Madrid to Ourense distance

Madrid to Ourense by road

The fastest driving route is 502 km (312 mi) long and takes about 5 hr 35 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the A-52 (222 km), the A-6 (195 km), and the AP-6 (70.1 km).

It goes through 3 autonomous communities: the Community of Madrid (55.6 km), Castile and León (328 km), and Galicia (118 km). That’s an average of 89 km/h (55 mph). Spain’s traffic authority (DGT) recommends a break every two hours or 200 km: with 2 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 6 hr 15 min. 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 Ourense are 409 km (254 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 23% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 123. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 120 Spanish driving pairs in this series, it ranks 57th for detour (the average is 24%).

From Madrid, Ourense lies to the northwest (bearing 303°), and from Ourense, Madrid lies to the southeast. The straight line reaches Ourense on a bearing of 300°: on a sphere the bearing keeps changing along the way, which is why the shortest route looks slightly curved on a flat map.

Halfway between Madrid and Ourense

Halfway along the straight line, 204 km (127 mi) from each city, is the point 41.3963° N, 5.7473° W. It falls near El Perdigón (Zamora, pop. 673), 1.9 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Zamora (pop. 59,815), 12.0 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 251 km (156 mi) from each city, near San Esteban del Molar (Zamora, pop. 117), 2.7 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Zamora (pop. 59,815), 50.2 km away. The two midpoints are 61.5 km apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

By plane

No flight time is given: under 500 km (311 miles) in a straight line, time at the airport outweighs time in the air.

The two cities

Madrid sits at 645 m (2,116 ft) and Ourense at 131 m (430 ft), 514 m (1,686 ft) lower.

Madrid has 3.5 million people and Ourense 105,769 people (INE population register, January 1, 2025).