VacationSelector
Tempio Voltiano on the lakeshore, Como
ComoTempio Voltiano on the lakeshore
The Royal Palace, Madrid
MadridThe Royal Palace

Photos: Como by Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Madrid by Mert Ocak, Pexels License.

Como or Madrid?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Como for

  • beaches
  • nature and the outdoors
  • wellness

What lies behind each score is written up on Como’s own page.

Choose Madrid for

  • nightlife
  • live music and the arts
  • food and drink

What lies behind each score is written up on Madrid’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Como 36, Madrid 5: Como leads by 31 points.
Food & drink. Como 45, Madrid 80: Madrid leads by 35 points.
Culture & sights. Como 52, Madrid 86: Madrid leads by 34 points.
Nightlife. Como 22, Madrid 85: Madrid leads by 63 points.
Nature & outdoors. Como 82, Madrid 60: Como leads by 22 points.
Day trips. Como 87, Madrid 89: Madrid leads by 2 points.
Good for families. Como 47, Madrid 68: Madrid leads by 21 points.
Getting around. Como 66, Madrid 84: Madrid leads by 18 points.
Shopping & style. Como 42, Madrid 75: Madrid leads by 33 points.
Affordability. Como 30, Madrid 50: Madrid leads by 20 points.
Live music & performing arts. Como 34, Madrid 77: Madrid leads by 43 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Como 44, Madrid 36: Como leads by 8 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Como and Madrid.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Como
49match

Wins on beaches and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Madrid
Best match
66match

Wins on nightlife and live music and the arts with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Como in July

27 °Cdaytime high
18 °Cnight-time low
158 mmrain in the month
8 hsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Madrid in July

33 °Cdaytime high
20 °Cnight-time low
9 mmrain in the month
12 hsunshine a day
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150200JFMAMJJASOND
ComoMadrid

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Como: 1991-2020 normals, Lugano (23 km from centre). Madrid: 1991-2020 normals, Madrid (1.7 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureComoMadrid
Official languageItalianSpanish
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Euro (EUR)
SocketsCFL230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112112
Elevation201 m663 m
Main airportMilan Malpensa International Airport (MXP)34 km from centre208 non-stop destinationsAdolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD)14 km from centre239 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year13 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureComoMadrid
City population83,1843,506,730
People per km²2,2425,801
Museums within 10 km1188
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km84

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Como or Madrid somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.