Madrid to Guadalajara distance

Madrid to Guadalajara by road

The fastest driving route is 56.6 km (35.2 mi) long and takes about 44 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the A-2 (42.0 km), the M-23 (4.7 km), and the M-40 (3.0 km).

It goes through 2 autonomous communities: the Community of Madrid (40.4 km) and Castilla–La Mancha (16.2 km). That’s an average of 76 km/h (47 mph), and at under two hours you can do it without stopping. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, Madrid and Guadalajara are 50.4 km (31.3 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 12% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 112. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 120 Spanish driving pairs in this series, it ranks 112th for detour (the average is 24%).

From Madrid, Guadalajara lies to the northeast (bearing 62°), and from Guadalajara, Madrid lies to the southwest.

Halfway between Madrid and Guadalajara

Halfway along the straight line, 25.2 km (15.7 mi) from each city, is the point 40.5266° N, 3.4301° W. It falls near Daganzo de Arriba (Madrid, pop. 10,764), 3.1 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, pop. 203,208), 7.4 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 28.3 km (17.6 mi) from each city, near Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, pop. 203,208), 3.2 km away. The two midpoints almost coincide (5.6 km apart), because the road doesn’t stray far from the straight line.

The two cities

Madrid sits at 645 m (2,116 ft) and Guadalajara at 692 m (2,270 ft), 47 m (154 ft) higher.

Madrid has 3.5 million people and Guadalajara 92,834 people (INE population register, January 1, 2025).