Flying from London to Madrid?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
Flying from London to Madrid?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
Flying from London to Madrid?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
London → Madrid
A short flight from United Kingdom to Spain. Madrid is 1 hour ahead. Turn your watch forward before you arrive.
A capital of villages
London is a vast, low-slung capital that grew by absorbing villages, so it reads as dozens of distinct neighborhoods rather than one grid. The Underground and a dense rail network make it a transit city at heart; in the center a car is a liability, discouraged by narrow streets and the congestion charge. The landmarks and business districts cluster in the middle, but much of London is the high streets and parks further out. It is large, so crossing town takes longer than the map suggests.
City access
Heathrow is the main airport, west of London and among the busiest in Europe. It has a fast dedicated rail link to the center and is also on the Underground, so reaching the city without a car is straightforward. Allow extra time at peak hours, both on the roads and through its large terminals.
Nearby airports
| 41 km / 25 mi |
Surrounding hubs
| 350 km / 217 mi | |
| 365 km / 227 mi | |
| 370 km / 230 mi |
The heart of Spain
Madrid sits high and dry on Spain's central plateau, a wide, grid-and-boulevard capital with no coast and a continental climate of hot summers and cold winters. It is one of Europe's more transit-friendly capitals: an extensive metro plus commuter rail covers the city and reaches the airport directly, and the historic core is easy to walk. Spanish life runs late, with dinner and the evening rhythm starting well after dark by other European standards. A car is rarely useful inside the city center.
Surrounding hubs
| 513 km / 319 mi | |
| 543 km / 337 mi | |
| 547 km / 340 mi |
Find out which side of the plane to sit on.
Pick your airports, set your departure time, and you're done.
We calculate the sun's position based on your flight path and departure time, then tell you which side of the plane gets direct sun and which stays shaded. No guessing, just math.
Enter your flight
Pick your departure and arrival airports and set your departure time at the departure airport. FlightSide estimates the duration and you can adjust it if you know the exact schedule.
We track the sun along your route
Your flight path is broken into hundreds of points. At each one we check where the sun is and which side of the plane it faces.
You get a recommendation
Which side of the plane to sit on, left or right, depending on whether you'd rather avoid the sun or enjoy it. The percentages and the map are there if you want to see why.
Want to go deeper? Accuracy, edge cases, polar routes — see the FAQ →
Notes from the product.
Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.
Type less, wait less, wonder more
Airport search now understands metro codes and old city names, FlightSide loads noticeably faster, and a new Feeling lucky button chooses a flight for anyone without one in mind.
A closer look at the route, not just the seat
FlightSide now shows the two cities and key details about the flight alongside the seat recommendation: confirm you picked the right airports, read the time change off two clocks, and check the return leg.
It's all about the sun (after all)
Not all sunlight reaches the side windows. FlightSide now weighs the sun’s angle to the cabin and shows twilight along the route.