Within a kilometre of each area's centre, Chamartín has 24 supermarkets, 37 schools and 252 bars, cafés and restaurants; Salamanca has 29, 27 and 484.
Rent: SERPAVI (2024). Journeys: CRTM GTFS Metro de Madrid (05-27-2025), CRTM GTFS Metro Ligero (07-22-2026), Renfe GTFS Cercanías (09-23-2026). Services: OpenStreetMap (ODbL), extracto de Geofabrik del 2026-09-24. Shapes: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) vía Nominatim · INE (secciones censales de La Moraleja). Calculated on 2026-09-24.
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