Madrid to Paris distance

Madrid to Paris by road

The fastest driving route is 1,268 km (788 mi) long and takes about 13 hr 25 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the A10 (557 km), the A-1 (258 km), and the A63 (205 km).

Of the 1,268 km, 468 km are in Spain and 800 km are in France. That’s an average of 94 km/h (59 mph). Spain’s traffic authority (DGT) recommends a break every two hours or 200 km: with 6 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 15 hr 25 min. At about 8 hours behind the wheel a day, it’s a 2-day drive. 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 Paris are 1,052 km (654 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 21% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 121. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 10 cross-border pairs in this series, it ranks 9th for detour (the average is 31%).

From Madrid, Paris lies to the northeast (bearing 25°), and from Paris, Madrid lies to the southwest. The straight line reaches Paris on a bearing of 29°: 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 Paris

Halfway along the straight line, 526 km (327 mi) from each city, is the point 44.6775° N, 0.8910° W. It falls near Marcheprime (Gironde, France, pop. 3,768), 3.3 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde, France, pop. 27,253), 20.8 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 634 km (394 mi) from each city, near Belin-Béliet (Gironde, France, pop. 2,991), 4.4 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde, France, pop. 27,253), 29.7 km away. The two midpoints are 21.9 km apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

Madrid and Paris share the same time all year: both are on Central European Time.

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 50 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 1,052 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight.

The two cities

Madrid has 3.5 million people (INE population register, January 1, 2025) and Paris 2.1 million people (GeoNames).