Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Los Angeles to Madrid. Right side wins at takeoff for the California coast and mountains, but the left side delivers the more dramatic and sustained views: the Greenland ice sheet edge during the polar routing, and the rewarding Madrid city approach on landing. Left is the better seat for the full journey.

During takeoff from Los Angeles International (LAX), sit on the Right side for the best views. LAX typically departs westward over the Pacific on runways 24L/24R, then turns north. Right side gives you the Santa Monica Bay coastline, then the Santa Monica Mountains and the sprawl of the San Fernando Valley as the aircraft banks northeast. Left side faces open ocean during the initial climb. Notable sights include: Santa Monica Bay, Santa Monica Mountains, San Fernando Valley grid, Griffith Observatory area on the Hollywood Hills.

When landing at Barajas (MAD), sit on the Left side for the best views. Madrid Barajas typically lands from the east on runways 32L/32R or from the south on 18L/18R. On the common northwesterly approach, the left side faces the city center of Madrid — the dense urban core, the Manzanares River, and the Sierra de Guadarrama rising to the northwest. Right side looks toward flat agricultural Castilian meseta. Notable sights include: Madrid city center and Gran Via corridor, Manzanares River, Casa de Campo park, Sierra de Guadarrama on the horizon.

The flight from Los Angeles International (LAX) to Barajas (MAD) takes Approximately 10 to 11 hours.

The great circle route from LAX to MAD tracks northward over the US Rockies, crosses Hudson Bay or Labrador, passes near the southern tip of Greenland with its ice sheet and fjords visible, crosses the North Atlantic, and enters Europe over northern Spain crossing the Pyrenees before descending across the flat Castilian meseta toward Madrid. The Greenland coastline and the Pyrenees ridge are the two most visually striking geographic features en route.